This election has been defined, in part, by debate over how to address the city’s escalating affordability crisis, especially in the face of federal funding cuts.

A polling station at NYCHA’s Gunhill Houses in the Bronx, Tuesday, November 4, 2025. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

More than a million New Yorkers cast their ballots in the general election Tuesday, as the race for the city’s next mayor—which has drawn attention across the country, and spurred debate across the five boroughs—comes to a close.

By 3 p.m., more than 1.45 million people had already turned up at the polls, surpassing the total number of voters in the 2021 general election that put outgoing Mayor Eric Adams in office.

This election has been defined, in part, by debate over how to address the city’s escalating affordability crisis, especially in the face of federal funding cuts to housing programs, public benefits and other local services.

“I came to Brooklyn in the mid-’80s and lived in a two-bedroom that was $235. That same unit is now $3,000 a month. For that shoebox,” said Bushwick voter María Pagán. “Whoever comes to office needs to regulate these prices.”

RELATED READING: The Candidates for Mayor On Housing, Zoning and NYCHA

Each of the mayoral candidates—former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (running as an independent), Democratic nominee and State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, and Republican Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa—have laid out diverging plans to address those problems.

On the candidates

Pagán voted for Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens who handily won the Democratic primary in June on a platform that calls for free bus service, annual rent freezes for tenants in stabilized apartments and free childcare for kids under 5.

“I really feel if Zohran wins—he will win—but when he wins, it’ll change stuff for real,” said Mohamed Chaya, 21, a resident of Morrisania in the Bronx whose friends have canvassed for the candidate.

His immigrant parents got him and his sister “into politics really young,” Chaya said, though the generations are somewhat split in this year’s race: he and his father “agree to disagree” about Mamdani and whether plans like a rent freeze are achievable.

RELATED READING: New Yorkers Weigh In On Housing Ballot Measures

“He’s been here for almost 30 years now, struggling trying to make ends meet, so coming from him, he finds it impossible. And I feel like that causes a big disconnect,” Chaya said. “The younger people like me, my sister, we think you [should] give it a chance. You can’t knock it until you try it. How worse can things get?”

But others remain skeptical. “The rent freeze is garbage,” said Ben, a 45-year-old Morrisania resident who did not want to share his last name. “You gotta understand—somebody has to pay, whether it be now or later.”

A polling station at NYCHA’s Gunhill Houses in the Bronx, Tuesday, November 4, 2025. (Adi Talwar/City Limits)

Mamdani’s competitors have also sought to cast the assemblymember’s plans as unrealistic. Both Cuomo and Sliwa have accused him of being too inexperienced for the mayoralty—Mamdani recently turned 34—and too far left.

Sliwa, an animal rights advocate with a colorful history best known for his subway patrols in the 1980s, pledged to “restore law and order” and advocate for outer borough neighborhoods (including by repealing Mayor Adams’ City of Yes housing plan).

Cuomo’s campaign has touted the former governor as the most experienced manager in the race, citing his decade at the helm in Albany and past work in the Clinton administration.

The message resonated with some voters. Cuomo “knows what he’s doing,” said Floyd Monroe, 68, a security worker and tenant at NYCHA’s Brevoort Houses. “Can’t leave the city to someone so inexperienced,” he said.

But for others, Cuomo’s experience is what turned them off. The former governor weathered several scandals during his time in office, and resigned in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment by multiple women who’d worked with him (Cuomo has denied the allegations).

“You already know how bad he is. You already know that he’s not for us, he’s for everybody else,” Brooklyn voter Andre Sanchez told City Limits. He said he’s watched both Cuomo and Sliwa in the city’s public life for decades now (“I’ve seen what they’ve done already”), and voted for Mamdani because “he’s fresh.”

“At least he’s new,” Sanchez said. “I’m going to give him a shot, because I’m tired of the nonsense, and I’d rather have somebody else try to do something.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The post How New Yorkers Say They’re Voting And Why appeared first on City Limits.

President Donald Trump endorsed Minnesota’s four congressional Republicans earlier this week.

The endorsements came in a series of Truth Social posts on Monday for Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota’s 7th District, Brad Finstad of the 1st District, Tom Emmer of the 6th District and Pete Stauber of the 8th District. The four Republicans are running as incumbents for their seats in the U.S. House.

In the posts, Trump listed some of the representatives’ backgrounds and work while in the House and ended the post assuring voters the candidates will “never let you down.”

Each Republican has at least one DFL challenger so far. Erik Osberg is running against Fischbach; Jake Johnson is challenging Finstad; Anson Amberson, Doug Chapin and Sierra Grandy are running to unseat Emmer; and John-Paul McBride, Cyle Cramer and Emanuel Anastos are in the mix to challenge Stauber.

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In the 2024 election, each of the seats stayed red handily: Fischbach won District 7 with 70%, Finstad won District 1 with 59%, Emmer won District 6 with 62% and Stauber won District 8 with 58%.

The endorsements from Trump are something other Republicans are looking for, with the 2026 midterms just under a year away.

At a press conference formally launching her run for governor on Monday, Republican Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said she “looks forward to seeking the endorsement of President Trump, should he choose to give that to me.”

The Republican Party of Minnesota will announce endorsements during a spring 2026 convention. The decision whether to abide by the party’s endorsement is up to each candidate — Demuth said Monday that she intends to.

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has continued its personnel purge, forcing out additional agents and supervisors tied to the federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The latest firings took place despite efforts by Washington’s top federal prosecutor to try to stop at least some of the terminations, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The employees were told this week that they were being fired but those plans were paused after D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro raised concerns, according to two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters.

The agents were then fired again Tuesday, though it’s not clear what prompted the about-face. The total number of fired agents was not immediately clear.

The terminations are part of a broader personnel upheaval under the leadership of FBI Director Kash Patel, who has pushed out numerous senior officials and agents involved in investigations or actions that have angered the Trump administration. Three ousted high-ranking FBI officials sued Patel in September, accusing him of caving to political pressure to carry out a “campaign of retribution.”

Spokespeople for Patel and Pirro didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Tuesday.

The FBI Agents Association, which has criticized Patel for the firings, said the director has “disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution.”

“The actions yesterday — in which FBI Special Agents were terminated and then reinstated shortly after, and then only to be fired again today — highlight the chaos that occurs when long-standing policies and processes are ignored,” the association said. “An Agent simply being assigned to an investigation and conducting it appropriately within the law should never be grounds for termination.”

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The 2020 election investigation that ultimately led to special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump has come under intense scrutiny from GOP lawmakers, who have accused the Biden administration Justice Department of being weaponized against conservatives. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has released documents from the investigation provided by the FBI, including ones showing that investigators analyzed phone records from more than a half dozen Republican lawmakers as part of their inquiry.

The Justice Department has fired prosecutors and other department employees who worked on Smith’s team, and the FBI has similarly forced out agents and senior officials for a variety of reasons as part of an ongoing purge that has added to the tumult inside the bureau.

The FBI in August ousted the head of the bureau’s Washington field office as well as the former acting director who resisted Trump administration demands to turn over the names of agents who participated in Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigations. And in September, it fired agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington that followed the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

A St. Paul-based home health care company plans to close in coming months, laying off more than 400 employees.

Dependable Home Healthcare notified its staff and clients Tuesday that it will suspend services at the end of January as the company winds down its operations, according to a letter to Minnesota officials from CEO Katie Fleury. The company provides services allowing the elderly and those with disabilities to live outside of institutional settings.

Fleury cited “business challenges and upcoming regulatory changes impacting the Minnesota home care industry” as the reason behind the closure. Fleury did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday.

The announcement comes just days after Gov. Tim Walz ordered the state Department of Human Services to pause payments to providers of 14 Medicaid-funded assistance programs while these programs undergo a third-party audit to look for fraud.

Among the programs affected by the payment freeze is Personal Care Assistance/Community First Services and Supports, which was among the offerings of Dependable Home Healthcare, according to its website.

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State officials estimate the audit could delay payments to service providers by up to 90 days.

Among the 406 employees expected to be laid off as Dependable Home Healthcare winds down its operations, 368 are caregivers, while the rest are administrative staffers, Fleury’s letter said.

The company, located at 23 Empire Drive in St. Paul, will permanently layoff employees in six phases, beginning Jan. 3, 2026, and concluding March 13, 2026, according to the state Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The company has been in business since 1991.