With concerns among Democrats that they need to rally their base before next week’s election, the Brooklyn Democratic Party held its annual gala Tuesday evening where Gov. Kathy Hochul and the other members of her statewide ticket appealed to leaders to get out the vote.

For Hochul, it’s going to take a lot of votes from the city to propel her to a big victory next Tuesday. And historically the most Democratic votes of any county in the state comes out of Brooklyn.

At the Brooklyn County Organization Gala, Hochul made her pitch.

“Brooklyn! Yes! I feel the energy. I feel the energy. And what are we going to do with all this energy?” Hochul asked. “We are going to go out and win an election! One week from tonight.”.

What You Need To Know

  • Responding to what some say is an enthusiasm gap, Brooklyn Democrats rallied with party leaders at their annual gala

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul likely needs tens of thousands of votes out if Brooklyn if she is going to win decisively statewide

  • A new poll shows Hochul ahead of Republican Lee Zeldin by eight points
Your Voter Guide on the Spectrum News App

The Brooklyn Democrats have had a tough time recently. A split in the party has caused infighting, worrying some there is no general to marshal the troops when the time comes to get people to the polls.

But Mayor Eric Adams offered nothing but praise for the party leader, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte, even alluding to the party’s internal warfare.

“It is an awesome job to do what she has accomplished. And really we appreciate you for what you have done,” the mayor said. “There are a lot of personalities in Brooklyn. You know there are 2.6 million people, nine million different opinions.”

State Attorney General Letitia James, who has not done much campaigning with Hochul, urged fellow Democrats to come home and vote for the party’s picks this election.

“From Brownstone Brooklyn to the Boardwalk. It is so critically important that we galvanize our base,” James said. “You see the media is saying that there is not any energy on our side. And we’ve got to energize individuals and the only way to energize individuals is to talk about what we have done.”

A new Emerson poll shows Hochul leading Zeldin by eight percentage points. That is up from a pair of polls last week showing Zeldin down by just six percentage points. Listening to Democrats, it appears as though they were spooked by those earlier polls and are now coalescing around the Democratic ticket, including Hochul.