As the election campaign entered its final hours, Republican state Sen. Martin Golden and his Democratic challenger Andrew Gounardes pulled out all the stops in a last-minute effort to woo voters in the 22nd Senate District.
Gounardes got some high-powered help on Monday when none other than Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to Bensonhurst for a Get Out the Vote rally at the Stars and Stripes Democratic Club on 15th Avenue.
Cuomo touted Gounardes as the best candidate to represent the Senate district and to help him move a Democratic agenda forward in Albany.
Golden was also on the move as the campaign neared the finish line, appearing at a rally at the Bay Ridge Manor on Sunday with fellow Republicans U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan, Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis and Assembly candidate Steve Saperstein.
Donovan is running for re-election in the 11th Congressional District against Democrat Max Rose. Malliotakis represents the 64th Assembly District and is seeking re-election against Democratic challenger Adam Baumel. Saperstein is the GOP candidate in the 46th A.D. He is running against Democrat Mathylde Frontus.
Golden, who was first elected in 2002, is seeking his ninth term in office. The district he has represented for 16 years takes in several neighborhoods in Southwest Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Manhattan Beach, Marine Park and Gerritsen Beach.
Gounardes, a lawyer currently on leave from his job as chief counsel to Borough President Eric Adams, is hoping to unseat Golden. He ran against Golden in 2012 and lost.
The heated contest has been punctuated by flashes of bitterness between the two candidates, particularly at a series of debates where they went toe to toe on local issues.