It’s unclear if voters in the 11th Congressional District are shopping for a new candidate.

The candidates for Congress here in Southern Brooklyn and Staten Island were targeting shoppers on Sunday, making their final pitch at grocery stores across the district.

“He rubber stamps a liberal agenda. Do I think he’s a socialist? No. But he votes with them,” Malliotakis explained to locals while handing out flyers of Rose and the mayor.

She has been trying to connect the two, since de Blasio is unpopular in the district. 

Her ads claim de Blasio endorsed Rose, But the mayor has not made a formal endorsement in the race.

“Bill de Blasio made it very clear he wants a Democrat to win in this race. Why? It’s a package deal,” Malliotakis said. “He wants Nancy Pelosi to stay as speaker. He wants Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the socialist squad to remain in the majority.”

“It’s a series of lies,” Rose told NY1. “It’s a series of distractions. If the mayor even tried to endorse me, I’d put the endorsement on the middle of the street, I’d get in a truck and I’d drive over the endorsement and then I’d go in reverse and drive over it again just to be sure that that endorsement did not survive.”

Rose is distancing himself from de Blasio and trying to play up his centrist credentials. He’s won over some here in Brooklyn.
 

He received a good reception in Brooklyn Sunday, which is typically a blue part of the district.

The same goes for Malliotakis. She was well received on the South Shore, a Republican stronghold.

Malliotakis has consistently criticized Rose for participating in a Black Lives Matter march this summer. 

Rose, however, stands by his decision.

“Any effort to say or deny the fact there is a need in society today to say ‘Black Lives Matter’ is very important. There is a legacy of racial injustice in this country that we have to confront,” Rose said.

“They are going to sound a really loud message that they not only don’t support these dangerous policies, but they are going to come out and support for the NYPD," said Malliotakis.

We’re told turnout has been high in the 11th Congressional District, and the candidates are saying their supporters are excited to get to the polls.