The Staten Island GOP is certain the borough will turn out big for them after a massive South Shore rally this week for Rep. Lee Zeldin — the Republican nominee for governor — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and others on their ticket.

“And are we ready to defeat Max Rose again?” Malliotakis asked the crowd this Tuesday to cheers.

Republicans have insisted Staten Island is now less a swing district and more a reliably Republican one, spurred, they said, by the Democratic Party’s shift to the left.

What You Need To Know

  • There's a rematch underway in New York's 11th Congressional District between Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and former Rep. Max Rose

  • Staten Island Republican and Democratic parties are planning "get out the vote" pushes this weekend

  • Rose continues to highlight Malliotakis votes against gun safety while she maintains focus on crime overall
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“They’ve abandoned most things that people who live in bedroom communities like this enjoy,” City Councilmember Joe Borelli told NY1 recently. “So I anticipate unless the party, their party, makes a complete 180, they’ll have no luck in one of the state’s largest counties.”

Recently released state data shows Richmond County has become redder.

There are 11,145 more active voters enrolled as Republicans now than there were at this point during the last gubernatorial election cycle in 2018.

There are 542 fewer active voters enrolled as Democrats.

And there are 10,442 more voters enrolled as blank.

Overall, Democrats still outnumber Republicans: 125,868 to 97,911.

Staten Island Democratic Party chair and State Assemblymember Michael Cusick said the borough has a “vibrant two-party system.”

He told NY1 the Democrats hold a registration advantage because “we continue to nominate and support qualified, common-sense public officials for office. Our nominees for Congress, Senate, Assembly and the bench come with vast experience and put quality-of-life issues front and center.”

Democratic congressional candidate Rose, who held the House seat before Malliotakis, recently described his home borough this way: “What it’s always been is independent Staten Island. It’s a place that puts the flag first, puts the county first, puts service first, just wants common-sense solutions to the problems that people are facing.”

Rose has recently sought to highlight Malliotakis’ votes against gun safety.

Malliotakis has kept her focus on crime more broadly.

Republicans have maintained that a good share of registered Democrats, including so-called Reagan Democrats, are with now with them.

“You have a working-class, entrepreneurial, really family-oriented community here,” state Senator Andrew Lanza said. “So whether you’re a registered Democrat, Republican, I think there’s sort of an agreement in terms of what we value here as Staten Islanders.”