Nadler and Maloney both want to talk with you separately

“Where are all the voters?” Gov. Kathy Hochul asked at one point, around 7:45 this morning. Sure enough, 72nd and Broadway in Manhattan was pretty quiet, except for when a train let out. Hochul started her primary day on the Upper West Side, one of the densest concentrations of Democratic primary voters in the state, and she brought along a dense concentration of Democratic politicians – including both Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, who are now facing off in the next primary, on August 23. Hochul was super confident – “We’re both winning,” she said of her and running mate Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, and was focused on the general election already, saying the state can’t take a chance on somebody who might lose to a Republican in November. Nadler and Maloney were focused on the next election too, competing for attention with Hochul, and voters. If one Congress member was next to Hochul, one had to slide up on her other side. And when one spoke to a voter, the other would wait for the inevitable awkward pause that comes when meeting a politician and pounce, to take over the conversation.