As early voting begins this weekend in New York City’s mayoral race, new polling shows that the race is likely to come down to two candidates: former governor Andrew Cuomo and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

Politico reports that an internal poll conducted by Data for Progress for New Yorkers for Lower Costs, a super-PAC supporting Mamdani, showed the Queens assemblymember trailing Cuomo by single digits in a ranked-choice simulation. The survey has the former governor winning the election after eight rounds of voting by 51 percent to Mamdani’s 49 percent, the closest a poll has showed the race all year. An internal poll for the Cuomo campaign, meanwhile, showed a different shape to the race. Per Politico, the survey from Expedition Strategies has the former governor winning in the eighth round, but by 56 percent to Mamdani’s 44 percent, a 12 point margin.

One commonality of the two polls is that they both showed the race’s other challengers — like past and current comptrollers Scott Stringer and Brad Lander, State Senators Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos, and others — with single digits through numerous rounds of voting, a sign that the race is narrowing around the leading candidates in the waning weeks of the race.

As the June 24 primary draws nearer, more prominent names are making their preferences known. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez officially endorsed Mamdani as her No. 1 choice following the first debate last week and publicized her full ranked ballot, which included City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Lander, Stringer, and Myrie. Ocasio-Cortez made her first appearance with Mamdani on Sunday during the city’s annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade where the two shared a float in the procession. The two later met up with Representative Nydia Velázquez, who voiced her support for the assemblymember as her first choice on her ranked-choice ballot.

Cuomo also took to the streets on Sunday where he walked in the parade side by side with two of his supporters: Representative Adriano Espaillat and Ramos, who notably endorsed the former governor late last week despite her extensive past criticisms of his tenure in Albany as well as his character. Cuomo also paired his attendance at the Puerto Rican Day Parade with an endorsement from Marc Anthony, the singer.

Ramos had some critical words for Mamdani in recent comments to the New York Times prior to her endorsement of Cuomo, suggesting that the assemblymember doesn’t have much to show from his time in Albany. “I appreciate his voice. I wish he was a harder worker. I believe in the last four years in the Senate, I’ve delivered a tremendous body of legislation, and I believe that anybody who should be mayor of the City of New York should have a legislative record to match. What good is it to be there everyday and accomplish so little?,” she said.

Endorsements are also continuing to break towards other candidates in the race. On Tuesday, The Forward reported that Adams received the backing of 25 Hasidic sects in Borough Park, the groups ranking her as their top choice followed by Myrie as their second.

Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement has prompted speculation as to whether Mamdani could receive some last-minute support from another prominent progressive: Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. When asked about potentially backing the assemblymember, he told HuffPost on Tuesday, “We’ll have more to say about that.”

The candidates will have one more opportunity to make their case to New Yorkers, as well as a lasting impression, during a second debate hosted by NY1 scheduled for Thursday evening.

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