Saturday is the first day of early voting in New York and Empire State voters could help decide which party will control the U.S. House of Representatives over the next two years.

Republicans are seeking to fend off attempts by Democrats to flip congressional seats in the suburbs north of New York City and in the Adirondack Mountains near the Canadian border.

New Yorkers will also decide whether Democrats Kathy Hochul and Letitia James should each be elected to an additional term in their respective roles as governor and attorney general.

Democratic incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman face off in the only scheduled debate ahead of the November New York gubernatorial election, at the Spectrum News NY1 studios, in New York, US, Ocotober 13, 2026.

Anna Connors For The New York Times/via Reuters

Statewide races

Hochul became the state's first female governor in 2021 after then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned amid sexual harassment allegations -- accusations he denied.…