De Blasio Seeks Mandate as Lhota Hopes for Upset

Concerned that his overwhelming lead in the race to be New York mayor could depress voter turnout, Bill de Blasio on Monday warned supporters against complacency as he sought to win with a decisive mandate that could propel his liberal agenda.

'By definition, in the political process, the more support you get in an election, the more ability you have to achieve your goals,' Mr. de Blasio, the Democratic nominee, told reporters after a visit to a senior center in the Bronx. 'If we get a strong result, it will help us get our work done.'

But Mr. de Blasio's Republican rival, Joseph J. Lhota, was not giving up the fight, urging New Yorkers to remember faulty predictions of the past, and comparing himself to Harry S. Truman on the eve of his unexpected victory against Thomas E. Dewey in 1948. 'You're going to be pleasantly surprised,' he said in an interview on WOR-AM (710).

Despite a highly publicized campaign, and predictions of a temperate, partly sunny day, experts are expecting only a modest turnout Tuesday, given Mr. de Blasio's lopsided lead in the polls.

Jerry Skurnik, a Democratic political consultant, predicted that turnout would be around 1.2 million - about what it was in 2009, when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was widely expected to win a third term. Another Democratic consultant, Bruce D. Gyory, predicted turnout between 1.1 and 1.25 million. There are 4.3 million active registered voters in New York City.

Mr. de Blasio, who leads by more than 40 points in some polls, is hoping to ride the wave of populist momentum that has sustained him since September, when he emerged from a crowded field to win the Democratic nomination for mayor. An overwhelming victory might help him win support for his long list of policy ideas, including his signature proposal - a plan to raise taxes on wealthy residents to pay for an expansion of prekindergarten and after-school programs.

'We need Bill de Blasio to have a mandate,' Rubén Díaz Jr., the Bronx borough president, said during Mr. de Blasio's appearance in the Bronx. 'We need to make sure his numbers are so high that no one can ever question his message.'

Labor unions vowed to do their best to turn out the vote. For example, George Gresham, the president of 1199 SEIU, the health care workers' union, said volunteers would be knocking on the doors of more than 100,000 of his union's members.

'I'm obviously happy with a victory, but I think it really should reflect what I believe is the sentiment of the people of New York, which is they are really desperate for change,' he said.

Hector Figueroa, the president of 32BJ, which represents building employees, said his union was redoubling its efforts in the hope of giving Mr. de Blasio a sizable victory. 'We want to counter any sense of fait accompli or possible complacency that might arise,' he said.

And over the weekend, Mr. de Blasio received a last-minute lift from NY Progress, a union-backed group, which expanded its broadcast of a television commercial critical of Mr. Lhota, targeted at the few remaining undecided voters.

Some political operatives were concerned that depressed turnout could affect the outcome of other races around the city.

Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, called on New Yorkers to ignore the polls and political commentary and to rally their relatives to vote in Tuesday's election.

'If you play bridge, if you play checkers, if you play spades,' Mr. de Blasio told the seniors in the Bronx, 'whoever you play with, I want to know that they're voting.'

Meanwhile, Mr. Lhota, who has trailed Mr. de Blasio substantially since the beginning of the general election campaign, sought to fend off the idea that the contest was over.

On the radio show on Monday, the radio host Mark Simone expressed some surprise that he was still performing so poorly in the polls. 'You have the most perfect résumé ever for mayor,' said Mr. Simone, who described himself as an admirer of Mr. Lhota, a former Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman. 'Yet this guy is so many points ahead of you.'

Mr. Lhota said Mr. de Blasio, who is the city's public advocate, had made the race about the incumbent, Michael R. Bloomberg, rather than engaging with Mr. Lhota's ideas.

Later, Mr. Lhota walked the streets of Harlem, offering fist bumps to churro vendors and hand shakes to veterans. He broke into a spontaneous dance when a woman in a passing car asked him to 'bust a move' with her. When Kelvin Maull, 54, a street artist, began a harangue about the high cost of renting in New York, Mr. Lhota tried to find common ground. 'We've got to build more affordable housing and get you in quickly,' he said.

'So what does that do for me today?' Mr. Maull replied. 'If I don't make $120 a day, I'm on the street.'

'Tomorrow you've got to vote for me,' Mr. Lhota said. 'If we're not in there, we can't start making the changes.'

Kate Taylor contributed reporting.