GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — With the Grand Rapids mayoral race in full swing, both candidates spent the final Sunday before Election Day engaging with voters.

On a chilly Sunday in Grand Rapids, 48 ​​hours before the polls open on Election Day, both mayoral candidates are putting their remaining time to good use.

“I’m a city person, it’s always fun to walk around the neighborhoods. This is actually the first neighborhood I lived in as an adult. … It’s nice to be back on my old block,” Grand Rapids mayoral candidate David LaGrand said.

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It may feel like home, but LaGrand is in uncharted political territory. He is engaged in a bitter race for mayor of the city of Grand Rapids.

“I wish it was sunnier, I wish it was warmer. But that’s what you get in November, right?” LaGrand said.

Just two miles down the road is Senita Lenear’s office. She, too, is running for mayor of Grand Rapids and knows how important this last phase is.

“We probably billed almost every hour. We will not be suspending our campaign efforts until Tuesday, November 5th at 8 p.m. Some of the same things we’ve done all along…engaging with voters at their doors, on their phones and talking to them on social media and having those conversations in the neighborhood is what we do “We will continue to do so,” Lenear said.

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It’s not an easy task. Both candidates say they are seeing signs of voter fatigue.

“We hear that at the doors, we hear that on the phone. “People are just ready for the election to be over because they’re inundated with so much going on with so many different races,” Lenar said.

“People are really, I think, maybe ready for this to be over. But they are still willing to talk. This is an important moment for our democracy. It’s really important that people make thoughtful decisions and vote,” LaGrand said.

And they were. Early voting in West Michigan continues to rise as Sunday was the last day to cast an early vote. Both candidates say it’s a hopeful thing.

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“It’s encouraging. Because it just means that people are willing to get involved and their voices want to be heard,” Lenear said.

“Voting is a birthright of every American. So we should make it as simple as possible,” LaGrand said.

The election campaign will continue until the results are final.

“I’m just going to keep going out and talking to people. Because we feel really good, but every conversation is another opportunity to get good ideas about how we can make the city better,” LaGrand said.

“It is important and valuable to know what the people of the city want in order to lead this city in the next chapter,” Lenar said.

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