With less than 40 days remaining before New York City’s Democratic Primary for Mayor, voters will have the opportunity to rank their picks by preference. But if their favorite does not earn the party’s nod, the names may appear again in November on third-party lines.
“This November, in addition to securing the Democratic nomination, my campaign will work to build the largest possible coalition and secure the biggest possible mandate,” Cuomo said in a statement Tuesday.
“We will be responsive to those who want to support my candidacy, but who would like an alternate way to do it, by starting the Fight and Deliver Party to appeal to disillusioned Democrats, as well as to independents and Republicans.”
Cuomo said that his new party’s name is based on “fighting for and delivering real results for real people, by restoring quality of life and public safety, by building more affordable housing, and by showing that government works.”
Candidates in New York have a long history of running on third-party lines to expand their support and show ideological positions, with Republicans cross-endorsed by the Conservative Party, and progressive Democrats running on the Working Families line. In his 2014 reelection run as governor, Cuomo created the Women’s Equality Party as his secondary line on the ballot. Usually, parties whose names appear as slogans are used in special elections when there is no primary held by the two major parties.
This year’s mayoral election upends this tradition, as minor parties can support candidates who may not win in the June primary.
Last month, incumbent Eric Adams dropped out of the crowded primary, registering to run on his own party label titled Safe Streets, Affordable City.
“Those are the issues that are important to New Yorkers,” Adams said. “They want a safe city. They want an affordable city. And I want them to know that is what I produced for them.”
Depending on the outcome of the June 24 Primary, the general election in November could become a five-person contest with Curtis Sliwa as the presumptive Republican, Adams and Cuomo on their own independent lines, the Democratic nominee, and the Working Families line.
The latter has a placeholder on the ballot, attorney Gowri Krishna, but she can step aside in favor of Zohran Mamdani, the Astoria Assemblyman seeking the Democratic nomination. Having raised the largest amount needed to qualify for the city’s matching funds program, his campaign is expected to increase its visibility across the city.
For now, the Working Families Party has offered its Democratic mayoral primary endorsements to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, City Comptroller Brad Lander, Mamdani, and State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, while urging supporters not to give any rank to Cuomo.
With his past experience as governor, Cuomo leads in the polls and has the best name recognition. But as the Primary is not expected to generate high turnout, candidates are appealing to their most reliable supporters. Last Sunday, Cuomo spoke at a Black church in Brooklyn, seeking to preserve a constituency that previously elected Eric Adams and is now sought by Adrienne Adams and Zellnor Myrie.
This past Shabbos, he spoke at Shaare Zion, a sizable Syrian congregation, where he received an enthusiastic welcome.
“Let New York City set the international standard of a people, of a government, of a society that has zero tolerance for any anti-Semitic act of any kind,” he said. “Let us speak the word loud and proud, and let the power of our example set a new model to follow.”
On the following day, Mamdani briefly stopped by the legislative breakfast of COJO Flatbush, taking photos with some of the participants, a week after being interviewed by Jacob Kornbluh of The Forward. Lest anyone assume that he is moving toward the political center, Mamdani confirmed his view that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
“What led me to make that remark was a fear based on the statements we were seeing from a number of Israeli leaders that characterized Palestinians in language more befitting animals than people, and actions that had been taken to shut down civilian access to basic goods,” he told Kornbluh.
The leaders referenced by Mamdani have little support in Israel or among New York’s Jewish voters. Certainly, the endorsement offered by Ella Emhoff last week does not signify meaningful Jewish support for his candidacy.
The Democratic Primary offers Jewish New Yorkers the chance to speak for themselves, proving that celebrities and social media are not reflective of the community. At the same time, Eric Adams’ and Cuomo’s running on third-party lines in November demonstrates recognition that perhaps the Democratic Party is no longer representative of political moderates, and many voters who left the party are not coming back to participate in the primary.
Other cities look to New York for leadership in municipal governing. As it sets an example with ranked-choice voting, this year will be an election where a third party can have an impact on the results.
By Sergey Kadinsky
