Latest news with #WorkingFamiliesParty
Politico
29 minutes ago
- Politics
- Politico
Democrats prefer Adrienne Adams to Cuomo in general election, new poll shows
NEW YORK — Democratic primary voters would pick Adrienne Adams over Andrew Cuomo in a general election if she were to run on the left-flank Working Families Party ballot line, polling obtained by POLITICO reveals. A survey of likely Democratic primary voters conducted last month found them choosing the relatively low-profile New York City Council speaker over the former governor 41 percent to 34 percent. Primary frontrunner Cuomo would beat state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani — who is polling second in the primary — 46-35. And Cuomo would also defeat city Comptroller Brad Lander 41-38, the poll found. The Working Families Party tapped polling firm Upswing Research & Strategy to conduct the survey to inform its endorsement process. The poll questioned 600 likely Democratic primary voters about the June 24 contest before dividing the group into three equally sized subgroups and asking about the November general election. Each subgroup of 200 voters was surveyed about one of the three head-to-head matchups, according to Ana María Archila, co-director of the third party's New York chapter. Even after the poll projected Adams defeating Cuomo in the general election, the party on Friday night picked Mamdani as its first choice on a five-person slate it's backing to defeat the former governor, its longtime nemesis, in the primary. It ranked Lander second, Adams third, and state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos fourth and fifth. The city's ranked-choice voting system allows New Yorkers to pick up to five candidates in order of preference. State Attorney General Letitia James, Adams' most prominent endorser, was among those briefed on the poll. 'Everyone has to think about what is in the best interest of this city and not in their own best interest. In a one-to-one match up against scandals and toxic masculinity, Adrienne Adams is the only choice,' James replied when asked for comment Sunday. 'We cannot go back. Progress requires looking forward.' Like the WFP, James has a bitter relationship with the mayoral frontrunner, whose gubernatorial career she helped end with a report substantiating accusations he sexually harassed staffers. Cuomo denies the charges. Archila cautioned against drawing conclusions from the general election question, given its small sample size and its omission of Republican and independent voters. The party would consider running its own candidate in November if Cuomo wins the Democratic primary in three weeks, but Archila said she's only focused on the upcoming contest. To that end, the WFP's poll showed its unranked endorsement of Adams, Lander, Mamdani and Myrie — announced in late March — failed to alter Cuomo's primary lead. 'The WFP endorsement does little to change the first-choice vote share,' reads one of the slides reviewed by POLITICO. But once the party ranks its preferred candidates, its influence grows. The poll found that around half of the 600 potential voters surveyed would be likely to rank the party's first choice as their top pick, according to a presentation viewed by POLITICO. With that in mind, the WFP announced its choices Friday and rallied over the weekend with Mamdani, who had the highest favorability of the WFP's slate in the poll. 'Zohran is the one that has the most momentum, the most enthusiasm and the capacity to communicate with voters all across the city at doors, via social media and on the phones,' Archila said in an interview. 'We are confident that he will continue, in partnership with other candidates on the slate, to build the momentum to defeat Cuomo.' None of the party's ranked candidates have formally backed each other, despite the benefits of cross endorsements. In 2021, mayoral candidate Andrew Yang's 11th-hour support of Kathryn Garcia helped her secure second place behind Eric Adams. The WFP poll also found Adrienne Adams and Mamdani have a lot of influence over their backers: at least 70 percent of their supporters would rank someone else if they urged them to. Archila says this illustrates the power of ranked-choice voting and should persuade the party's slate of candidates to work in concert to deny Cuomo the Democratic nomination. The survey also found WFP candidates do best with voters who are white, self-described liberals living in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Yet the party's endorsement would move the needle most with Black Democratic primary voters and those in the Bronx, the poll found. POLITICO obtained a portion of the poll and was then briefed by the WFP on other parts of the survey, though Archila declined to release it in full. Adrienne Adams' team declined to comment on the findings. Mamdani maxed out early with fundraising and recently cut a video urging his supporters to donate to the Council speaker ahead of a critical fundraising deadline. She got into the race relatively late and had been scrambling for cash. On Friday, the Campaign Finance Board awarded her $2 million in public matching funds — essential to paying for ads, which she is expected to air soon.
Politico
29 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Politico
New York mayoral candidate takes plunge, dropping $2M into catchy roller coaster ad
NEW YORK — Brad Lander rides Coney Island's famed Cyclone roller coaster while calmly taking notes on a legal pad in the second television ad of his mayoral campaign, pitching himself as a steady choice and hoping to improve his third-place standing three weeks before the election. The campaign is dropping $2 million on the 30-second ad, which will air on broadcast and cable channels and streaming services from Tuesday through the June 24 primary, Lander campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said. It opens by taking a shot at the front-runner in the Democratic primary, Andrew Cuomo, as well as the sitting mayor. 'New York City feels like a lot lately. It's been a wild ride,' a narrator says over footage of people riding the iconic wooden coaster. 'But it won't change if we just swap Eric Adams for corrupt Andrew Cuomo.' The ad touts Lander's record as New York City comptroller, saying he's fought corruption, built affordable housing and taken on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk for clawing back $80 million in migrant funding from the city. The ad also shows Lander's goofy side, as the 'dad-joke'-loving Democrat bounces back and forth in the coaster while calmly munching on a hot dog. Lander's new ride may draw derision from rivals. His first ad showed him riding in a construction truck, leading Cuomo's team to call him 'Junkyard Brad' and compare him to children's character 'Bob the Builder.' Coney Island is a popular location for candidates this year — comptroller hopeful Justin Brannan, who represents the neighborhood in the City Council, also recorded an ad with the Cyclone. And in 2021, mayoral candidate Andrew Yang made a splash with his own Cyclone ad. With three weeks until the primary, Lander is seeking to climb in the polls and find the momentum he needs to turn around his chances. The Working Families Party gave Zohran Mamdani its number-one ranked endorsement on Friday, despite its long and close relationship with Lander. Its leaders instead encouraged supporters to pick Lander second. Mamdani, a democratic socialist lawmaker, consistently outperforms Lander in polls. Lander's new advertisement doesn't mention Mamdani, but the message emphasizing his experience and steadiness appear designed to present a contrast with the 33-year old legislator, whose limited experience has become a vulnerability on the campaign trail. The $2 million ad spend will eat up most of the $2.8 million balance Lander's campaign reported late last month. His team has already reported spending $4.7 million — more than any of his opponents in the race. As a result, he's entering the final month with significantly less to spend than Cuomo and Mamdani.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Socialist Zohran Mamdani boasts WFP endorsement in NYC mayor's race: ‘We are right where we want to be'
Socialist Zohran Mamdani boasted Saturday he's the lefty candidate who'll beat ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in next month's Democratic mayoral primary — while taking a victory lap for scoring a key endorsement from the Working Families Party. 'We are right where we want to be,' crowed the Queens assemblyman during a Brooklyn rally surrounded by WFP supporters. 'We are clipping at his heels, and we are going to beat him on June 24,' added Mamdani in a reference to the upcoming Democratic primary. Mamdani is polling second, behind only Cuomo, in the highly contested race. 'We're going to do so because we've built the most competent campaign in this cycle.' The Working Families Party, which will have its own line in November's general election, announced Friday Mamdani is their top choice heading into the Democratic primary. The far-left party — which is pushing a slate of candidates in the Democratic primary in hopes of defeating Cuomo through the city's rank-choice voting system — tapped City Comptroller Brad Lander as its second choice, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams third and state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos fourth and fifth, respectively. Primary voters can pick up to five candidates in ranked order for the race. Mamdani is the huge favorite to get the WFP line in November, assuming he or Cuomo wins the Democratic primary. Mamdani told supporters to follow the WFP's guidance and rank the other preferred candidates in the order selected by party honchos, urging them: 'Remember not to rank Andrew Cuomo.' 'Over the next 24 days, we will make it clear to New Yorkers that we are going to win the city that they deserve and that we are finally going to send Andrew Cuomo back to the suburbs,' he added. A PIX 11/ Emerson College poll released Wednesday had Mamdani holding his own with Cuomo for 10 rounds of ranked-choice voting before being eliminated with a nine-point spread, 54.4% to 45.6%. With less than a month to the primary, only a small fraction of voters appear to be up for grabs, with 3.5% of voters still undecided, according to the survey conducted May 23 to May 26. 'These are serious times and [New Yorkers] know Andrew Cuomo is the only candidate in this race with the management experience and record of results to fix what's broken and put the city back on the right track,' said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.
New York Post
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Socialist Zohran Mamdani boasts WFP endorsement in NYC mayor's race: ‘We are right where we want to be'
Socialist Zohran Mamdani boasted Saturday he's the lefty candidate who'll beat ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in next month's Democratic mayoral primary — while taking a victory lap for scoring a key endorsement from the Working Families Party. 'We are right where we want to be,' crowed the Queens assemblyman during a Brooklyn rally surrounded by WFP supporters. 'We are clipping at his heels, and we are going to beat him on June 24,' added Mamdani in a reference to the upcoming Democratic primary. Mamdani is polling second, behind only Cuomo, in the highly contested race. 'We're going to do so because we've built the most competent campaign in this cycle.' The Working Families Party, which will have its own line in November's general election, announced Friday Mamdani is their top choice heading into the Democratic primary. Socialist Zohran Mamdani boasted Saturday he's the lefty candidate who'll beat ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in next month's Democratic mayoral primary — while taking a victory lap for scoring a key endorsement from the Working Families Party. Michael Nigro for NY Post The far-left party — which is pushing a slate of candidates in the Democratic primary in hopes of defeating Cuomo through the city's rank-choice voting system — tapped City Comptroller Brad Lander as its second choice, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams third and state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos fourth and fifth, respectively. Primary voters can pick up to five candidates in ranked order for the race. Mamdani is the huge favorite to get the WFP line in November, assuming he or Cuomo wins the Democratic primary. Mamdani told supporters to follow the WFP's guidance and rank the other preferred candidates in the order selected by party honchos, urging them: 'Remember not to rank Andrew Cuomo.' Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is still the favorite to win next month's NYC Democrat mayoral primary. Andrew Schwartz / 'Over the next 24 days, we will make it clear to New Yorkers that we are going to win the city that they deserve and that we are finally going to send Andrew Cuomo back to the suburbs,' he added. A PIX 11/ Emerson College poll released Wednesday had Mamdani holding his own with Cuomo for 10 rounds of ranked-choice voting before being eliminated with a nine-point spread, 54.4% to 45.6%. With less than a month to the primary, only a small fraction of voters appear to be up for grabs, with 3.5% of voters still undecided, according to the survey conducted May 23 to May 26. 'These are serious times and [New Yorkers] know Andrew Cuomo is the only candidate in this race with the management experience and record of results to fix what's broken and put the city back on the right track,' said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.
Politico
2 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Working Families Party picks Mamdani first in ranked-choice endorsements for NYC mayor
NEW YORK — The Working Families Party ranked state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in the top slot for its mayoral primary slate Friday night, following hours of closed-door deliberations. The progressive organization picked City Comptroller Brad Lander second, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams third and state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos fourth and fifth in the hopes of defeating frontrunner Andrew Cuomo. 'The polls and fundraising numbers tell a clear story about who is best poised to defeat Cuomo — that candidate is Zohran,' New York WFP co-directors Ana María Archila and Jasmine Gripper said in a statement. The party endorsed four candidates in late March, but did not rank them. The idea at the time was to eventually coalesce behind the person best poised to beat the former governor. That pronouncement led to speculation before Friday's endorsement vote whether the party would only anoint one person or go with a ranked slate. Democratic voters can pick up to five candidates in ranked order ahead of the June 24 primary. While Mamdani has been polling second to Cuomo — with an Emerson College survey this week placing him within 9 points of the former governor in the final round — Lander has a long history with the organization. He has been a longtime WFP member and was aligned with the group on legislation he pursued during his time in the Council. With the progressive standard bearer's position solidified, eyes are now turning to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who carries significant heft in New York City Democratic primaries and has yet to endorse with under four weeks until voters head to the polls. 'The Working Families Party has fought for a more affordable New York for decades and I am honored to lead their slate as their first choice for mayor,' Mamdani said in a statement. Lander's camp, meanwhile, expressed gratitude for the second-place nod. 'This is now a clear three-person race, and Brad is the only candidate with the bod progressive vision, the record and chops to actually get it done,' spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement.
