Mamdani ranks first in Working Families Party’s picks for NYC mayor

The Working Families Party endorsed Zohran Mamdani as its top choice in the mayoral primary Friday night, giving his campaign a boost that could spark consolidation among progressive voters and defeat their nemesis, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In hopes of convincing voters to leave Cuomo off their ranked choice ballot, the progressive third party also endorsed four other candidates for the remaining slots. Party members picked Comptroller Brad Lander as their second choice, followed by Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and state Sen. Jessica Ramos.

An Emerson poll released this week shows Mamdani, a democratic socialist, with 23% support, followed by Lander with 11%. Cuomo leads the field with 35%. According to the poll’s ranked-choice tabulation, Cuomo beats Mamdani after 10 rounds, 54% to 46%.

But that calculus could shift if the party’s endorsement prompts more voters to rank Mamdani first.

The endorsement also has implications for the general election. The party has already said it’s prepared to run a candidate on its ballot line in November if Cuomo becomes the Democratic party’s pick for mayor.

Gothamist previously reported on the struggle among progressives over whom to rank first.

Many members of the party are inspired by Mamdani’s fundraising success while campaigning on leftist ideas like free buses, city-run grocery stores and freezing the rent for stabilized tenants. Lander, meanwhile, has cultivated deep ties to the Working Families Party and is seen by some as the more pragmatic choice.

But some on the left were rankled by Lander’s shift to the center on issues like policing. Lander now supports hiring 3,000 more police officers and believes the “defund the police” movement was “a failed political strategy.” Mamdani hasn’t called for hiring more police officers. Instead, he would spend $1 billion to expand non-NYPD staff to address homelessness and mental health issues.

Mamdani’s grassroots support was on display earlier Friday when the Campaign Finance Board announced Speaker Adams qualified for more than $2 million in matching funds. Public records show that she had the best fundraising day of her campaign the day after Mamdani urged his supporters to donate to her and help defeat Cuomo.

In March, the WFP endorsed four candidates – without ranking them – in an effort to get voters to not rank Cuomo at all.

Now, all eyes will turn to the city’s most prominent progressive, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has yet to endorse a candidate for mayor.