In Crushing Blow to Cuomo, Working Families Party Endorses Cynthia Nixon for Governor

In a show of rapidly growing support from progressive activists, WFP votes 91.5% in favor of new leadership for New York’s working families

ALBANY, NY — In a show of massive grassroots power, the Working Families Party voted today to formally back Cynthia Nixon as their candidate for governor of New York. An overwhelming 91.5% of state committee members gathered in Albany voted to endorse Cynthia, a major blow to Governor Cuomo and a rejection of his divisive politics that threaten progressive policies and community groups.

“I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Working Families Party and inspired by the enthusiasm of progressive working-class members of the party,” said Cynthia Nixon. “WFP activists and voters are the heart and soul of our movement to make New York a place that belongs to all of us– a place with great schools for every child, good jobs, health care for all, and an end to mass incarceration. I’ve been a supporter of the WFP for years. It’s the party that I’ve always looked to as the political home for progressives in New York State, and a source of grassroots muscle for the movement.”

With chapters and thousands of active grassroots supporters in all corners of the state, sealing the endorsement of the Working Families Party will help bring a broad base of support to Cynthia’s campaign. After an extended campaign to pressure the party and state committee members to endorse him, on the eve of losing the vote to endorse, Andrew Cuomo withdrew his name from contention, pretending that he never cared about winning the WFP’s support in the first place.  Cuomo’s own words and actions have shown that this is an endorsement he badly wanted to win. He is willing to do absolutely anything to win – except act like a real Democrat.

Following the committee meeting, hundreds of members of the Working Families Party welcomed her to accept the nomination to chants of “Sí se puede,” vowing to work alongside her to knock doors, organize and win the nomination. Showing stark contrast in excitement  and momentum compared to her opponent, Cynthia happily accepted the nomination to a cheering crowd and spoke of her platform to fight economic, racial, and gender inequality all across New York.

The WFP endorsement caps off a week of five consecutive progressive community organization endorsements, including New York Communities for Change (NYCC), Citizen Action of New York, Make the Road Action, and the New York Progressive Action Network (NYPAN), representing 30 chapters across the state. Today’s endorsement echoes growing discontent among the progressive community with centrist policies and backroom dealings in Albany that leave working-class and communities of color out in the cold.

After the Working Families Party endorsed Cuomo four years ago, he went back on his promises, and his policies proved to exacerbate economic inequality and prioritize corporate donors over the needs of everyday New Yorkers. In the last 24 hours, Cuomo threatened the funding of the WFP and of community organizations who won’t endorse him, a hallmark of his political brand. In the coming months, Cynthia will work with the thousands of activists and members of WFP to grow a political movement to become New York’s first woman governor.

This message provided by Cynthia for New York