Cynthia Nixon wins Working Families Party support against Andrew Cuomo

Joseph Spector and Jon Campbell | USA TODAY Network

Show Caption Hide Caption Video: Cynthia Nixon calls Cuomo a 'bully' Cynthia Nixon, a Democratic candidate for governor, knocked Gov. Andrew Cuomo's policies during a visit to Albany on March 26, 2018.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Saying New Yorkers need a governor "who will stand with the people," Cynthia Nixon won the support of the Working Families Party on Saturday, giving her campaign a boost in its bid to beat incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The endorsement from the small but influential party was expected after Cuomo pulled out of the running late Friday as union leaders split over whom the party should endorse.

With Cuomo out, Nixon picked up 91.5% of the Working Families Party's weighted vote, helping her campaign in the early stages of an uphill fight against the Democratic governor.

"The last eight years under Andrew Cuomo have been an exercise in living with disappointment and dysfunction and dishonesty," Nixon told the party leaders at their meeting in Albany.

"I am running for governor because we need a governor who will stand with the people of New York."

What it means

The endorsement, along with party's backing New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams for lieutenant governor, offers an intriguing dynamic going into the fall.

When the nod becomes official at the party's nominating convention next month, it would give Nixon a critical line on the November ballot if she loses the Democratic primary in September.

The Working Families Party was started 20 years ago as a labor-backed, third-party effort to influence state and local elections, and it has had success in helping candidates in the field with volunteers and union endorsements.

But in 2014, the party started to fracture as some liberal groups grew disenchanted with Cuomo's moderate record and his relationship with Republicans who control the state Senate.

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He narrowly won the party's nod in 2014 over primary challenger Zephyr Teachout, and he faced the prospect of losing to Nixon on Saturday.

The party's executive director, Bill Lipton, accused Cuomo on Friday of trying to stiff arm party loyalists into backing his candidacy, threatening to pressure unions who support him to end funding for certain activist groups.

Cuomo's backers denied he threatened members of the party, and several major unions dropped out of the party on Friday. Cuomo soon followed to say he too would not seek the party's nod.

Cuomo's response

Cuomo campaign spokeswoman Abbey Fashouer on Saturday said Cuomo's "record of progressive accomplishment is unmatched."

She cited his efforts to move New York toward a $15 an hour minimum wage, adopt same-sex marriage, enact paid family leave and achieve a record $27 billion in funding for education.

"The schism between the progressive unions who founded the WFP and some of its member organization is unfortunate," Fashouer said.

"But in that divide the governor stands with the unions who have left the WFP and no longer feel it represents the interests of the middle- and working-class New Yorkers.”

Cuomo has held a large lead against Nixon in recent polls.

Nixon's next steps

The Working Families Party said it was pleased to show independence from Cuomo, the Democratic Party's flagbearer.

The vote was taken by more than 175 members of the party’s state committee.

“Big donors and powerful political insiders have held too much power in Albany for too long," Lipton said in a statement.

"Today, the Working Families Party voted to endorse two visionary candidates who will transform New York into a progressive leader and put the power back into the hands of the people, not just a wealthy few."

Nixon, the Sex and the City star, declined to commit to run her campaign through November should she lose the Democratic primary.

If she runs through November, it could lead to a split vote among left-leaning voters that could benefit Republicans.

“I will win the Democratic primary,” Nixon told reporters after the vote.

“If by some fluke I do not, then I will confer with the Working Families Party, and we will sit down together, and we will hash it out."