How opponents on the left are banding together to try to stop Andrew Cuomo in New York City
As high-profile longtime New York Democrats flock to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and high-powered progressives join forces to block his comeback tour, the city's relatively recent adoption of ranked choice voting looms large over the closely watched Democratic mayoral primary.
Unlike more typical primaries, in which the candidate with the most votes wins, ranked choice systems have voters rank multiple candidates (in this case, five) on their ballots. The votes of the lowest-finishing candidates are redistributed to voters' preferred alternatives until one candidate wins a majority.
Cuomo, the far-and-away favorite of the moderates, with years of built-up name recognition, is giving his supporters simple directions: Rank him first. And in a city with a first-past-the-post voting system, his first-choice support might already have closed out the race, even if it doesn't add up to a majority in the public polling.
State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the leading progressive in the race, has made a series of mutual endorsements with other like-minded candidates, directing their supporters to include both on their ballots — such as with city Comptroller Brad Lander, whose high-profile arrest in a federal immigration court in the race's final days has shined new light on his mayoral bid. Both are rallying behind a slogan and strategy made possible by the unique quirk of ranked choice voting: 'Don't rank Cuomo.'
With just days to go before primary day, the complicated crosscurrents are coming together to create a climactic finish in the race to lead America's biggest city — a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party mixed with a redemption tour for a front-runner once seen as a Democratic darling before accusations of sexual harassment forced his resignation as governor.
While Cuomo's comeback tour may have been heading for all-but-certain victory in a plurality-wins primary, ranked choice has injected significant uncertainty into the race and provided an opportunity for the anti-Cuomo forces.
'He's running what probably feels a lot like any other race that's not ranked choice — he's trying to get people to vote for him, and his name ID is a huge value for him,' said Maya Rupert, who managed progressive Maya Wiley's mayoral campaign in 2021, when she secured the third-most votes in the crowded field.
'Mamdani, he has been building and has captured so much attention — I think he's possibly the most perfect test case for why ranked choice voting is so important. You can see a candidate like him capture imaginations,' she said.
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