For weeks, left-leaning New York City Democrats have openly debated whether to launch a third-party bid in the race for a rare Open House seat in the heart of the City. New York or not.
But on Tuesday, they decided to pass, as Yuh-Line Niou, a state congresswoman. who came in second after Daniel S. Goldman during the Democratic primary in August, announced that she would not seek a rematch using the Labor Family Party ballot in November.
“We are making preliminary concessions and I will not stand on the WFP line for the general,” said Ms Niou, 39, referring to the Labor Family Party, in a seven-minute video she posted to Twitter. around 9pm.
“We simply don’t have the resources to fight all the wars at once, and we have to defend our democracy now,” Niou added.
The decision brings grief not only to Mr. Goldman, a former assistant US attorney who filed the first impeachment case against President Donald J. Trump, but also to a number of congressmen. Democrats, who fear a fight between the left and more of the center will divert resources from more important races to maintain control of Congress.
Mr. Goldman, 46, is now fully assured of a win in November; Republican candidate, Benine Hamdan, is said to have little chance in the Democratic-heavy area.
Progressive activists, who have enthusiastically waged a war to block that path, will inevitably be disappointed in the outcome. They believed Mr. Goldman was too moderate and accused him of buying one of the city’s most liberal boroughs, which connect Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, by pouring nearly $5 million of his fortune into it. race. With the primary field of 13 people shrunk to just two, they think Ms. Niou has a better chance.
But other allies have flatly advised Ms Niou that she cannot win a rematch because of Mr Goldman’s personal fortunes, a compressed timeline and institutional support that is gathering around him. in New York and Washington. Ms. Niou and the Labor Family Party, which had been prepared to share the ballot with her in November, reluctantly came to terms.
Despite being its own fully-fledged political party, the WFP is often a force in Democratic primaries, acting to push candidates to the left. Only rarely does it favor a Democrat challenger in a general election. It has never done so in a congressional race.
Sochie Nnaemeka, the party’s director in New York, said in a statement: “We have always been sober about the structural hurdles we face when running for fundamental candidates against the power of the bloc. huge property.
Nnaemeka added that the party would focus on defeating Republicans, and urged Goldman to “take note of the progressive views shared by candidates who received a majority.”
Prominent New York City Democratic Party officials in recent days have worked to confront Ms. Niou by uniting around Mr. Goldman, making a viable electoral path even more difficult. more difficult.
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Among them are old opponents, including former mayor Bill de Blasio, who considers third-party bids to be electorally unfeasible, and Elizabeth Holtzman, a former independent-minded congresswoman. , who during his campaign for a congressional seat urged voters to elect a woman.
“I do not plan to support any of the Labor Family candidates against the Democratic candidate,” Ms Holtzman said ahead of Ms Niou’s decision.
Mr. Goldman also has significant backing from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leader of the House Democrats, who has endorsed him publicly and worked behind the scenes to encourage labor unions to publicly endorse. he, according to two people familiar with the outreach. Ms. Pelosi backed another challenger, Representative Mondaire Jones, whom Mr. Goldman defeated in the August primaries.
On August 23, Associated Press declare Mr. Goldman, the winner of the 13-way Democratic nomination. But because there were so many candidates — including one incumbent, one former congressman and two state lawmakers — Goldman won with just 25.8 percent of the vote. Ms. Niou collected 23.8 percent. The New York City Board of Elections is getting ready to certify the final vote counting results next week.
Ms Niou’s supporters believe a large number of like-minded candidates split the progressive vote in the primaries, allowing Mr Goldman to win and with a smaller number of candidates. very much, Mrs. Niou will reinforce that progressive support. WFP officials conducted a poll in recent days to test her suffrage, but kept the results private.
Her supporters argue that Mr Goldman’s more dovish stance on issues like abortion and universal health care, coupled with Democrats’ distaste for his spending $5 million. his own money for the race, will unite the leftist Democrats against him.
But to win, Ms Niou will have to convince voters that the relatively narrow policy differences between her and Mr Goldman are worth beating a well-funded candidate who won the election. Democratic primaries fairly.
Many of her allies believe that she cannot overcome those barriers and have told Ms. Niou outright in calls in recent days.
