Zohran Mamdani entered into a second cross-endorsement agreement in the New York City mayor’s race on Monday, a sign that the left may be coalescing behind him as its best hope of toppling former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who leads in most polls of the race.
Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and a democratic socialist who is polling in second place, and Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman who also served as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, announced their cross-endorsement at a restaurant in the Bronx, where Mr. Blake is well-known.
Mr. Mamdani praised Mr. Blake’s focus on affordability and his performance during the primary’s first debate, and encouraged his supporters to list him on their ballots. Under the city’s relatively new ranked-choice voting system, voters in the Democratic primary for mayor will be able to list up to five candidates, in order of preference.
Mr. Mamdani said that he and Mr. Blake were united in their goal of stopping Mr. Cuomo.
“For all of the many moments we’ve shared across this campaign, the one that I hold dearest is when I got to stand next to him on that debate stage, where he systematically deconstructed the mythology of Andrew Cuomo,” Mr. Mamdani said.
The strategic move comes three days after Mr. Mamdani announced a cross-endorsement with Brad Lander, the city comptroller, with each asking their supporters to list the other as their second choices.
There could be additional cross-endorsements ahead of Primary Day, which is next Tuesday, June 24. But early voting is already underway, and tens of thousands of ballots have already been cast.
Ranked-choice tabulations begin if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes. During that process, when voters’ top choices are eliminated, their support gets transferred to candidates who are lower on their ballots.
Mr. Cuomo, for his part, held a “get out the vote” rally in Manhattan on Monday with the powerful Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, where he repeated his argument that his party had lost its way and highlighted his approval of a $15 minimum wage as governor.
“Government is not about yapping,” he said. “It’s about doing something. It’s about achieving results.”
The cross-endorsement between Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Lander was the first under the new voting system, and perhaps the most potent: They are running second and third in the polls behind Mr. Cuomo. Another candidate, Jessica Ramos, a state senator, endorsed Mr. Cuomo; he did not endorse her in return. (Ms. Ramos and Mr. Blake are polling at or near the bottom of the crowded primary field.)
In the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary, Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate, endorsed Kathryn Garcia, the city’s sanitation commissioner, helping boost her to within 8,000 votes of Eric Adams, who went on to become mayor.
Other candidates in this year’s primary, including Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker, and Scott Stringer, a former city comptroller, have not entered any formal cross-endorsement agreements.
Mr. Mamdani deflected a question on Monday about why he had not reached a deal with Ms. Adams, saying that he had encouraged his supporters to rank her on their ballots, along with the rest of the slate endorsed by the Working Families Party, and that he had urged his supporters to donate to her campaign.
Mr. Lander held a news conference on Monday outside a nursing home in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, where he received an endorsement from Peter and Daniel Arbeeny. The men are brothers whose father died of Covid-19 in April 2020, shortly after having spent time in a nursing home in New York, and they have been vocal critics of Mr. Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic as governor.
On Monday, Mr. Lander and Mr. Cuomo both highlighted an opinion piece by The New York Times editorial board that urged voters to leave Mr. Mamdani off their ballots, with each candidate making a case for why it supported his own candidacy. But Mr. Lander defended Mr. Mamdani and credited him for running a “historic grass-roots campaign.”
Mr. Mamdani told reporters that the members of the editorial board had “a right to their opinion,” but he said his populist proposals were achievable and it was voters who would decide the race.
Though his attacks on Mr. Cuomo during the first debate of the race earlier this month drew attention, Mr. Blake has not qualified for public matching funds and did not make the cut for the second debate, which was held last week.
He has campaigned on a proposal to eliminate credit scores for rent and homeownership applications and has highlighted his work at the White House during the Obama administration.
Mr. Blake, who is the son of Jamaican immigrants, said he shared much in common with Mr. Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent. He asked his supporters to rank Mr. Mamdani second.
“Zohran and I are listening to what our voters are saying over and over again: affordability is our top issue,” Mr. Blake said.
Jeffery C. Mays contributed reporting.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
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