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Working Families Party Withdraws Nixon Ballot Line, Backs Incumbent Gov. Cuomo

Good news for Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Cynthia Nixon, booted off the Working Families Party ballot line, for now.

Cynthia Nixon, booted off the Working Families Party ballot line, for now.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Potentially bad news for the future of the Working Families Party.

The WFP nominated Cuomo of New Castle for re-election on Wednesday night after he defeated the third party's endorsed candidate, actor Cynthia Nixon, in the Sept. 13 primary.

But the last-minute maneuver puts the party, founded as an alliance between leftwing activists and some unions, at risk: It needs 50,000 votes on Nov. 6 to retain its line on New York state ballots for the next four years.

The party voted to place Cuomo and his running mate, Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, on the WFP ballot line with 63 percent of its members in favor and 37 percent against the change.

In order to open the ballot line for Cuomo and Hochul, the party filed papers with the state Board of Elections to have Nixon run on its ballot line for state Assembly in Greenwich Village’s 66th District against incumbent Democratic Assemblywoman Deborah Glick.

The maneuver legally removed Nixon's name from the third-party ballot line for governor. 

Click here to read an earlier Daily Voice article about the potential third-party impact on next month's general election.

Some WFP members didn’t hide their disdain for Cuomo: “A snake that sheds its skin is still a snake,” Russ Byor, who is from the Hudson Valley, told The New York Post.

The Working Families Party needs Cuomo to accept the nomination by Friday, Oct. 5, the legal deadline to remove Nixon from its ballot line. If Cuomo doesn’t accept, the party can keep Nixon -- best known for her role on HBO's "Sex And The City" -- as its candidate for governor.

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