González-Rojas considering run for Ramos’ seat

Now that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has lost the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, the knives are coming out for one of his most prominent progressive endorsers: fellow mayoral candidate and Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos. 

Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, whose Assembly District 34 overlaps with Ramos’ Senate district, is now being actively recruited to challenge Ramos next year, three people familiar with the conversations told City & State. 

González-Rojas, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America but is not currently endorsed by the group, is currently raising money for reelection to the Assembly, though she could pivot and announce a run for Ramos’ seat as soon as August, one of the sources said. González-Rojas declined to comment when asked about the possibility of running for Ramos’ seat.

Assembly Member Catalina Cruz’s district also overlaps with Ramos’ Senate district, but Cruz is not interested in running for Senate and would likely support González-Rojas’ run, a person familiar with her thinking said.

Ramos spent much of her mayoral campaign harshly criticizing Cuomo and was part of the anti-Cuomo slate known as “Don’t Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor” until she stunned her supporters by endorsing Cuomo on June 6. Progressive organizations that were backing Ramos’ mayoral campaign quickly rescinded their endorsements of her campaign. For her part, Gonzalez-Rojas had only one word to describe Ramos’ move: “Disappointing.”

Had the former governor won the Democratic primary for mayor, Ramos might have had a much clearer path to vindication and wound up with a job as a commissioner in City Hall. (Cuomo is reportedly on the fence about running as an independent in November.) Instead, it appears she likely torched her reputation among anti-Cuomo progressives for nothing.

If she ran against Ramos, González-Rojas would likely be the favorite in the race. Despite Ramos’ endorsement of Cuomo, her Senate district voted for mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (whose own Assembly district is close by) over Cuomo, 51% to 35% in the first round of ranked choice voting. González-Rojas endorsed Mamdani and city Comptroller Brad Lander in the primary. If she runs for state Senate in 2026, she can probably count on an endorsement from Mamdani, who may not be so high on Ramos after she supported Cuomo.

Ramos, who has alienated many of her onetime allies, may determine it’s not even worth running for reelection next year. For now, she is still fundraising for her reelection and looking ahead to the July 15 filing deadline, a Ramos staffer said. The staffer also pointed to her long record of progressive accomplishments, including 167 bills passed and strong support for the undocumented immigrant community in her majority-Latino district. Ramos may also be able to count on some support from organized labor since she currently serves as chair of the Senate Labor Committee, though few labor endorsements materialized for her failed mayoral campaign.

But people close to González-Rojas and Cruz are confident that Ramos can be defeated.

“If Jessica González-Rojas is to run, I can bet you that the entire community will get behind her,” the person familiar with Cruz’s thinking told City & State. “Many of us know that there is a Good Jessica and a Bad Jessica, and we know which one we want representing us in the Senate.”