WFP declines to nominate Hochul or Delgado for governor

The New York Working Families Party on Saturday opted to go with placeholders in the races for governor and state comptroller, rather than choose one of the actual candidates running. The move comes as a blow to Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who had already gained the support of many organizations that make up the WFP’s advisory council, and to longtime state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who faces his first primary challenge ever.

On the governor front, the WFP committee had a choice between incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, Delgado and a placeholder candidate who can give up the line after the Democratic primary. Many speakers before the vote voiced their support for Delgado, while a number of speakers also voiced their support for the placeholder. No people spoke up for the governor other than the two required people to nominate her and second the nomination.

Delgado has run as a progressive and has already picked up the endorsement of left-wing groups including Citizen Action of New York, New York Communities for Change and Caring Majority Rising, each of which make up part of the WFP’s Regional Advisory Council, or “RAC.”

Typically, support from organizations in the RAC can offer an early indication of how the WFP may ultimately endorse in a race. But for statewide elections, the decision comes down only to elected state committee members, with the advisory organizations holding no formal power in the endorsement process. 

New York WFP Co-executive Director Jasmine Gripper said that voting members recognized the need to support down-ballot races and the importance of growing the organization after the successes of the 2025 election cycle. “There's never any perfect option sometimes when you're in an election,” she told City & State. “And in this moment, the party opted not to support Kathy Hochul, nor Antonio Delgado.”

Co-executive Director Ana Maria Archila said convention attendees and voting members had “a truly spirited debate” around the endorsement decision and the role of the WFP. “There's lots of support for Antonio Delgado, whose campaign is lifting up many of our issues,” Archila told City & State. “And there was also a real urging to focus our effort on advancing an agenda and using the leverage we have as a party to force Albany to actually make meaningful change in people's lives this year and in the next four years.”

A person present for the vote told City & State that Delgado won 41% of the weighted state committee vote and the placeholder candidate won 56% of the vote, leaving Hochul with the support of only 3% of WFP state committee members. Absent the placeholder, she likely would have lost the nomination to Delgado. Gripper and Archila disputed those numbers, but declined to share the officially recorded vote totals.

People with knowledge of the party discussions told City & State that internally, a placeholder was considered the most viable option rather than risking the wrath of a powerful incumbent once again by endorsing their opponent. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo feuded with the left-wing party often and attempted on more than one occasion to destroy it.

Three people familiar with the matter said that Hochul has played hardball with the WFP, putting pressure on the party over the endorsement after she took action to help or appease members and affiliates in part to keep the party from backing her opponent. Late last year, the governor quietly signed into law a measure that would prevent conservatives from hijacking the WFP’s ballot line, an issue that had become increasingly frequent the past few years. Hochul also announced recently a new proposal to ban cooperation agreements between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials – a top priority of the WFP and affiliated groups.

Gripper cited conversations between the governor and WFP members and affiliates as a key driver behind Hochul’s recent immigration announcement. She denied the governor explicitly or implicitly threatened party officials over the endorsement. “Not threatening – in fact, it was an attempt to meet the moment,” Gripper said. Archila also added that Hochul “actively sought” to establish a relationship with the WFP following the successes of 2025. “At no point was there any effort by the governor to force or threaten the party like Andrew Cuomo used to do,” she said.

The WFP also voted to nominate a placeholder candidate in the race for state comptroller, snubbing DiNapoli, who has held the position with WFP support for nearly two decades. He faces three opponents in his first-ever primary challenge: housing nonprofit executive Drew Warshaw, former Kansas state legislator and tech entrepreneur Raj Goyle and two-time congressional candidate Adem Bunkeddeko. None of them received the progressive third party’s backing.

Gripper and Archila said the decision was meant to provide party leaders more time to interview and vet comptroller candidates after focusing more on the race for governor. They said they plan to make a formal endorsement before the Democratic primary, as early as March.

Warshaw said WFP's decision not to nominate DiNapoli for reelection again sends a message. “For the first time in a generation, New Yorkers finally have a choice for the most powerful position most have never heard of,” he said in a statement to City & State. “Out of the bunker, into the streets, and on to the polls - we no longer have to settle because we finally have a choice.” 

Goyle praised the WFP’s values following the convention. “The Working Families Party is driven by values. Taxing the wealthy, abolishing (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and guaranteeing dignity for working families are moral imperatives,” he said in a statement. “It’s time the comptrollers office stand for ethical and vibrant leadership 

A spokesperson for DiNapoli, reached after publication, and a spokesperson for Bunkeddeko did not have any immediate comment on the results of the vote.

The WFP has a history of nominating placeholders rather than backing actual candidates in key Democratic primaries. Until 2021, third parties had little avenue to remove someone from their ballot line if they lost a major party primary and hoped to avoid being a spoiler in the general election.

As a result, the WFP would often vote to back a lawyer to hold the spot of a statewide position, since a lawyer could later run for a judgeship, which would disqualify them from the ballot. Following the Democratic primary, WFP officials would then nominate the placeholder to a judicial race instead, which the placeholder was almost guaranteed to lose, vacating the statewide ballot line to make room for the actual Democratic primary winner. 

A change to the law in 2021 created a new, less convoluted avenue for third parties that in theory should have eliminated any need for placeholders. Now, a third-party designee can decline the ballot line during a short window if they lose a major party primary. Delgado has said he would have done this if the WFP had voted to provide him its line and he had then lost the Democratic primary. Now, the placeholder can do the same, allowing the party to ultimately back whoever wins in June without taking a side now.