Working Families Party Nominates New York Gov. Cuomo for Re-Election; Endorsement Follows Divisive Battle Over Party's Nominee
ALBANY, N.Y.--In a raucous and divisive 11th-hour decision, the left-leaning Working Families Party late Saturday voted to nominate Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo for re-election despite a swell of discontent among many party members with the governor's record during his first term in office.</br></br>At a day-long convention laced with suspense, the WFP, composed of labor unions and liberal activists, nominated Mr. Cuomo with 59% of the vote after an intense ideological and tactical struggle within the state's leading left-wing faction.</br></br>Mr. Cuomo's nomination came at the conclusion of nearly three hours of vigorous debate that at times included chanting, stomping and references to everyone from the rapper Drake to country singer Kenny Rogers.</br></br>The New York governor's appearance at the party's convention, albeit via video and phone, and his pledge to return Democrats in the state Senate to power, were conditions of WFP leaders before they would deliver the nod to him, according to a person familiar with the matter.</br></br>"Let's unify around this simple goal: taking back the Senate," Mr. Cuomo said in a video.