Mamdani and Blake Will Cross-Endorse in N.Y.C. Mayor’s Race

Zohran Mamdani will enter into a second cross-endorsement agreement in the New York City mayor’s race, a sign that the left may be coalescing behind him as its best hope of toppling the current front-runner, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and a democratic socialist, and Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman who also served as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, will formally announce their cross-endorsement on Monday.

The strategic move comes three days after Mr. Mamdani announced a cross-endorsement with Brad Lander, the city comptroller, with each pledging to encourage their supporters to vote for the other as the No. 2 choice under the city’s relatively new ranked-choice voting system.

Mr. Mamdani said in a statement that he was honored to receive support from Mr. Blake, whose attacks on Mr. Cuomo in the race’s first debate earlier this month drew attention.

“Michael Blake is someone who leads with his values, has relentlessly exposed Andrew Cuomo’s true record of deceit and incompetence, and I am proud to rank him on my ballot,” Mr. Mamdani said.

There could be additional cross-endorsements ahead of the June 24 Democratic primary. But with the early-voting period having begun on Saturday, tens of thousands of ballots have already been cast.

The ranked-choice voting system allows voters to list up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, ranked-choice tabulations will begin. When voters’ top choices are eliminated, their support will get transferred to candidates who are lower on their ballots.

Mr. Cuomo has led in the polls, and many of the other candidates targeted him at the two debates. Mr. Blake has not qualified for public matching funds and did not qualify for the second debate.

One of Mr. Blake’s main campaign ideas is eliminating credit scores for rent and homeownership applications. He has also highlighted his role 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.

“As a fellow son of immigrants, I am proud to be endorsed by Zohran Mamdani and cross endorse Zohran because together we’re both fighting for an affordable New York that we deserve,” Mr. Blake said.

He added: “We are both organizers at heart, rooted in the belief that politics must serve the people, not the powerful.”

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.

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 Mayor Eric Adams, who went on to become mayor.