Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez is facing backlash from fellow Democrats for defying party decorum when he endorsed Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York primary.
Perez threw his support behind Cuomo’s effort to seek a third term during a speech at the New York state Democratic Convention on Thursday, despite previously pledging that the party will remain neutral in primary races.
“I’ve not only admired Andrew Cuomo, I have admired the Cuomo family since my youth. I’ve admired what they stood for and what they fought for since I was a kid,” Perez said while endorsing the incumbent governor.
Top Democrats, including party deputy chairman, Keith Ellison, were infuriated with the move because while Cuomo won 95 percent of the support of state Democrats at the convention over challenger Cynthia Nixon, the race is far from over. New Yorkers still have to head to the polls in September for primary elections, which will ultimately decide the party’s nominee in November’s general election.
“The Democratic Party should not intervene in the primary process,” Ellison said in a statement to Politico. “It is our role to be fair to all contestants and let the voters decide.”
A top advisor for Nixon, L. Joy Williams, also chimed in, tweeting a comparison about the party’s approaches in New York and Georgia.
“This is particularly interesting considering when we asked for help for #StaceyAbrams we were given the ‘we can’t get involved in primaries’ line. I wonder what the bar is and who decides who meets it?” the tweet read. Stacey Abrams handily won the her party’s nomination in the Georgia gubernatorial race earlier this week.
? This is particularly interesting considering when we asked for help for #StaceyAbrams we were given the “we can’t get involved in primaries” line. I wonder what the bar is and who decides who meets it???♀️ https://t.co/QtjBXjesOf
— L. Joy Williams (@ljoywilliams) May 24, 2018
A party spokesman told NBC News that they do not plan to support Cuomo financially, use any DNC resources to support him, or attack any other Democrats running during the primary.
Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York, also endorsed Cuomo for governor.
