LGBTQ Democratic clubs are endorsing candidates in the upcoming June primary competitions for citywide and local competitions, including the pivotal race for New York City mayor.
Most recently, the citywide Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City announced a slate of endorsements for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and district attorney. The club, which already rolled out a list of City Council endorsements earlier in the month, ranked City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams number one in the race for mayor, followed by Comptroller Brad Lander in second place and Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in third place.
The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, another citywide club, endorsed four candidates for mayor — Speaker Adams, Lander, Mamdani, and Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos — but did not rank them. Instead, the club will consider ranking candidates at a later date.
Meanwhile, the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn took to social media to announce the club’s endorsement of three candidates for mayor: Lander, Mamdani, and Brooklyn Assemblymember Zellnor Myrie.
Notably, none of those clubs endorsed the candidate with the strongest polling — former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who led the way with 45% of the vote in an April poll conducted by Honan Strategy Group. That same poll found Mamdani pulling in 22% of the vote, good enough for second place. Mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent candidate in his re-election bid.
Adams and Cuomo were no-shows at a March 27 LGBTQ mayoral forum jointly hosted by the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, NYC Pride and Power, and Equality New York.
In announcing the endorsements, Stonewall’s president, Gabriel Lewenstein, described Speaker Adams as a “principled fighter” and a “powerful force for improving life for all New Yorkers.”
“As speaker, she has been a staunch ally of the LGBTQ community — using her role to defend LGBTQ people from attack, while passing impactful legislation to advance our rights,” Lewenstein said. “Adrienne Adams is exactly what New York City needs right now: a leader who is tenacious and smart, possesses a deep understanding of the challenges in our city, and has bold plans to fix them. We are confident that, as mayor, Adrienne Adams will make New Yorkers proud.”
The club also offered praise for their #2 and #3 picks, describing Lander as a “battle-tested leader who has been unwavering in his support for the LGBTQ community” and Mamdani as “a powerful and steadfast ally for LGBTQ rights.”
Allen Roskoff, the president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, framed the election as an opportunity to combat the agenda of President Donald Trump and voiced strong criticism of Cuomo.
“These are dire times that require all New Yorkers to pay attention and fight back against the autocracy in the White House,” Roskoff said. “We can do that by electing local leaders who will be part of the resistance and willing to fight back. We encourage New Yorkers to rank all of our endorsees and absolutely not rank Andrew Cuomo. The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club has always been a proud voice for progressive values. We need a principled fighter in Gracie Mansion, not a disgraced former governor who resigned in shame, abused his office, faced serious accusations of corruption, and created a sexually hostile work environment.”
In other races, Stonewall and Jim Owles endorsed many of the same candidates, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams in his re-election bid and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine in his quest to become comptroller. For borough president, the clubs endorsed the re-election bids of three incumbents — Vanessa Gibson of the Bronx, Antonio Reynoso of Brooklyn, and Donovan Richards of Queens — while also backing out gay State Senator Brad Hoylman for the open seat of Manhattan borough president.
Jim Owles and Stonewall also both backed District Attorneys Eric Gonzalez of Brooklyn and Alvin Bragg of Manhattan. Like Stonewall, Jim Owles also announced endorsements in City Council races across the city.
In Brooklyn, the Lambda Independent Democrats also backed Williams’ re-election for public advocate and Reynoso for borough president, but the club went in a different direction than some of the others in the race for comptroller, endorsing Brooklyn Councilmember Justin Brannan.
To read completed candidate questionnaires, visit the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club’s website or the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City’s website. The Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn also posted a handful of completed questionnaires for candidates in some races.
Early voting for the primary election begins on June 14 and concludes on June 22. Election day is June 24, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
