West Village Pols Back Goldman Amid Possible Niou Third-Party Run

WEST VILLAGE, NY — West Village elected officials are backing Dan Goldman in the race for the District 10 Congressional seat amid loud murmurings of a possible third-party run by apparent second place Democratic primary finisher Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou.

Goldman, the first time candidate and head prosecutor during former President Donald Trump's first impeachment hearing, was declared the winner of last week's Democratic primary — narrowly beating Niou by around two percentage points.

However, in the days since, there has been speculation that Niou will run against Goldman in the November general election on the Working Families Party ticket.

Niou has not officially made a declaration on the matter, but in a statement to the Washington Post last week, she said — "I'm currently speaking with WFP and my community about how we can best represent the needs of the district. Because what we can do together is too important to give up this fight, we must count every vote. I'm so grateful for the outpouring of support and all of the people who showed up and turned out. Our people need and deserve a voice."

The idea behind Niou's push in the general election is that she split some of the primary votes with the other progressive candidates on the ballot, Mondaire Jones and Carlina Rivera, and in a head-to-head battle against the more moderately considered Goldman — she could win.

The Working Families Party, who endorsed Niou in the primary, also hasn't fully committed to her in the General Election, but also released a statement on the matter.

“While there are still ballots left to be counted, what’s clear is that the overwhelming majority of voters chose a self-described progressive in this race and people are hungry for authentic representation that will fight to defend abortion rights and put their needs ahead of the whims of the ultra wealthy," Sochie Nnaemeka, director of the New York Working Families Party, said in a statement.

As the momentum continues to grow for Niou, the candidates already elected in the West Village voiced their backing for Goldman.

Both Council Member Erik Bottcher and Assembly Member Deborah Glick took to Twitter on Sunday to endorse Goldman.

"Congratulations to @danielsgoldman on winning the Democratic primary," Bottcher wrote. "I’m proud to endorse him & look forward to working with him. Now let’s fill buses with volunteers to swing districts in NY & PA to protect our House/Senate majorities."

Glick penned a similar message of support for Goldman.

"Congratulations to @danielsgoldman on his victory in the Democratic primary in NY-10. Dan is a committed public servant and I am proud to endorse him," she wrote. "I look forward to working with Dan to deliver on our shared progressive vision for our community and our city."

Council Member Richie Torres and Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar also endorsed Goldman.

Patch will keep an eye out for any official announcement from Niou.