Beyond the governor’s race: New York’s minor parties fight to maintain ballot access and political influence – Spectrum News

Beyond the governor’s race: New York’s minor parties fight to maintain ballot access and political influence  Spectrum News

The race for governor is testing the political strength of two of the state’s most influential minor parties. ALBANY, N.Y. — As early voting gets underway in New York, the race for governor is also testing the political strength of two of the state’s most influential minor parties. The Conservative and Working Families parties are backing opposing candidates in November, but both have something else at stake: maintaining their ballot status and demonstrating their influence over New York’s two major political parties. Under New York’s fusion voting system, candidates can appear on multiple party lines. Votes cast on those lines are combined toward the candidate’s total, but the individual party-line results can also determine whether a smaller party retains automatic ballot access.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is running on both the Democratic and Working Families lines, while Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman also has the Conservative Party’s endorsement. For state Sen. George Borrello, a Republican from Western New York, the Conservative Party plays an important role in shaping Republican politics. “It’s really more about the Conservative Party, in my opinion, being the conscience of the Republican Party, particularly here in New York state,” Borrello said. But those endorsements can also expose political differences between the parties and the candidates they support. Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar defended the party’s early endorsement of