Former Manhattan BPs endorse Alvin Bragg

In 2021, prominent former Manhattan borough presidents were split in the competitive Democratic primary for the borough’s district attorney. 

C. Virginia Fields endorsed the eventual winner, current Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. But Ruth Messinger backed Tali Farhadian Weinstein in the primary, while Gale Brewer stayed out of it.

This time around, all three are rallying around Bragg’s reelection. “He has provided effective, honest, and courageous leadership that has combatted hate crimes, stood with survivors, and delivered safety and justice for all,” Messinger said in a statement. “At a time when quality-of-life issues are rightfully top of mind, Manhattan is fortunate to have Alvin Bragg as our district attorney,” Brewer added.

Bragg is rolling out the former borough presidents’ endorsements Monday, on the heels of announcing Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman as endorsers last week, as the campaign gears up for the 2025 cycle to begin in earnest.

The endorsements from fellow Democrats aren’t entirely surprising – Bragg currently has no Democratic primary challenger who would be primed for any of their support. Maud Maron, a former Democratic candidate for office in New York, is running as a Republican in the race. 

But Bragg, who entered the office in 2022 as a reformer and the borough’s first Black DA, has continually faced pushback from the right. Now, President-elect Donald Trump continues to fight to dismiss his conviction in the hush money case Bragg brought against him. And earlier this month, Bragg was dealt a blow in another high-profile case, when a jury found Daniel Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely.