Nicholas Fandos

She's got a real shot of winning.

And if she doesn't win and I stayed out of it, well, that could be on me.

There's an opportunity with my popularity in that district, with the resources I can bring to it, that I can help push her there.

So he decides to add her to his slate, the third candidate.

And this is the decision, more than any other, that really makes the Democratic establishment, Black and Latino Democrats, labor unions go ballistic.

Because they say it's one thing to go against an incumbent like Dan Goldman in a district that he's out of step with.

It's another to compete for an open seat and upset the outgoing congresswoman.

But to go after the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the first formerly undocumented immigrant in Congress, someone who actually is objectively pretty progressive on every issue except for Israel, and that's key, is a bridge further.

I mean, that is much more provocative.

Precisely.

And so a lot of them look at that and also say, what good is the mayor's word if he's going to go back on it here?

How can we trust this guy going forward?

So now, with three districts now in play, this fight just kind of keeps growing outward.

So labor unions become very involved.

Prominent New York Democrats like Jeffries, who are close with Espaillat, get involved.

They start campaigning on the ground.

Super PACs start dropping millions of dollars for and against candidates on both sides of the race.

The mayor throws himself aggressively into the slate.

And it's worth noting, he has gone way above and beyond what even an endorsing mayor might do in a race.

He's been raising money.