By Mike DeBonis, David Weigel, Washington Post–

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York easily won renomination for a third term Thursday against actor and activist Cynthia Nixon, according to an Associated Press projection, in a race that offered a snapshot of a Democratic Party in flux as voters balance local desires with resistance to President Trump in a political landscape transformed by a resurgent left wing.

Nixon courted a liberal insurgency that wants immediate action on immigration, housing and health care, while Cuomo ran on a record of accomplishment after tacking left with his policy agenda in response to the challenge.

With about half of the precincts reporting, Cuomo was beating Nixon by a 2-to-1 ratio — roughly the same spread as his 2014 primary victory over another liberal challenger.

The race saw a bitter end. Its final days were consumed in controversy over a mailer sent by the state Democratic Party accusing Nixon, who is raising Jewish children, of anti-Semitism. The Cuomo campaign acknowledged Wednesday that political operatives linked to the governor wrote and approved the ad, which the governor disavowed.

That controversy added late intrigue to a race that had otherwise hinged on Nixon’s attacks on Cuomo as a “corporate Democrat” out of touch with the needs of working-class residents — particularly those in New York City dependent on a subway system that has deteriorated under Cuomo’s watch.

Cuomo struck back by highlighting his work over two terms to tighten state gun laws, ban natural gas drilling, raise the minimum wage and move forward with major public-works projects — while also arguing that a lifetime of public service in one of New York’s most prominent political families has made him the best choice to take on Trump, who has shown hostility to his home state’s priorities in Washington.

“The way I ran this campaign, it’s been on the issues, it’s been positive,” Cuomo said at a news conference Sunday. “I think the mailer was a mistake. I think it was inappropriate.”

Nixon, too, attempted to run an issues-first campaign, arguing that a liberal state like New York has been run too long by Democrats too willing to work with Republicans and too timid to take on donors. On the trail, she endorsed statewide universal health care, free college tuition, rent regulation and a public transportation plan that would rebuild the commuter rail system.

“We have a Democratic Party leadership that is so much whiter, and so much older, and so much more beholden to corporate America than its base,” Nixon said at a weekend fundraiser in Manhattan. “This is a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party.”

The race served as an echo of contests throughout this midterm year in which establishment Democrats like Cuomo have moved to the left to try to assuage voters and activists energized by insurgent candidates such as Nixon. That has often given the establishment the win but delivered ideological bragging rights to the left.

Since Nixon was first rumored to pursue a challenge in the spring, Cuomo pursued liberal policies he had resisted earlier in his tenure, such as granting voting rights to parolees, embracing a softer line on marijuana and banning plastic shopping bags.

Cuomo also dramatically outspent Nixon, pouring at least $25 million into his campaign, and polls had shown him leading her by 30 to 40 points.

“There is no question that she pushed him further to the left,” said Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), a former Long Island prosecutor who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general with Cuomo’s endorsement in 2010.

Rice said she was focused on the down-ballot races, where she was watching to see whether Democratic voters chose candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general who had distanced themselves from Cuomo and the state party establishment.

Voters, she said, are rebelling against candidates they believe have been handpicked by the party establishment: “That’s the kind of inside politics that voters hate.”

One of those candidates was ­Jumaane Williams, a member of the New York City Council who challenged Cuomo’s running mate, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, from the left. Williams, who would be the state’s second black lieutenant governor, attacked Hochul for conservative votes and statements she made while representing a Republican-leaning House seat and argued that she had enabled Cuomo’s worst instincts.

“You can be an activist and be a productive elected official,” Williams said. “Most of the things that the governor gets credit for, when you take away the smoke and the mirrors, are smaller than he said they were.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stands with his girlfriend Sandra Lee as he speaks to the media after voting in the New York Democratic primary election at the Presbyterian Church in Mt. Cisco, New York, U.S., September 13, 2018.  REUTERS/Mike Segar© Mike Segar/ REUTERS New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stands with his girlfriend Sandra Lee as he speaks to the media after voting in the New York Democratic primary election at the Presbyterian Church in Mt. Cisco, New York, U.S., September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar

With half of precincts counted, Williams held a small lead, but the largely upstate votes still to be counted were expected to favor Hochul.

The race for attorney general was seen as wide open, and Nixon, Williams and liberal groups got behind the anti-corruption, anti-monopoly candidacy of Zephyr Teachout.

The unique situation in her race — the resignation of Eric Schneiderman after women accused him of physical abuse created a short, four-month primary season — led to a four-way scrum. Letitia James, New York City’s elected public advocate, secured the party’s endorsement and Cuomo’s support. Rep. Sean Maloney (D) and Verizon Vice President Leecia Eve jumped into the race, with Maloney transferring money from his congressional campaign to run TV ads that made him competitive with James.

Early returns had James ahead on the strength of a strong margin in New York City, but most upstate counties favored Teachout or Maloney.

The perception that James was too close to Cuomo created an opening for Teachout, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2014 and for Congress in 2016. After a slow start, she attracted money and endorsements — including a New York Times endorsement that is front and center in all of her advertisements. Teach­out, who rejected “corporate money” and discussed how little-used state laws could help her investigate Wall Street and the Trump administration, began commanding most of the attention in the race.

The other contenders responded by going on the attack. In the final debates, Maloney and Eve — who struggled to break out of single digits — attacked Teachout for only recently passing the New York bar and for not rejecting corporate money in her 2016 House campaign. Teachout punched back by pointing to Maloney’s record in the House, which included votes to roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank banking regulations.

The race could have an impact on Democrats’ efforts to win the House of Representatives. Maloney, one of just 12 Democrats who represents districts won in 2016 by Donald Trump, must abandon his House race if he becomes the nominee for attorney general. While Democrats would be able to pick a new candidate, a race seen as unwinnable for Republicans in 2018 would become a possible pickup. (Primaries for the House were held in June.)

Speaking to reporters Thursday, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Ben Ray Luján (N.M.), said he had not personally spoken to potential replacements for Maloney but said his group had “done diligence” on possible candidates.

Thursday’s primaries also will decide the fates of eight state senators, elected as Democrats, who formed an “Independent Democratic Conference” that voted for Republican control of the state Senate. All eight IDC members faced challengers, even after disbanding the conference. Four members based in New York City — Tony Avella, Jose Peralta, Jesse Hamilton and Jeff Klein — were seen as particularly vulnerable. The challengers in the latter three races were endorsed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and other powerful Democrats.

Two Democrats who were not in the IDC, Simcha Felder and Martin Dilan, also faced challengers. Felder had voted to keep Republicans in control of the state Senate to bring resources back to his majority-Jewish district; Dilan was challenged by Julia Salazar, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who received glowing early coverage, then was buffeted by accusations that she had falsely let herself be portrayed as a working-class immigrant.

The challengers to Peralta, Hamilton and Klein held leads with most of the vote counted Thursday, as did Felder and Salazar.

Thursday’s primaries are for state and local races only and were held on Thursday to avoid the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah on Tuesday.

The winners of the Democratic gubernatorial primary will face Republican Marc Molinaro and running mate Julie Killian in November. Each ran unopposed on Thursday.

mike.debonis@washpost.com

david.weigel@washpost.com