The fate of New York's Women's Equality Party remains uncertain, as it has been beset with problems, including fights over who controls it. Zack Fink filed the following report.

The strategy by Governor Andrew Cuomo during his re-election campaign last year was simple: create a new party that stands for women's rights and win more votes. But new parties can sometimes create new problems, and the Women's Equality Party is having growing pains.

Candidates who want to run on the Women's Equality line have failed to qualify because of fights over rules and who actually controls the party.

"It appears that county by county, it's totally unclear whether any candidates will be able to run on the Women's Equality Party line this November," said state Senator Liz Krueger of Manhattan.

Not even Democrat Barbara Fiala, who won Cuomo's early endorsement for a special state Senate election in New York's southern tier, has been able to receive the Women's Equality Party line, otherwise known as WEP.

Cuomo defended the party Friday night.

"I know there are legal challenges to it, which I think probably just verifies its effectiveness," he said. "First women's party in the country."

When Cuomo created the party, his Republican opponent, Rob Astorino, countered with a "Stop Common Core" party designed to tap into parental anger over Common Core testing in public schools. Like Cuomo's new party, Common Core also received more than 50,000 votes, meaning it is a viable party on all ballots across the state for four years.

The organizers of the Common Core Party have since rebranded, now calling it the Reform Party.

"It does seem that the Common Core people figured out a strategy that's being more effective right now," Krueger said.

Some critics believe the whole concept of a Women's Equality Party was misguided.

"I think women have fought historically, from the suffragettes right through to the '70s, to be recognized as leaders in either the Democratic or Republican Party," said Alexis Grenell, a columnist with City & State.

Because New York allows cross-endorsements or fusion voting, parties come in and out of fashion. For example, the Liberal Party, founded in 1944, suddenly failed to garner enough votes in 2002 gubernatorial election to remain a viable party. Interestingly enough, that was the same year Andrew Cuomo abandoned his first run for governor. It remains to be seen if the Women's Equality Party can end the infighting and become a force in New York politics.