NEW YORK — The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) headquarters remains a necessary stop for Democrats on the campaign trail.
Last May, he hosted a forum for the candidates for mayor, including Eric Adams, eventually the Democratic nominee and now the mayor-elect.
This Thanksgiving is no different. About 20 officials — including candidates for governor and City Council speaker — are set to help serve meals with the influential civil rights leader.
But it’s been years since Sharpton, also an MSNBC host, made a formal endorsement in a local race.
What You Need To Know
- National Action Network is a place to be seen and heard if you're a New York Democrat in politics
- Sharpton teases endorsements but hasn't recently granted them, staying out of close primaries
- Civil rights leader spent part of week in Georgia supporting family of Ahmaud Arbery
- MSNBC says political endorsements are against standards while Sharpton adviser says he's permitted to endorse with some stipulations
An MSNBC spokesperson told NY1 that political endorsements are against NBC News standards.
Sharpton adviser Rachel Noerdlinger said the reverend actually can endorse through the National Action Network — if he doesn’t do so on air and informs NBC first.
Sharpton has often teased a potential nod.
“It’s possible two weeks out I may do that,” he told reporters in May of the June primary for mayor.
Sharpton ultimately stayed neutral.
He has wielded his substantial clout in different arenas, including racial justice. This week, he was in Brunswick, Georgia, to support the family of Ahmaud Arbery. He celebrated the convictions of three men in Arbery’s murder as a victory for those who marched for justice.
“This was proving that our children know their value,” he said Wednesday.
In light of the verdict, Sharpton was not made available for a NY1 interview.
One of the reverend’s most recent endorsements appears to be that for Eric Schneiderman for attorney general in 2010.
He didn’t formally back Andrew Cuomo or Charles Barron against Carl Paladino that year.
“If there ever was a time to exercise your options, now would appear to be the time,” he told NY1’s “Inside City Hall” in 2010.
His MSNBC show, “PoliticsNation,” launched the next year.
Sharpton did not endorse in the 2013 primary for mayor, nor the primaries for president in 2016 and 2020. And it remains to be seen whether he’ll endorse in next year’s primary for governor.
On Thanksgiving, gubernatorial candidate Jumaane Williams and potential contender Bill de Blasio will be with Sharpton for the annual dinner that feeds hundreds of families.
“Thanksgiving should not be about what you are going to eat. It should be about making sure that all can eat,” Sharpton said this time last year.
And other politicians will keep flocking to Sharpton’s storefront church in Harlem for the visibility and the proximity to a nationally known activist.
Before Primary Day, the opportunities include Christmas, MLK Day, the National Action Network convention week and Saturdays in between.
“Certainly, we’re happy to be with you another Saturday morning for the Saturday Action Rally,” he said recently.
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