Working Families Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| National director | Maurice Mitchell |
| Founders | Bertha Lewis Dan Cantor |
| Founded | 1998; 28 years ago (1998) |
| Preceded by | New Party |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Membership(December 2025) |  69,622-New York: 61,277[1] -Oregon: 8,345[2] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Center-left toleft-wing |
| Colors | Blue and white (formerly) Purple and orange (current) |
| Seats in the Senate | 3 / 100 |
| Seats in the House | 9 / 435 |
| Governorships | 0 / 50 |
| State upper house seats | 0 / 1,972 |
| State lower house seats | 0 / 5,411 |
| Philadelphia City Council | 2 / 17 |
| Hartford City Council | 2 / 9 |
| Election symbol | |
 | |
| Website | |
workingfamilies | |
TheWorking Families Party (WFP) is aprogressiveminor political party in the United States. WFP was organized in 1998 as a successor to theNew Party by a coalition oflabor unions, advocacy groups includingCitizen Action of New York, andcommunity organizations includingAssociation of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).[3]
WFP supports a progressive policy agenda, including raising theminimum wage, expandingpublic education, universalpaid sick leave,Medicare For All, reducingstudent debt, increasingprogressive taxation, and environmental reform.[4]
Founded in New York, WFP has active chapters in nearly two dozen states.[5][6][7] WFP hasstatewideballot access inConnecticut,New York, andOregon.[8] WFP's most successful chapters are theNew York Working Families Party (NYWFP) andConnecticut Working Families Party (CTWFP).
Some of the party's endorsed candidates include Connecticut governorDan Malloy, U.S. representativeJesús "Chuy" García,US senatorsChris Murphy (CT) andJeff Merkley (OR), formerNew York City mayor Bill de Blasio, formerNew York governorAndrew Cuomo,New York attorney generalLetitia James,Chicago mayorBrandon Johnson, and New York City mayorZohran Mamdani.[9]
WFP is acenter-left[10] toleft-wing party.[11]Most commentators describe WFP as a "progressive" party[12] or asocial democratic party.[13] WFP has been frequently described as the "Tea Party ofthe left".[14][15][16] In 2016,Bernie Sanders said: "The WFP is the closest thing there is to a political party that believes in my vision ofdemocratic socialism".[17]
WFP has worked with both centrist Democrats and leftist Democrats. WFP has endorsed candidates to compete withDemocratic Socialists of America (DSA) members, and has also endorsed DSA members.[18]
WFP uses New York'selectoral fusion laws, which allow one candidate to be endorsed by multiple parties. For example, in the2025 New York City mayoral election,Zohran Mamdani was endorsed by both theDemocratic Party and WFP, and appeared on the ballot under both the Dem label and WFP label. Like other NY minor parties, WFP hopes to leverage this support to push candidates to support progressive reforms.[19]
The state directors of the WFP areAna Maria Archila and Jasmine Gripper (NY),[20] Sarah Ganong (CT),[21] Sue Altman (NJ),[22] Brandon Evans (PA),[23] Karly Edwards (OR),[24] Jay Hutchins (MD),[25] Delvone Michael (DC),[26]Marina Dimitrijevic (WI),[27] Ryan Frankenberry (WV),[28] Georgia Hollister-Isman (RI), andJane Kim (CA).[7] WFP created up aCalifornia chapter in January 2022, naming formerSan Francisco supervisor and state director ofBernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaignJane Kim as its executive director.[7]
WFP's national director isMaurice Mitchell.[29]
Dan Cantor was the labor coordinator forJesse Jackson's 1988presidential campaign. In 1990, Cantor andJoel Rogers publishedParty Time, a memo which argued that progressives should pursue an "inside/outside" strategy, working both "inside" and "outside" theDemocratic Party.[30] To that end, Cantor and Rogers formed theNew Party in 1990, which hoped to useelectoral fusion to push the Democrats leftward.[31] True to their inside/outside strategy, the New Party endorsed some some liberal Democrats, such asBarack Obama's successful 1996 run forIllinois SenateDistrict 13,[32][33] and some progressives, such asDanny Davis's successful 1996 run forIllinois's 7th congressional district,[34][35] and severalGreen Party candidates.[36]
In 1997, the New Party lost 6-3 inTimmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party, which found that state bans on electoral fusion didnot violate theFirst Amendment.[37][38] With their strategy deflated, the New Party became defunct by 1998. Cantor sought to create a more traditional lib-left-labor coalition party which could compete in states with strong electoral fusion laws, like New York.[31] In 1998, Cantor organized the Working Families Party with a coalition oflabor unions, advocacy groups includingCitizen Action of New York, andcommunity organizations includingAssociation of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).[3]Bill de Blasio, the future mayor of New York City and friend of Cantor, was present for the party's foundation.[39]
WFP leaders endorsedPeter Vallone forGovernor of New York, who was theDemocratic Party candidate. WFP did so for both ideological and tactical reasons: Vallone roughly aligned with the party's policies, and Vallone was the most likely to gather 50,000 votes on the WFP ballot line, which would fulfill the legal requirement needed for the party to obtain automatic statewideballot access for 2000–2004.[40] Vallone won 1,570,317 votes, of which 51,325 on the WFP ballot line.[41]
WFP also endorsedChuck Schumer's original 1998 New York Senate campaign against Republican incumbent Al D'Amato, who Schumer successfully defeated in the1998 election.[42]
In November 2000, New York WFP endorseePatricia Eddington wonNew York State Assembly district 3.[citation needed]
In the2002 New York gubernatorial election, theLiberal Party, runningAndrew Cuomo (who had withdrawn from the Democraticprimary), and theGreen Party, running academicStanley Aronowitz, failed to reach the threshold for statewide automaticballot access, which they had previously held. This left the WFP as the only left-progressiveminor party with a ballot line.[citation needed]
In 2002, theConnecticut Working Families Party (CTWFP) was formed by activist organizations includingAssociation of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and labor unions includingAmerican Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME),Communications Workers of America (CWA), andUnited Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).[43]
In the chaotic situation that followed the 2003 assassination of New York City councilmanJames E. Davis by political rivalOthniel Askew, the slain councilman's brother Geoffrey Davis was chosen to succeed him in the Democratic primary inBrooklyn's 35th City Council district. As it became clear that Geoffrey Davis lacked his late brother's political experience, fellow DemocratLetitia James decided to challenge him in the general election. James prevailed, becoming the first minor party candidate elected solely on the WFP line.[44]
In 2006, WFP began ballot access drives in California,[45] Delaware, Massachusetts,[46] Oregon, and South Carolina.[47]
In 2007, two Connecticut WFP endorsees, Luis Cotto and Larry Deutsch, won seats on theHartford City Council on the WFP ballot line.[48]
In 2008, South Carolina WFP convention endorsed five candidates for state and local office.[49] One candidate, Eugene Platt, running for SC State House District 115, was also nominated by theSouth Carolina Green Party.[50] The nomination of Michael Cone for theUS Senate race, opposing incumbentLindsey Graham, marked the first time the South Carolina party nominated anyone for statewide office.[51]
In 2009, two candidates for the Board of Education in Bridgeport, Connecticut were also WFP-supported members of the board.[52]
In August 2009, various media raised questions about the relationship between the WFP, a non-profit political party, and a for-profit private company called Data and Field Services (DFS).[53][54][55] An editorial inThe New York Times questioned whether DFS may be charging select clients below market rates for political services.[56] In August 2010, the federal investigation into the party ended with no charges being filed, and no charges being referred to other law enforcement agencies.[57]
In 2010, Connecticut WFP endorsedDannel Malloy for governor, who ran solely on the WFP ballot line. He received 26,308 votes as a Working Families candidate, putting him ahead of his Republican opponent, and securing ballot access for the party in that state.[58]
In 2010, WFP recruited and trained thirteen candidates for seats on the New York City Council, in preparation for the2013 New York City Council election. Twelve of these candidates won.[39]
In 2011, Connecticut WFP won all three minority seats on theHartford City Council, eliminating all Republican representatives. As of 2016, the WFP continues to hold all minority seats on the Hartford City Council.[59] In 2011 Connecticut WFP director Jon Green received a $10,000 fine for failing to wear his badge identifying him as a lobbyist while performing lobbying efforts.[60][61]
In 2012, Connecticut WFP backedChris Murphy's successful race against billionaireLinda McMahon for the US Senate seat that was vacated byJoe Lieberman, supported SEIU/CCAG[62] leader and organizerChristopher Donovan for Connecticut's 5th Congressional seat,[63] as well as defeated a ballot initiative inBridgeport, Connecticut, that would have abolished the elected board of education.
In 2014, New York WFP consideredZephyr Teachout, but ultimately re-endorsed Cuomo for New York governor despite dissatisfaction and frustration with his first term. However, Cuomo resisted the party's influence and sabotaged the party electorally.[64] In 2010 more than 150,000 of his votes came on the WFP line.[65] As of November 7, 2014, 120,425 votes came on the WFP line for Cuomo.[66]
In 2015, New York WFP ran 111 candidates and won 71 local offices.[67] In a February 2015 special election,Edwin Gomes won back theirConnecticut State Senate seat, which they had previously represented as a Democrat. Gomes was the first candidate to win to state legislative office running solely on the WFP ballot line.[68] Gomes would run as a Democrat in 2016, 2018, and 2020.[citation needed] In a May 5, 2015 special election, NYWFP endorseeDiana Richardson won aNew York State Assembly seat while running solely on the WFP ticket.[69] Richardson would run as a Democrat and WFP endorsee in 2016, 2018, and 2020.[70][citation needed]
In December 2015, WFP endorsedBernie Sanders in his campaign to win the2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Sanders was WFP's first national endorsement.[71] The endorsement followed a combined membership-drive and open poll among WFP enrolled members on whom to endorse for president in 2016.[71] WFP spokespersonDan Cantor said the results were "overwhelmingly" in favor of Sanders, with Sanders winning 87% of votes,Hillary Clinton 12%, andMartin O'Malley 1%.[72] In 2016, afterHillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee, WFP endorsed her for the2016 United States presidential election.[73]
In an April 2017 special election, Connecticut WFP endorseeJoshua M. Hall won aConnecticut House of Representatives seat. Hall was the second candidate in WFP history to win state legislative office running solely on the WFP ballot line.[74] Hall ran as a Democrat and WFP in 2018, then just as a Democrat from 2020–2024.[citation needed]
On October 3, 2017, WFP endorseeRandall Woodfin won the runoff election forMayor of Birmingham, Alabama.[75]
In April 2018 an endorsement ofCynthia Nixon over incumbentAndrew Cuomo in Cuomo's bid for a third term as New York governor caused a schism in the party in which labor unions including New York's biggest unionService Employees International Union andCommunications Workers of America indicated they would not support the party in the election. The withdrawal was believed would significantly hurt the party's finances which in 2018 was $1.7 million and statewide staff of about 15 people. The battle received considerable attention since there were concerns that Nixon might have drained enough votes from Cuomo in the general election to allow a Republican to be elected.[76][77] On October 5, 2018, the WFP cleared Nixon from their ticket on the general election ballot and agreed to endorse Cuomo, who defeated Nixon in the Democratic primary, to preserve their ballot line placement.[78]
While campaigning in the2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New York, WFP candidateLiuba Grechen Shirley used campaign funds to pay a caregiver for her two young children. The FEC ruled that federal candidates can use campaign funds to pay for child care costs that result from time spent running for office. Grechen Shirley became the first woman in history to receive approval to spend campaign funds on child care.[79]
In September 2019, WFP polled its membership whether to endorseElizabeth Warren andBernie Sanders in the2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Warren won 60.91% of votes, Sanders 35.82%, and other options 3.27%. Therefore, WFP endorsed Warren on September 16, 2020.[80] The poll was "weighted", with party leadership (56 people) and dues-paying members (about 90,000 people) each receiving 50% of the vote.[81][82] WFP was widely criticized for not releasing the separate vote tallies for each group,[81][82] which WFP leaderMaurice Mitchell claimed was necessary "to maintain the nature of [the] secret ballot".[83] WFP had released the membership vote in 2015,[83] when 87% of members endorsed Bernie Sanders.[71]Matt Bruenig argued inJacobin that Sanders had likely won the party's membership vote. If one assumes that WFP refused to release results because Sanders won the membership vote, then Warren won 82%–100% of the leadership vote and only 22%–40% of the member vote.[84] On March 9, 2020, afterElizabeth Warren exited the primary, WFP endorsedBernie Sanders for president.[85][86] On August 13, 2020, WFP endorsedJoe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee.[87]
On November 5, 2019, Pennsylvania WFP endorseeKendra Brooks won an at-large seat onPhiladelphia City Council. The City Council reserves two seats for a minority party. In the last 40 years, this was the first time one of those seats went to a non-Democrat, non-Republican candidate.[88]
In the2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, New York WFP initially gave a ranked endorsement ofScott Stringer 1st,Dianne Morales 2nd, andMaya Wiley 3rd.[89] After Stringer was accused of sexual assault, WFP rescinded his endorsement and issued a dual endorsement of Morales and Wiley.[90] After Morales campaign staff allegedunion busting, WFP endorsed only Wiley.[91]
In 2023, Pennsylvania WFP endorseeKendra Brooks won re-election to theirPhiladelphia City Council seat. In the same election, PAWFP candidateNicolas O'Rourke won the other at-large seat. WFP had won both two seats reserved for minority party members on Philadelphia City Council, bringing the total of WFP councilmembers to two.[92]
In October 203, WFP released a statement responding to President Biden's address in which he reaffirmed U.S. support forIsrael in theGaza war and subsequentinvasion of Gaza. In the statement, federal affairs director Natalia Salgado expressed support for animmediate ceasefire and criticized Biden forproviding Israel with military aid, stating "there is no military solution to this conflict, and there never has been."[93] In the WFP response to Biden'sState of the Union in March 2024, delivered byNicolas O'Rourke, the party reaffirmed their opposition to the Biden administration's policies in handling thehumanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling again for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and denouncing the "arrogant and extreme-rightNetanyahu Regime."[94] The party would join the largerprotest vote movements targeting Biden'sre-election campaign in theDemocratic primaries, with the New York chapter supporting an effort that urged voters to leave their ballots blank in theApril primary; the final vote tally saw 40,000 blank ballots, 11.5% of the total vote share.[95][96]
In July 2024, Bidensuspended his re-election campaign followingconcerns about his health and endorsed Vice PresidentKamala Harris as his successor. The WFP officially endorsed Harris after she became the presumptive nominee, declaring "overwhelming support" to preventDonald Trump from returning to the presidency.[97]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2025) |
For the ranked-choiceDemocratic primary preceding theelection for mayor of New York City, party leaders planned a two-part endorsement process in which they would initially announce a slate of candidates before later consolidating support behind a single candidate closer to the primary in order to have the strongest chance against former governorAndrew Cuomo.[98] The New York chapter announced its "Working Families slate" of four candidates in March 2025: city councillorAdrienne Adams, city comptrollerBrad Lander, state assemblymanZohran Mamdani, and state senatorZellnor Myrie.[9][99] A separate announcement for a ranking of candidates was made in May, with Mamdani first, Lander second, Adams third, Myrie fourth, and state senatorJessica Ramos added as the fifth ranked choice.[100] Ramos' endorsement was revoked after she endorsed Cuomo on June 6.[101] Party officials indicated that they would not support Cuomo in the race, even if he won the nomination.[102] Mamdani won the primary by 12 points over Cuomo.[103] Mamdani later won the 2025 New York City mayoral election on the Working Families ballot line.[104]
Since 2019, WFP has recruited a major progressive elected official to deliver aresponse to the State of the Union address by thepresident of the United States, as is customary for the opposition party of the President:
The elected officials below won elections while running solely on the Working Families ballot line, withoutelectoral fusion with theDemocratic ballot line:
| Name | Office | District | Term start | Term end | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamika Stewart | Newburgh City Council | 3 | 2026-01-01 | 2029-12-31 | Stewart ran solely on WFP ballot line. | [112] |
| Nicole Watts | Onondaga County Legislature | 9 | 2026-01-01 | 2027-12-31 | Watts ran solely on WFP ballot line. | [112] |
| Nicolas O'Rourke | Philadelphia City Council | At-Large | 2024-01-01 | 2027-12-31 | O'Rourke ran solely on WFP ballot line. The PCC reserves 2 seats for minor parties. After O'Rourke won, the WFP had 2 and the GOP had 0. | [113] |
| Alex Thomas | Hartford City Council | At-Large | 2024-01-01 | 2027-12-31 | Thomas ran solely on WFP ballot line. | [114] |
| Kendra Brooks | Philadelphia City Council | At-Large | 2020-01-06 | 2027-12-31 | Brooks ran solely on the WFP ballot line. The PCC reserves 2 seats for minor parties. After Brooks won, the WFP had 1 and the GOP had 1. | [115] |
| Joshua Michtom | Hartford City Council | At-Large | 2020-01-01 | 2027-12-31 | Michtom ran solely on the WFP ballot line. | [116] |
| Name | Office | District | Term start | Term end | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiana Hercules | Hartford City Council | At-Large | 2022-01-01 | 2023-12-31 | Hercules ran solely on the WFP line. After Bermúdez resigned, Hercules won their seat. | [117][114] |
| Wildaliz Bermúdez | Hartford City Council | At-Large | 2016-01-01 | 2021-12-31 | Bermúdez ran solely on the WFP line. resigned and helped Hercules to win their seat. | [117] |
| Joshua M. Hall | Connecticut House of Representatives | 7 | 2017-04-28 | 2019-09-01 | Hall won a special election on the WFP ballot line. Hall ran as a Democrat-WFP in 2018, then as a Democrat in 2020, 2022, and 2024. | [119] |
| Ed Gomes | Connecticut State Senate | 23 | 2015-02-27 | 2016-01-04 | Gomes won a special election on the WFP ballot line, for a Democratic seat they had held until 2012, when they lost the Democratic primary. Gomes ran as a Democrat in 2016, 2018, and 2020. | [68][120] |
| Luis Cotto | Hartford City Council | At-Large | 2008-01-01 | 2012-07-31 | Cotto ran solely on the WFP line. Cotto resigned in mid-2012. Cotto pointed to Joel Cruz, a WFP member who had finished 10th in the 9-seat election, to serve out Cotto's term, from 2012-08-01 to 2015-12-31. | [48][121][122] |
| Larry Deutsch | Hartford City Council | At-Large | 2008-01-01 | 2020-12-31 | Deutsch ran solely on the WFP line. When Deutsch left, Michtom took the seat. The HCC has 9 seats, but prohibits any party from running more than 6. When Deutsch and Cotto won, the Dems had 6, WFP 2, Reps 1. | [48] |
| Letitia James | New York City Council | 35 | January 1, 2004 | December 31, 2009 | James had previously run as a Democrat forNew York City's 35th City Council district. James won a 2003 special election running solely on the WFP ballot line. James ran on the Democratic and WFP lines in 2005. James ran solely on the Democratic line in 2009 and later elections. | [44][123][124] |
In Connecticut, New York, and Oregon, the Working Families Party has statewide ballot access and you can vote on the Working Families Party line. In those states, you can choose to change your voter registration status to Working Families Party. However, changing your voter registration status to WFP is not necessary to join as a dues-paying member.
The Working Families Party, a center-left ballot line that has embraced Mamdani's mayoral bid, reacted to the news of Hochul's endorsement by doubling down on their pressure campaign to win an income tax hike for rich people.
The left-wing Working Families Party and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams are endorsing the political novice in his bid to rep parts of the Bronx and Westchester.
If 22 percent of WFP members voted for Warren, then 100 percent of the WFP leaders had to vote for Warren to achieve a 60.9 percent weighted vote. On the flip side, if 80 percent of WFP members voted for Warren, then 41.8 percent of WFP leaders had to vote for Warren to achieve a 60.9 percent vote. If you believe, as is obvious, that the reason WFP won't release a membership vote total this time is because Warren did not win the membership vote, then this means Warren got anywhere from 22 to 40 percent of the member vote. This further means that 82 to 100 percent of the WFP leadership voted for Warren. This is the stark split they don't want to reveal but are nevertheless very incompetent at hiding.
New York political parties | ||
|---|---|---|
| Automatic ballot access |  | |
| No ballot access | ||
| Inactive | ||
