This is the Party Line, a periodic newsletter highlighting the Party’s biggest news and most important work.

ALL WE DO IS WIN WIN WIN:

Working Families Party wrapped up the primary cycle with more wins in Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Connecticut. All told, more than 70 newcomer WFP candidates won state legislative primaries this year. 

These wins are the outcome of tough races to beat corporate Democrats. Our candidates demanded putting working people first – in blue districts and purple, in open seats and against incumbents. WFP candidates are connecting with voters on affordable housing, healthcare, stopping data centers, taxing the rich, and fully funding public schools. And they’re winning despite being vastly outspent by Big Tech and big business and while running without the institutional support of their status-quo-supporting opponents.

Here’s a round up of the late primary state results:  

DELAWARE: The Delaware Working Families Party ended the primary season with spectacular wins – calling it “the biggest night we’ve ever had” and unseating five incumbents. If these candidates prevail as expected in the general election, the WFP slate will reshape the balance of power in the state legislative Democratic caucus. 

The primary election was driven by backlash to SB 21, a controversial bill passed last year that rolled back shareholder protections to provide a $56 billion payout to Elon Musk. The same corporate law firms that helped right-wing provocateur Musk secure that payout funneled millions into a super PAC that spent in favor of incumbent Democratic lawmakers who voted for the legislation. 

Shay Frisby unseated the incumbent in the 5th Senate District. Michelle Booker (2nd House District), Brandon Fletcher Dominguez (3rd House District), Pamela Salaam (16th House District) , and former WFP staffer Tyeisha Grier (28th House District) all won over Democrats who had voted for SB 21. Rae Krantz won an open primary in the 6th House District and incumbent WFP champion Rep. Sherae’a “Rae” Moore was reelected in the 8th House District. Kira Alejandro won an open seat on the New Castle County Council.

Since 2020, WFP has recruited, trained, and supported working people champions to the Delaware General Assembly. Working Families Party candidates have defeated corporate Democrats, as well as the House Majority Whip (2022) and Speaker of the House (2024). These wins will nearly double our bloc in the Delaware state house and will power our fight for policies that will benefit working people, like universal free school meals, earned sick time, and rent stabilization.

RHODE ISLAND: A wave of primary victories are marking a generational shift in Rhode Island politics. David Morales, a longtime WFP member-turned champion in the state legislature, defeated the Mayor of Providence on a pledge to deliver rent stabilization within the first 100 days of his administration. Morales, who was the youngest state legislator in state history, overcame running against the Democratic establishment and more than $2 million in corporate spending against him. 

Morales’s win comes after the incumbent vetoed a City Council-passed ordinance capping annual rent increases at 4 percent — a veto that a council override fell one vote short of overturning. Providence’s rent-to-income ratio now rivals New York City’s, yet the city has no rent regulation. 

Morales is expected to win the general election along with WFP-endorsed City Council candidates Miguel Martinez Youngs (Ward 1) Yulyana Torres (Ward 3), Justin Roias (Ward 4), Jackie Goldman (Ward 5), Miguel Sanchez (Ward 6), and AnnaJane Yolkien (Ward 13). Together, they form the governing majority needed to pass housing protections and other measures to benefit Providence’s working people. 

Beyond Providence, newcomers Zakary Pereira (HD 22), Edith Ajello (HD 1), Dawn Euer (SD 13), and Sam Bell, (SD 5) won State House races on platforms of affordable housing, universal healthcare, lowering utility costs, and making the wealthy pay their fair share. Sen. Meghan Kallman (SD 15) fended off a challenger funded by the business lobby, while Sen. Alana DiMario (SD 36) defeated a business-backed opponent. Both the business and charter school lobbies spent hundreds of thousands to defeat other WFP-backed incumbents. Instead, our bloc grew.

MASSACHUSETTS: Launched just 11 months ago, the newly-minted Massachusetts WFP scored remarkable victories in recent primary elections, with a complete sweep of all three competitive State House primaries in Lowell – electing labor advocate John Drinkwater and community organizer Lorena Betts, and re-electing Rep. Tara Hong. In Lawrence. Celina Reyes — a city councilor and labor activist — defeated the incumbent, a landlord who shaped state housing policy and was indicted for COVID-19 relief fund fraud. Ben Ewen-Campen and Lora Wondolowski won their primaries for open State House seats in Somerville and the rural 1st Franklin District, respectively. And first-time candidate Daniel Lander ran a strong campaign in his Boston-area district, coming within 34 votes of unseating the Senate President Pro Tempore. 

The MA WFP strategy in this inaugural cycle focused on working-class cities that have been chronically under-organized and underfunded politically. 

WISCONSIN: Voters embraced WFP candidates in Democratic primaries who put working people first in Wisconsin primaries. Ismael Luna (AD-08) beat an incumbent who shunned working with other Democrats while Rep. Ryan Clancy overcame a challenge from a well-funded corporate Democrat in AD-19. Trevor Jung won the Democratic nomination in SD-21, and incumbent working families champion legislators Angelina Cruz (AD-62) and Ben DeSmidt (AD-65) won their primaries. 

CONNECTICUT: With five new working people champions winning State House primaries, Connecticut Working Families Party is taking a major victory lap. These election wins are a direct hit on the legislature’s corporate-aligned “Moderate Caucus,” which has spent years watering down housing legislation, blocking workers’ rights, and running interference for the charter school lobby. 

Maryam Khan (SD-2) ousted a sitting Education Committee chair who drew a paycheck from the for-proft school industry. Moise Carelus, a youth soccer coach, (HD-31) took down a four-term incumbent who caucused with Republicans to spike legislation for gun control and keeping ICE out of our schools, then beat the opponent who nominated her. Public school staffers Toni Lombardi (HD-18) and Angie Parkinson (HD-10) won their competitive open House primaries and Jack Fazzino (SD-13) won his open Senate primary.

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, WE CAN WIN THE WORKING CLASS:

Building on years of research into America’s working class voters in all their ideological diversity, the Working Families Party has developed the Practical Handbook for Winning the Working Class. It’s a series of recommendations on messages that reflect what working class voters want to help defeat MAGA, and elect economic champions that can create an economy that puts working people first.

DROPPING ANCHOR TO PROTECT GA ELECTIONS:

In an election year rife with misinformation and concerns about access to the polls, Georgia Working Families Power has launched ANCHOR: A Network Committed to Holding Our Rights, a statewide democracy defense program to equip everyday Georgians to help their neighbors participate confidently in our democracy. ANCHOR participants will use REACH, an easy-to-use organizing app, to connect directly with people they already know by text or email, share trusted information, and invite their networks to take action. More information about ANCHOR here.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK:

NYWFP celebrated Labor Day at the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn in community and with drums, flags, dancing, and louding up di vote to gear up for the midterms!