John,
I’m writing to you today from Philadelphia, where last night, we made history.
In Philly, the City Council reserves two seats for the minority party — historically, that’s been the Republican Party.
We thought Philly deserved better.
So in 2019, we disrupted the status quo, challenged the Republicans for two at-large City Council seats, and elected WFP champion Kendra Brooks to the City Council, the first third party candidate to hold a seat.
Last night, we did it again.
Not only did we send Kendra Brooks back to the City Council, but she’ll have some back up — because fellow WFP candidate Nicolas O’Rourke will be joining her. The Republicans and the Democratic establishment fought us every step of the way — but we won.
Over the last four years, thousands of Philly residents joined our coalition. Yesterday, the Election Day message was clear: Philadelphia is now a two-party town: Democrats, and the Working Families Party.
We are so proud of our two champions Kendra and Nicolas, and we know they’re going to wake up every day ready to fight for quality schools, clean air and water, and housing you can afford. The future of Philadelphia just got a little brighter.
But Philly was far from the only place where WFP made history last night. While we’re still waiting for all the results to come in, here’s a few of our other major victories:
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In Virginia, we helped flip the House from Republican control and kept the Democratic majority in the state Senate, putting a stop to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s entire right-wing, anti-abortion agenda. Our work included electing WFP-endorsed State Senators Danica Roem, Aaron Rouse and Stella Pekarsky, and Delegates Nadarius Clarke, Josh Thomas, Josh Cole, Michael Feggins, and Kelly Fowler,
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In Ohio, we threw down and helped push Issue 1 — the state constitutional amendment protecting the fundamental right to an abortion — across the finish line in a resounding win,
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In Pennsylvania, climate champion Sara Innamorato toppled the party machine and became the first woman to be elected as Allegheny County Executive. Dan McCaffery was also elected to the PA Supreme Court, bolstering the pro-democracy majority ahead of the 2024 presidential election,
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In Connecticut, we won key mayoral and local races and elected at least two candidates to Hartford City Council on the WFP ballot line — Josh Michtom and Alex Thomas — while a third WFP candidate, Tiana Hercules, may be heading to a recount trailing by just 4 votes,
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In New York, many of our hundreds of endorsed candidates won across the state including new mayors in New Rochelle and Ithaca and WFP’s very own Maurice Brown to the Onondaga County Legislature. We also re-elected our entire slate to the NYC City Council, with more than a quarter of votes coming on the WFP ballot line in some council districts,
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In Georgia, we re-elected Jonesboro Mayor Donya Sartor and elected Teresa Thomas-Smith as the first Black woman as Mayor of Palmetto,
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And we won more victories for WFP candidates in Colorado, New Jersey, California, North Carolina, Arizona, Washington, Texas, New Mexico, and more — and are still monitoring results in other races as votes continue to be counted.
These victories and more could not be possible without members like you.
WFP members sent 6 million texts, knocked on 600,000 doors, called 540,000 voters, and sent 30,000 postcards to help elect these champions and win victories that will resonate now and for years to come — and which will make a real difference in the lives of working people.
Some called 2023 an “off-year.” But we knew better. That’s why we’re on the ground in communities year round doing the type of organizing we know is necessary in order to win each and every year — including the massive challenge ahead of us next year to come together across our differences, elect working class champions, and beat back the existential threat posed by authoritarian Republicans.
Election Days like this are only possible because of members like you. If you are able, please make a contribution today to keep this movement growing stronger — and to help us make more history in 2024 and beyond.
Contribute $10 »
In solidarity,
Maurice Mitchell
Working Families Party
