John,
It’s time for the WFP monthly newsletter, where we catch you up on the state of our movement and how we’re fighting — and winning — together.
Keep reading for updates on important upcoming primary elections, legislation, and how you can help.
JAMAAL BOWMAN LOSES PRIMARY TO AIPAC-BACKED GEORGE LATIMER
AIPAC and other right-wing super PACs spent $23 million to oust Rep. Jamaal Bowman from his NY-16 House seat and elect their recruited candidate, Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
Despite a powerful, multi-racial coalition coming together in defense of Rep. Jamaal Bowman, that kind of onslaught of spending was simply too much to overcome. AIPAC turned this race into the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, and their millions pushed their hand-picked candidate to the top in a race that came down to turnout.
Still, we are incredibly proud of the effort our WFP team and members put together, and we are ready to continue the fight to make sure that we the people decide our representatives, not Republican billionaires.
AIPAC’s next target is Rep. Cori Bush, who’s already facing millions in attack ads from some of the same dark-money Super PACs that came after Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
We can’t let them win again, John.You can help defend Cori by clicking here to donate directly to her campaign.
WFP MAKES AN IMPACT IN NEW YORK RACES
While AIPAC may have succeeded in taking out one of our progressive champions in Congress, we were still able to grow our ranks of WFP electeds up and down the state.
On Tuesday, we powered three progressive women of color to victory in their State Assembly races, took out a corrupt District Attorney, and protected every one of our state-level champions.
Of the 27 WFP-endorsed candidates who had primary challenges — 19 won their elections.
Here are a few highlights from Tuesday night:
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Gabriella Romero won a six-way race to represent her Albany community in the State Assembly. A public defender and Common Councilmember, Gabriella will make sure that the voices of working people are heard in the halls of power.
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Claire Valdez won resoundingly in her Queens Assembly race. A proud UAW member, Claire will be a powerful champion for workers’ rights and climate protections in the legislature.
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Lee Kindlon defeated a scandal-ridden, twenty-year incumbent for Albany County District Attorney. We look forward to Lee bridging the gap between the DA’s office and the Albany community.
MORE VICTORIES IN NEW MEXICO, COLORADO PRIMARIES
We celebrated a big primary night in New Mexico, where WFP won 89% of our races.
Our movement defended every one of our incumbent champions, and helped bring new progressive leaders to victory and to governing power. Four Democratic state representatives who were blocking passage of paid family leave in the state lost to challengers we endorsed, a testament to the collective power of our movement, and the organizers who helped deliver this moment.
For more coverage on how WFP and other progressives are continuing to reshape the state legislature in New Mexico, read the rundown by New Mexico In Depth.
In Colorado, we saw several of our candidates overcome the bottomless pit of dark money that poured into their races.
Colorado Working Families Party State Director Wendy Howell broke it down best:
“The good news is that money surely couldn't buy them [corporate special interest groups] everything. While they certainly won a few races tonight, so did several of our community champions. In particular, Yara Zokaie in HD52 and Kathy Gebhardt for CD2 State Board of Education overcame huge corporate dark money spending against them to deliver powerful victories for our communities and our schools. And, in the race for SD28, which will likely go down as the most expensive state legislative primary in Colorado history with all of its corporate spending, community champion Rep. Mike Weissman appears to have won.”
“We've known all along that we won't win every race we fight against the wealthy few - they've been buying our political system for years, so we know what they're capable of. But tonight we proved that they won't win every race either, no matter how much they spend. For our part, we plan to just keep fighting to elect community champions, all up and down Colorado's ballot, this fall and in the years to come — no matter how much corporate spending may come against us.”
All in all, despite the record-breaking corporate spending stacked against us, our movement showed that the grassroots power of the many can take on dark money, and win.
WFP’S CEASEFIRE PHONE BANK SHUTS DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD
Earlier this month, following the Israeli military's invasion of Rafah — one of the last places of refuge for Palestinians in war-stricken Gaza — we mobilized hundreds of WFP members across the country to contact voters and patch through calls to the White House demanding that President Biden honor his own red line and cease military funding and weapons shipments to the Israeli military.
And the White House switchboard ended up shutting down from the flood of calls.
Collective action always makes a message clear, Charles. If you missed the phonebank, or just want to double your impact, sign our petition now to help keep the pressure on and end this devastating war.
THE PENNSYLVANIA WORKING FAMILIES PARTY SECURES MAJOR VICTORIES
In Philadelphia, the city council voted to make WFP Councilmember Kendra Brooks’ nationally-renowned Eviction Diversion Program permanent — a huge victory that will help keep tens of thousands of working people in their homes each year.
Now, we’re launching an effort to strengthen this program and enact new legislation that invests $50 million in rental assistance to help tenants struggling to make ends meet to cover rent, utilities and other housing related expenses. For coverage, see The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, WFP National Director Maurice Mitchell joined hundreds of Pennsylvanians from across the state, including WFP councilmembers Kendra Brooks, Nicolas O’Rourke, and other allies, to demand that legislators deliver a historic increase in state funding for Pennsylvania’s public schools — and reject the expansion of private school voucher programs that only benefit the wealthy.
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The bill to increase funding by the billions for Pennsylvania’s public schools passed the House that night, thanks in part to the efforts led by PA WFP and a people-powered coalition of labor unions, deeply-rooted community organizations, and elected officials. It now moves to the Senate for a final vote.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Phone Bank for Cori Bush!
Over the last few months we've made over 250,000 calls to protect the Squad and now we're showing our power in St. Louis.
With Rep. Cori Bush’s primary in Missouri just over two months away, WFP volunteers across the country are gathering for a phone bank, where we’ll reach voters about this crucial race.
Join the call at 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT this upcoming Monday, July 1st!
Never made calls before? Don't worry, you'll get all of the training you need to call with confidence. We’ll walk you through how to make effective calls, and our organizers will be around to answer any questions.
All you need is a computer or internet-connected device and a phone. You can sign up to phone bank here.
RSVP: Cori Bush Phone Bank »
WFP Welcome Gathering
On Thursday, July 25th at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT, join us for our monthly Welcome Gathering!
These monthly calls are your opportunity — whether you’re new to the WFP or a long-time supporter — to hear directly from our staff and activists about the country and the party we’re building together. Click here to RSVP now.
RSVP: WFP Welcome Gathering »
WFP Mass Call
Join us on August 14th at 8:00 PM EST/ 5:00 PM PST for our third in a series of mass calls aimed at driving out hopelessness by grounding us in clarity and our power.
We invite you to take a step back and examine with us the electoral chessboard, what opportunities we’ve successfully seized, and where we need to go next.
With less than five months until Election Day nationwide, it’s crucial that we remain grounded in community, hope, clarity, and our movement’s power — and we’re hoping that through this series of mass calls, we’ll provide a space that continues to inspire us in these times of intense struggle.
If you’re in, RSVP here, and we’ll send you the link to join the August 14th call.
_20240627222956235352.png "Working Families Party Mass Calls Call $3 August 14th")
RSVP: WFP Mass Call »
Thanks for making it to the end of our WFP newsletter, John!
With major primaries right around the corner, can we count on you to lend your support and pitch in right now to make a difference in these final months?
Pitch in $10 or whatever you can to help fuel our organizing and ensure we have the resources, volunteers, and organizers needed to combat the onslaught of right-wing and corporate influences trying to take over our elections.
Pitch in »
In solidarity,
Team WFP
