Dear Forward Party supporters,

It has been quite a year, both for our nation and for the Forward Party. We have celebrated successes and learned from significant setbacks. We stand today, more than ever, steeled in our resolve to build a new political party from the ground up in order to introduce real competition into the political process. Each time we experienced challenges along the way we were inspired by the resolve of our incredible candidates. This morning we continue to draw strength and resolve from their determination and are so grateful for their commitment. 

Thank you to each and every Forward-aligned candidate that ran this year. 

In the wake of the election yesterday, I wanted to write to everyone to give an update on outcomes from this cycle. Today, I’m focusing on the results of the election, for our candidates and supported ballot initiatives. Tomorrow, I’ll write about the infrastructure we built over the past year.

Presidential Race

The Forward Party decided early on not to engage in the presidential race. Too many other efforts start with the presidential and collapse under the weight of it. However, just because we didn’t engage in it doesn’t mean we don’t have thoughts about the election and the outcome.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory, it’s important to reflect on how, after his first term and his rhetoric during the election season, the American people decided to return him to power. It shows how truly broken our political system is, and a Democratic Party that isn’t able to build a winning coalition of voters. It reflects an electorate that feels increasingly left behind and desperate for anyone they believe will rebuild the American dream. Just think about what happened during this cycle:

The presidential nominee for the Democratic party was not subjected to a national democratic process. Debates were canceled, and frontrunners refused to participate in them. Parties funded extremists in the other party to have an easier path to victory, only to see that backfire when the extremist won. Legislatures tried to strip the power from the people to vote on ballot initiatives, removing a direct path to self-governance.

The Forward Party is fighting to build infrastructure to run candidates who want America to work again. We need to provide an alternative from this insanity to the American people, and we need each and every one of you to help us build a new home for those just like us.

Our Candidates

The primary purpose of a political party is to find and run aligned candidates. In this cycle, after considering thousands of candidates, we ended up endorsing over 125 that lived up to the values cited in our pledge <[link removed]> These candidates ran as Forwardists or affiliates from other parties. They ran in races from school board to US Senate. They ran representing views from across the ideological spectrum. But, if they won, they all agreed to respect the rule of law and the Constitution; act with ethics and integrity; and work with all potential partners on common ground solutions, no matter their ideological source.

We are thrilled to congratulate the following candidates who at the time of this email have been declared winners:

- Don Davis, US House from North Carolina
- Dan Rayfield, OR Attorney General
- Dave Larson, WA State Supreme Court
- Lydia Hernandez, AZ State Representative
- Steve Eliason, UT State Representative
- Rosemary Lesser, UT State Representative
- Dr. Jermaine Johnson, SC State Representative
- Jim Palmisciano, Richmond (RI) Town Council
- Nathan Hochman, LA (CA) County DA
- Vanessa Grossl, KY State Representative
- John Curtis, US Senate from Utah
- Carolina Jewett, Charleston (SC) School Board
- Michael Lai, San Francisco Board of Supervisors
- Scott Bright, CO State Senate
- Lisa Feret, CO State Representative
- Rhonda Fields, Arapahoe County Commissioner
- Tony Hwang, CT State Senate
- Cynthia Borrego, MN State Representative
- Kathleen Cates, MN State Representative
- Joshua Hernandez, MN State Representative
- Jonathan Cooper, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace
- Phyllis Bernard, Clallam County (WA) Public Utility District
- Kyle Curtis, Yakima County (WA) Commissioner
- Bob Marshall, CO State Representative
- Amy Roeder, ME State Representative

Here’s what some of our candidates had to say:

“The Forward Party guide is truly energizing. All that I have sought to share in meet & greets, candidate forums, you name it - the principles are all there. My thanks to everyone who contributed to this effort. It might raise peoples' spirits to know that a more inclusive, non-partisan approach even exists.”

-Phyllis Bernard


“I am grateful for the [endorsement]. I am excited to have the support of Forward Party and to close this race out so we can begin to work on strengthening our democracy and making it more equitable for us all.”

-Tyrell Hicks

Ballot Initiatives

State legislatures are seemingly taking every opportunity to attack the ballot initiative process, but the American people are fighting back. When legislatures try to take power away from us, the American voters, we are stopping them in their tracks. Look no further than Utah’s Amendment D, where a last minute initiative attempted to give the legislature power to edit or ignore amendments voted on by the people.

These types of initiatives are one of the purest ways Americans exercise self-governance, and they are important to keeping our government open, transparent, and honest. In this cycle, a number of initiatives that would implement good government reforms such as ranked-choice voting and open primaries were on the ballot.

- DC passed an open primaries and ranked-choice voting initiative
- Peoria, IL, voted to implement a ranked-choice voting system
- Oak Park, IL, did, as well
- Bloomington, MN, defended a challenge against their successful use of ranked-choice voting

This year was truly momentous for the Forward Party, and none of it could have happened without the help of our state leads and volunteers across the country. Tomorrow, I’ll be writing to look at this work and the infrastructure we built out while supporting good people for office.

Best,

Lindsey Williams Drath

Forward Party CEO

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