In September, the Working Families Party WFP hosted a presidential debate watch party at Terraza 7 in Queens. (Credit: Jake Angelo)
This election cycle, many progressives are ambivalent about voting for Democrats, often citing the party’s ardent support for Israel.
For many on the left, the internal conflict between anti-war values and the Democratic party’s unwavering support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza has led to an impasse. But despite disagreements on foreign policy, a progressive third-party movement on Long Island offers a glimmer of hope that inter-party tensions will remain outside the ballot box this November as the looming specter of a second Trump presidency snaps progressives into action.
In September, the Working Families Party (WFP) —a minor political party that balances progressive values with electoral pragmatism — hosted a presidential debate watch party at Terraza 7, a cozy music venue in Elmhurst, Queens. A tight-knit group of party leaders, Working Families Party-backed politicians and enthusiastic supporters arrived decked out in Working Families Party merch and “Ceasefire Now” shirts and pins. They sipped margaritas and “Impeachment sangria” as Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage to debate former President Donald Trump.
The room erupted in applause and laughter in response to what they saw as Harris’s quick quips and Trump’s frequent blunders. An exceptionally loud and ironic roar came when Trump accused Harris of being a Marxist.
But the room looked on with disquietude when the debate turned to divisive topics like the Israel-Hamas war and Harris made her pitch to the American people for continued support of Israel.
The Working Families Party has long enjoyed a strong presence throughout New York State. This election cycle, however, many longtime Working Families Party supporters on Long Island are distancing themselves from the party platform, and vice versa. Signs of fracture surfaced in March when the Working Families Party urged its supporters to cast blank ballots in New York’s Democratic presidential primary as part of a nationwide protest against the Biden administration for its role in funding the Israeli offensive. Despite this growing rift, Working Families Party members remain committed to backing Democrats down-ballot in November, a sign that party infighting has subsided in favor of avoiding a second Trump presidency.
Founded in 1998 by a coalition of labor activists and community organizers, the Working Families Party has grown into a formidable force in electing progressive candidates throughout the United States. This election cycle, though, is different. Many Democrats have shifted toward the political center, sidelining the party as a result.
Democratic moderation in suburban districts has eroded the Working Families Party’s reach in New York. Congressman Tom Suozzi (D), representing eastern Queens and Nassau County, is one such example. Having run on the Working Families Party line in past elections, Suozzi has turned his cheek to the party this year.
Suozzi did not respond to a request for comment on his decision to not run on the party line.
Instead, many candidates in tight House elections in suburban Long Island are running on the Common Sense Party line, a minor third party that espouses “common sense” politics in an effort to win over moderate voters. Suozzi and his fellow Long Island Democratic hopefuls, Laura Gillen and John Avlon, will all bid their chance with the third party line.
Vice President Harris and Tim Walz will both appear on the Working Families Party line, contradicting the strategy of moderate suburban candidates.
Although the Working Families Party garners a marginal amount of support for Democratic candidates on Long Island, it remains a potential deciding factor. In 2020, 9,203 voters cast their ballot for Suozzi on the Working Families Party line, according to New York State Board of Elections data. This figure accounted for just 4 percent of total votes for the Democratic Congressman, who bested his Republican competitor, George Santos, by 13 points. But in a competitive swing House District, candidates like Suozzi cannot afford to discount these votes, as they could be crucial in deciding the outcome of November’s election.
“It’s a smart move,” said Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf when asked about candidates distancing themselves from the Working Families Party. “They’re anti-Israel, and they have very little vote,” said Sheinkopf.
Sheinkopf’s comments align with results from the Democratic primaries, where pro-Israeli candidates fared better than staunch pro-Palestinian advocates. In Westchester, incumbent and Working Families Party-backed Congressman Jamaal Bowman lost in the Democratic primary to Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a pro-Israeli candidate backed by the powerful AIPAC lobby.
But Working Families Party leaders are not convinced these candidates have redressed fears of suburban losses. Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the New York State Working Families Party, thinks Democrats will regret the decision to sideline the Working Families Party.
“I think he’s leaving votes on the table,” Gripper said, referring to Suozzi’s decision to not run on the party line. “There has consistently been voters in Long Island who vote on the Working Families Party [line] every election, and that number has remained steady or gone up where Democrats have been losing votes on Long Island,” she said.
Gripper believes the Working Families Party’s stance on the Israel-Hamas War is in fact a strength for the party, contradicting the belief of many Democrats and analysts like Sheinkopf who believe a progressive approach to the war is burdensome to Democratic candidates.
“The reality is the majority of voters in New York have consistently said again and again that they are not happy about this war,” said Gripper. “The majority of voters in New York, the majority of Democrats, want the war to end. They want us to stop sending bombs. That’s not a hard position to take.”
Despite this rift in foreign policy stances between the Democrats and the Working Families Party, Gripper says the progressive third party will continue to support Democrats in competitive races despite being neglected by these moderate candidates.
“We’re working on the down ballot Senate and Assembly races, in congressional races at the battleground districts,” said Gripper. “We’re good at running and winning elections, and so we’ll see the fruit of that labor on election day.”
“There’s no hard feelings there,” Gripper added when asked about those candidates the Working Families Party will help to elect despite not running on the party line. “We are going to do what we do. We’re going to continue to build our base. We’re going to continue to mobilize voters.”
Wide policy gaps are a reality of big tent politics, an ambitious goal of the Democrats this election cycle as they seek to woo moderates and progressives alike to defeat Republicans. New York State Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas emphasizes that there’s still room for union.
“I think across the state, we’re seeing Democrats reflect the values of their district, which sometimes range on the more conservative end versus the more progressive,” said the Queens politician, who has run on the Working Families Party line since her first election in 2020. “There is space for all of us.”
The Working Families Party will chart unknown territory following this election cycle. 250,000 voters in New York State must cast a ballot for Harris and Walz on the Working Families Party line for the party to exist in future state elections.
It is even more uncertain if House Democrats who have distanced themselves from the party will return in the future. Despite the ideological conflict, Working Families Party members are hopeful that Long Island Dems will find their way back.
“I think it would behoove them to, because this is a pivotal election,” said Maria Kaufer, a founding member of the Queens Working Families Party. “I do think that they will come back.”
About the author(s)
Jake Angelo is a freelance reporter and M.S. Candidate at Columbia Journalism School, covering local New York elections and politics.