The Third Party That’s Pushing the Democrats Left |
The Third Party That’s Pushing the Democrats Left
Long a major progressive influence in New York politics, the Working Families Party has released its first national platform ever—and it has the likes of Elizabeth Warren and Ro Khanna on board.
Most Americans, even many Republican voters, disapprove of the war in Iran and remain unhappy about the high cost of everything from gas to groceries, which is only getting worse as the conflict continues. So it’s not surprising that President Donald Trump’s overall approval rating hit record lows this week. That’s great news for Democrats ahead of this fall’s midterm elections—but there’s a catch.
Despite overperforming in special elections over the past year, including flipping congressional districts that voted convincingly for Trump in 2024, the Democrats are hardly taking full advantage of this opportunity. G. Elliott Morris at Strength in Numbers shows that while Trump is underwater by 23 points, Democrats are only ahead of the GOP by six points on the generic congressional ballot.
Many voters, it seems, are angry at both parties. The Democrats’ low approval rating—which lately has hovered in the upper 30s, similar to the GOP’s—is attributable in part to a base that feels that party leadership isn’t doing enough to stand up to Trump. So now the Working Families Party is stepping into the breach, hoping to give dissatisfied progressives something to get excited about.
A third party that’s well established in New York, the WFP has steadily expanded its footprint beyond the Empire State over the past two decades. But last week, for the first time, it released a national platform. Endorsed by 18 members of Congress—including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, and Ed Markey, as well as Representatives Ro Khanna, Maxwell Frost, and some members of The Squad—the Working Families Guarantee aims squarely at affordability issues, promising to lower housing costs and provide health care for all, union jobs, low-cost childcare, and paid family leave—all of it funded by a billionaire wealth tax like the one proposed by Warren.
The platform is a direct appeal to the public that we haven’t seen from the party before. “This marks years of work........