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Political Party/527

Working Families Party (WFP)

Logo of the Working Families Party (link)
Website:

workingfamilies.org/
Location:

BROOKLYN, NY
DUNS Number:

12-606-2038
Tax-Exempt Status:

527

Formation:

1998
National Director:

Maurice Mitchell
Founder:

Dan Cantor
State Affiliates:

15 states (as of 2025)

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Working Families Party (WFP) is a left-wing political party based in New York City. While it does not generally refer to itself as “socialist,” in practice, it is closely aligned with self-described democratic socialists such as U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), New York City mayoral candidate and New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens), and the Democratic Socialists of America. In 2016, Sen. Sanders referred to the WFP as “the closest thing there is to a political party that believes in my vision of democratic socialism.” 1

While the WFP was originally founded by labor activists and long had strong financial and organizational ties to labor unions, its increasingly radical socialist rhetoric and choice of candidates to endorse in the late 2010s and early 2020s damaged its relationships with labor unions, especially in New York State where former governor Andrew Cuomo (D) had pressured unions to break with the party. 2 3

The WFP operates 15 state-level affiliate parties as well as the Working Families Party PAC and the Working Families Power advocacy group, formerly known as the Working Families Organization. 4 5

Founding and Leadership

The Working Families Party grew out of the New Party, which was an attempt by left-wing members and allies of the now-defunct and scandal-plagued Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) community organizing network to use New York’s electoral fusion laws to push the Democratic Party further leftward. 6 While the New Party had some successes, including its 1996 endorsement of Barack Obama for Illinois state Senate, it folded in 1998. 7

After the collapse of the New Party, its co-founder Dan Cantor joined Bob Master, the political director for District 1 of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) labor union, to create the Working Families Party. Cantor was a long-time ACORN activist, having begun working for ACORN upon graduating from Wesleyan University in 1977. 8

Cantor worked as the WFP’s national director from its founding in 1998 until 2018, when he left that role and transitioned to chair the WFP National Committee. 9 8 He was replaced as national director by Maurice Mitchell, a left-wing activist who had previously been involved in the radical-left Movement for Black Lives group associated with the Black Lives Matter movement. 9 Mitchell is also a co-anchor of Fight Back Table, a coalition of activists formed in 2017 to oppose policy passed by the first Trump administration. 10

Labor Union Ties

Founding

The Working Families Party was created by activists with a background in labor unionism. The WFP’s co-founder and longtime executive director Dan Cantor had previously worked for the National Labor Committee on Central America, mobilizing pressure on the historically left-of-center but anti-Communist AFL-CIO for its refusal to support the Cuban-backed Communist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. 9

At its creation and for most of its existence, labor unions provided a significant amount of both financial and organizational support for the WFP and were widely viewed to have a significant amount of influence over its operations and endorsement decisions. In 2016, Village Voice political columnist Ross Barkan described the relationship as “an uneasy alliance between organized labor and the grassroots activists undergirding the party,” explaining that “a grand bargain between idealists and pragmatists allowed the party to flourish with a simple formula: Cantor and company could strategize and dream big while organized labor underwrote the movement with cash and bodies on the ground.” 11

In fiscal year 2014, unions contributed $633,196 to the WFP and its state affiliates, with a further $308,288 donated in 2015. 12

Conflicts with Andrew Cuomo

Over the mid-to-late 2010s, rifts began to widen in the relationship between labor unions and the more radical leadership of the Working Families Party as the party began to more frequently reject labor-union backed candidates in favor of more radical left-aligned competitors. The issue came to a head in the New York governor’s races of 2014 and 2018, which were won by incumbent then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). 13

Cuomo’s relationship with the WFP dated back to 2010, when the then-New York Attorney General was unopposed in his campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for governor. 14 While Cuomo accepted the WFP’s endorsement that year, he first publicly questioned whether he would do so, highlighting divisions between his center-left campaign platform and the WFP’s more radical-left positions on issues such as taxation. 15

In his first term as governor, Cuomo frequently came into conflict with the WFP, which pressured him to adopt policies such as a statewide $15 hourly minimum wage and criticized him for his relationships with Wall Street and major businesses. In 2014, the relationship began to fray further as the WFP publicly considered endorsing a Democratic primary challenge against Cuomo by left-wing Fordham University professor Zephyr Teachout. 16

While the WFP ended up endorsing Cuomo in 2014, Cuomo also formed the “Women’s Equality Party” (WEP) with his running mate Kathy Hochul that year in what was seen by political observers as an effort to cause voter confusion between the WEP and WFP. 17 Cuomo began encouraging organized labor to pull away from the WFP, which led to labor unions including the United Federation of Teachers; the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union; the Hotel Trades Council;  and 1199SEIU; and Transit Workers United all withdrawing their support. 17

In 2018, the WFP endorsed a left-wing primary challenge to incumbent Gov. Cuomo launched by actress Cynthia Nixon. 18 19 The decision further alienated Cuomo, who reportedly told unions that if any of them donated to the WFP, “they can lose my number.” 20 As a result, SEIU 32BJ and the Communications Workers of America District 1 both withdrew from the WFP, saying in a joint statement that they “fundamentally believe that endorsing Governor Cuomo is the most effective way to put the interest of working families first.” 20

In March 2021, the New York State WFP called on Cuomo to resign following several accusations of sexual misconduct, decrying the three-term governor’s “reign of fear, harassment, and intimidation.” 21 While Cuomo denied the allegations, he ultimately resigned in August 2021. 13

In 2025, the WFP was a key supporter of state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s (D-Queens) campaign for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. The WFP’s support for Mamdani was viewed by political observers as another chapter in the party’s hostile relationship with Cuomo, whom the WFP described as “corrupt” and the “hand-picked candidate of the billionaire class.” 22

State and Local Affiliates

The Working Families Party has state affiliate parties in 15 states and has endorsed candidates in 25 states and the District of Columbia. 5

New York City

The Working Families Party’s base of political power is in New York City, where its endorsement is generally viewed as carrying significant value for left-leaning Democratic candidates for elected office. 8 23 11 Under New York State’s fusion voting system, candidates can appear on the ballot for both the WFP and Democratic Party tickets. 24

The WFP was extremely successful in the 2013 New York City municipal elections, with WFP-endorsed candidates Bill de Blasio, Letitia James, and Scott Stringer winning the Democratic nominations and general elections for the city’s three city-wide offices of Mayor, Public Advocate, and Comptroller. 8

All were re-elected with WFP support in 2017, although New York City political observers questioned whether de Blasio’s broad unpopularity toward the end of his tenure as mayor had tarnished the WFP’s reputation. 11

In the 2021 New York City mayoral election, the WFP endorsed three Democrats during the primary: Scott Stringer, Diane Morales, and civil rights attorney Maya Wiley. All three lost the primary to Eric Adams, who would go on to win the election for Mayor against Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in November 2021. 25 26

In 2025, the WFP was a key supporter of state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s (D-Queens) campaign for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. The WFP’s support for Mamdani was viewed by political observers as another chapter in the party’s hostile relationship with former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), whom the WFP’s statements described as “corrupt” and the “hand-picked candidate of the billionaire class.” 22

New York State

Since the 1998 New York gubernatorial election, the Working Families Party has had official party status and a guaranteed ballot line for elections in the state. 27 The party typically pushes more left-wing candidates in Democratic Party primary elections, then co-endorses whichever candidate wins the Democratic primary. 28

In the 2022 election for governor, the WFP endorsed New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’s unsuccessful primary challenge to incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul (D), who had taken office after the resignation of Andrew Cuomo. The WFP did endorse Hochul in the general election, and then-New York WFP director Sochie Nnaemeka noted that Hochul had received roughly 260,000 votes on the WFP line in the election, more than twice the amount received by Andrew Cuomo in the previous election. 26

In 2025, WFP-backed left-leaning candidates won Democratic primaries for mayor in four of New York’s biggest cities: New York City, Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse. WFP-NY co-director Jasmine Gripper claimed the results were evidence of a “seismic shift” leftward in New York politics and evidence that the Democratic Party should embrace more radical left-leaning candidates and policies. 28

In 2024, the WFP rejected its own nominee for New York’s 17th U.S. Congressional district after allegations surfaced that WFP primary winner Anthony Frascone was secretly a Republican operative attempting to draw votes from the Democratic nominee, former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY). 29 The WFP denounced Frascone as a “MAGA plant,” and told its members to vote the straight Democratic ticket instead. 30 An attempt to have a court remove Frascone from the ballot was unsuccessful, but the 7,530 votes he received would not have been enough to turn the election for Jones, who lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) by more than 23,000 votes. 31 32

Work in Other States

The Working Families Party has expanded from its New York base, and now operates state party affiliates in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 4 The WFP previously operated a state affiliate in Maryland, but it went defunct shortly after the 2020 elections. 33

The WFP endorsed former Connecticut governor Dan Malloy (D) in the 2010 election when he became the state’s first Democratic governor in decades, as well as in his successful 2014 reelection campaign. The WFP supported Malloy’s numerous left-leaning policies, including the expansion of Connecticut’s gun control laws, creation of paid sick leave, increase in the minimum wage, elimination of the death penalty and mandatory sentences for some felonies. 34

However, the WFP broke with Malloy over his 2016 budget when he refused to implement tax increases and other economic policies supported by the WFP, in what many saw as a reaction to General Electric’s decision to move its corporate headquarters out of the state and a generally deteriorating business climate in the state. 35

Ties to Left-Wing Groups

The Working Families Party has close ties to various left-wing groups. The WFP formerly shared its Brooklyn headquarters with a number of union-aligned left-wing groups and descendants of the national ACORN network, including New York Communities for Change (NYCC), a labor organizing group, and the former ACORN real estate subsidiary Mutual Housing Association of New York (MHANY). 36 37

While the WFP is linked with left-wing economic policies and candidates, left-wing groups have expressed hope that the WFP’s innocuous-sounding name will assist their efforts to elect Democrats; the Center for Popular Democracy, a left-wing organizing group, and Working Families Organization reported in a proposal that the WFP brand was seen as moderate. 38

The party also receives funds from friendly political committees. Federal Election Commission records show that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) presidential campaign provided the WFP with $316,316 in 2016. 39 The party backed Sen. Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries. After the primary campaign, Sanders praised WFP as “the closest thing there is to a political party that believes in my vision of democratic socialism” and spoke at the WFP’s September 2016 fundraising gala. Sanders encouraged New York state voters to cast their general election vote for Democratic-WFP presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on the Working Families line to endorse a left-wing transformation of the country. 1

During the 2020 election cycle, the WFP trained what it called “election defenders” to serve as poll watchers and create a party-like atmosphere at the polls to encourage voters to wait in line. 40

The WFP has been vocal in its opposition to the administrations of President Donald Trump, not only attempting to defeat his campaigns electorally in 2016, 2020, and 2024 but also aligning itself with ‘Resistance’ efforts to oppose his administrations’ policies. 10

Related Organizations

Also see Working Families Power (Nonprofit)

The Working Families Party (WFP) runs a 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy group, Working Families Power, which was previously known as the Working Families Organization. Former WFP national director Dan Cantor also worked as the executive director of Working Families Power, continuing in that role after he became chair of the WFP’s national committee. 41

The WFP also operates the Working Families Party PAC, as well as a variety of other related state and federal-level committees. 42 In the 2024 election cycle, the Working Families Party PAC reported $25,302,103 in receipts to federal election regulators. 43

References

  1. Bredderman, Will. “Bernie Sanders Calls the Working Families Party ‘the Closest Thing’ to Socialism.” Observer. November 05, 2016. http://observer.com/2016/11/bernie-sanders-calls-the-working-families-party-the-closest-thing-to-socialism/
  2. Lewis, Rebecca C. “Which Unions Are in and out of the WFP?” City and State NY. April 17, 2018. Accessed April 19, 2018. https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/campaigns-elections/unions-in-out-working-families-party.html.
  3. Nichols, John. “Andrew Cuomo’s Attempt to Divide the Working Families Party Failed.” The Nation, May 23, 2018. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/andrew-cuomos-attempt-to-divide-the-working-families-party-failed/.
  4. “Home.” Working Families Party. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://workingfamilies.org/.
  5. “Our Candidates.” Working Families Party. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://workingfamilies.org/candidates/.
  6. Katz, Alyssa. “Who’s Afraid of Progressive Power?” The Nation, June 29, 2015. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/whos-afraid-progressive-power/.
  7. Erickson, Erick. “Obama and the New Party.” Human Events. June 10, 2008. http://humanevents.com/2008/06/10/obama-and-the-new-party/
  8. Meyerson, Harold. “Dan Cantor’s Machine.” The American Prospect. January 6, 2014. http://prospect.org/article/dan-cantors-machine
  9. Cantor, Dan. “Passing the Torch.” Working Families Party, April 10, 2018. https://workingfamilies.org/2018/04/passing-the-torch/.
  10. Epstein, Reid J., Maggie Haberman, Charlie Savage, and Jonathan Swan. “The Resistance to a New Trump Administration Has Already Started.” New York Times, June 16, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/16/us/politics/trump-2025-democratic-resistance.html
  11. Barkan, Ross. “Is the Working Families Party Running Out of Juice?” Village Voice. June 15, 2016. Accessed via Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20160616052941/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/is-the-working-families-party-running-out-of-juice-8734613
  12.  Author’s calculations from data compiled from Annual Reports of Labor Organizations (Forms LM-2) maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards at http://unionreports.gov
  13. “Andrew Cuomo.” Ballotpedia. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Andrew_Cuomo.
  14. Vielkind, Jimmy. “Working Families Party Endorses Nixon over Cuomo.” Politico PRO. April 14, 2018. https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2018/04/14/working-families-party-endorses-cynthia-nixon-over-andrew-cuomo-365405.
  15. Vielkind, Jimmy. “Cuomo: Party Must Toe Line.” Albany Times-Union, September 9, 2010. https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/cuomo-party-must-toe-line-650812.php.
  16. McKinley, Jesse. “Cuomo Secures Support of Working Families Party.” The New York Times, June 1, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/01/nyregion/cuomo-secures-support-of-working-families-party.html.
  17. Benjamin, Liz. “Cuomo’s Self-Created WFP Problem.” New York State of Politics (accessed via Wayback Machine), April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180422005900/http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2018/04/cuomos-self-created-wfp-problem/
  18. Campanile, Carl. “Working Families Party Might Regret Endorsing Nixon.” New York Post. April 16, 2018. https://nypost.com/2018/04/15/working-families-party-might-regret-endorsing-nixon/.
  19. Krieg, Gregory. “Nixon Gets Big Progressive Endorsement as NY Dems Face Rupture.” CNN. April 15, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/14/politics/cynthia-nixon-endorsement-working-families-party/index.html
  20. Goldmacher, Shane, and Jesse McKinley. “Flexing Their Support for Cuomo, Key Unions Leave Working Families Party.” The New York Times. April 13, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/nyregion/cuomo-nixon-wfp-labor-governor-election.html.
  21. Williams, Jordan. “NY Working Families Party: Time to End ‘Cuomo’s Reign of Fear, Harassment’.” The Hill, March 2, 2021. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/541202-ny-working-families-party-cuomos-reign-of-fear-harassment-and.
  22. “NYWFP Celebrates Zohran Mamdani’s Historic Victory.” Working Families Party, June 25, 2025. https://workingfamilies.org/2025/06/nywfp-celebrates-zohran-mamdanis-historic-victory/.
  23. Levy, Pema. “Bernie Sanders’ Secret Weapon in New York.” Mother Jones, April 18, 2016. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/04/bernie-sanders-has-secret-weapon-new-york/.
  24. “Voting in New York.” Ballotpedia. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_in_New_York.
  25. “Mayoral election in New York, New York (2021).” Ballotpedia, Accessed May 3, 2023. https://ballotpedia.org/Mayoral_election_in_New_York,_New_York_(2021)
  26. Walsh, Joan. “New York’s Working Families Party Came Back From the Brink. Its Departing Leader Recalls the Battle.” The Nation, May 1, 2023. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/working-families-party-new-york/?custno=
  27. “Working Families Party of New York.” Ballotpedia. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Working_Families_Party_of_New_York.
  28. Justin, Raga. “Working Families Party Celebrates ‘seismic Shift’ in Democratic Party.” Albany Times-Union, June 25, 2025. https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/working-families-party-celebrates-seismic-shift-20393307.php.
  29. Campanile, Carl. “Liberal Working Families Party Rejects Own Candidate as ‘Maga Spoiler’ in Ny Congressional Swing District Race.” New York Post, October 21, 2024. https://nypost.com/2024/10/21/us-news/liberal-working-families-parties-fearful-candidate-a-plant-by-republicans-tells-members-to-not-vote-party-line-in-ny-congressional-swing-district/.
  30. “Anthony Frascone’s Fake Campaign for NY-17 on the WFP Line.” Working Families Party, October 20, 2024. https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000192-acb6-d419-a5f2-acb7ad2c0000.
  31. “New York’s 17th Congressional District Election, 2024.” Ballotpedia. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/New_York’s_17th_Congressional_District_election,_2024.
  32. .” Croton Chronicle, October 21, 2024. https://thecrotonchronicle.substack.com/p/i-am-doing-it-for-jesus-alleged-working.
  33. “Maryland.” Working Families Party (Accessed via Wayback Machine), September 28, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200928064609/https://workingfamilies.org/states/maryland/
  34. Pazniokas, Mark. “On Outs with Sanders and Labor, Is Malloy Still a Progressive?” CT Mirror, May 24, 2016. https://ctmirror.org/2016/05/24/on-outs-with-sanders-and-labor-is-malloy-still-a-progressive/.
  35. [1] Pazniokas, Mark. “On Outs with Sanders and Labor, Is Malloy Still a Progressive?” CT Mirror, May 24, 2016. https://ctmirror.org/2016/05/24/on-outs-with-sanders-and-labor-is-malloy-still-a-progressive/.
  36. Ciaramella, CJ. “It’s Alive!” The Washington Free Beacon. August 28, 2012. http://freebeacon.com/politics/its-alive/
  37. Both organizations occupied the 11th floor of 1 Metrotech Center North in Brooklyn, New York. See New York Communities for Change, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2016, Block C and “FEC Disclosure Form 3X for NEW YORK STATE COMMITTEE OF THE WORKING FAMILIES PARTY.” Federal Election Commission. March 20, 2018.. http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00350991/1215332/.
  38. Markay, Lachlan. “Liberal Group’s Turnout Efforts Target Battleground States.” Washington Free Beacon. May 09, 2016. http://freebeacon.com/issues/liberal-groups-turnout-efforts-target-battleground-states/
  39. Data compiled from reports filed by New York State Committee of the Working Families Party (FEC ID C00350991), showing contributions from Bernie 2016 (FEC ID C00577130) as of June 27, 2016. http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201609199030963588
  40.  Ball, Molly. “The Secret Bipartisan Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election.” Time, February 4, 2021. https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/.
  41. “Working Families Organization Inc.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/204994004.
  42. “PAC Profile: Working Families Party.” OpenSecrets. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/working-families-party/C00606962/summary/2024.
  43. “Working Families Party Pac – Committee Overview.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed June 26, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00606962/
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Working Families Party (WFP)

1 METROTECH CENTER NORTH
11
BROOKLYN, NY