Working Families Party Aims to Disrupt Two-Party System in 2026
The Working Families Party (WFP), a progressive third party active in 18 states with direct ballot access in New York, Connecticut, and Oregon, has announced plans to expand its influence in the 2026 elections. With over 600,000 members and more than 100 staff, the WFP endorsed over 700 candidates in the November 2025 elections.
Maurice Mitchell, the party’s national director, stated that 2026 is the right moment for a third party to challenge the political status quo. The party seeks to disrupt the entrenched two-party system and dismantle existing barriers to third-party growth.
Notable recent successes for the WFP include Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor on the WFP line, and victories in Dayton, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York. In New Jersey, the party contributed to abolishing the party-line “line” in 2024 and helped elect WFP-aligned officials such as James Solomon.
WFP candidates often run as insurgents in Democratic primaries, focusing on issues like affordability and workers' protections. While it endorses candidates across many states and races, the party sometimes collaborates with the Democratic Party. The WFP argues that the Democratic brand is weakening, noting a decline in voters who strictly identify as Democrat or Republican, which opens space for a third party amid major party brand struggles.
Beyond electoral efforts, the WFP engages supporters through non-political organizing activities, such as Real Housewives of Politics events and Dungeons & Dragons nights, led by strategy director Nelini Stamp.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Working Families Party plans an aggressive recruitment campaign targeting state legislature candidates to flip chambers. It has announced primary challenges in three congressional districts: Nida Allam in North Carolina, Mai Vang in California, and Brad Lander in New York, with additional challenges forthcoming, including efforts opposing datacent.
