We can ask for more in this election, and we should. Come next week, we need to soundly reject the authoritarian right, but also call for the kind of bold action that our state needs to advance economic justice and strong, equitable growth.
The question is how to do both: to call elected officials to govern for working people, not the wealthy and well-connected, without wasting your ballot on a candidate who acts as a spoiler and hands the election to the increasingly authoritarian Republicans. A way to vote to move the state forward, but without acting as a spoiler. The good news is that we can do that – by casting your ballot on Row C, the Working Families Party line.
Let’s start first with why politics in our state are so frustrating, and why just voting for Democrats sends the wrong message. For some residents, Connecticut is a wealthy, safe state, with excellent public schools and charming communities. After more than a decade of constant shortfalls, permanent crises, and painful fiscal reforms, the strong economic recovery following the pandemic has left our budgets in much better shape.
Despite all of this, however, significant issues remain unaddressed. Connecticut is one of the most unequal states in the country. Racial and economic segregation in our towns has restricted access to jobs and opportunities for many. Housing is increasingly unaffordable, to the point where it is not just a burden on working families but a drag on overall economic growth. Childcare costs are among the highest in the nation. Despite our best efforts to become the best place in the country to raise a family, doing so is only within reach of a wealthy few.
To make things worse, Connecticut operates under a set of fiscal rules adopted by the General Assembly in 2017 that greatly limit their ability to budget. The spending cap, revenue cap, and volatility cap (because lawmakers drafted three interlocking restrictions) have proven so restrictive that even in years of giant budget surpluses and an overflowing reserve fund, lawmakers have been forced to look for spending cuts rather than investing in our people and our communities. Faced with persistent inequality and a housing crisis, our state government has imposed on itself a set of rules that make investing in our future almost impossible.
Republicans, of course, are even worse. The GOP not only has chosen to support an authoritarian, racist, and sexist figure at the top of their ticket but also enthusiastically supports fiscal austerity. They have no plans or alternatives to any of the structural problems working families face in our state and actively stand in the way of any proposed solution.
We need a better alternative — one that blocks the increasingly fascistic Republicans from gaining power, but also builds up power to urge lawmakers into action. Our goal at the Connecticut Working Families Party (WFP) is to be that better option, pushing Democrats forward while ensuring the MAGA movement is defeated. To achieve this, we are building a third party focused on electing leaders who are ready and willing to put the needs of working families at the center of their agenda and pass the bold progressive solutions our state needs right now to move ahead.
To make this happen, we know that realistically we cannot try to displace or challenge Democrats without the very real risk of handing the election to a much worse MAGA Republican. Third-party candidates seldom make sense in a first-past-the-post system. Our strategy, then, is to ensure as many Democrats aligned with our values make it through primaries as possible. Second, come general elections, we send a very clear, forceful message that we need real change in our state, and it is time to move forward. Thanks to Connecticut’s fusion voting laws, this is something we can readily do at the ballot box.
Connecticut election law allows candidates to appear on the ballot on more than one line, with their votes being added up to the total. Candidates can receive the endorsement of more than one party. This system is called fusion voting and has the distinct advantage of allowing voters to not just elect politicians but tell them what they want from them. In our case, a vote on the WFP line means that we are asking the candidate to be a champion for working families. Not just a roadblock against a much worse Republican, but to embrace an agenda that seeks to build a better Connecticut, with economic, social, and racial justice as their main priorities. To build a governing majority for the many, not the privileged few.
What would this agenda look like? Consider, for instance, the role of big businesses in both our politics and the economy as a whole. Big corporations routinely take advantage of working families with impunity across the economy. Democrats at least try to block some of the most egregious abuses, but our economy is full of regulations, laws, and subsidies directed to protect big businesses. A vote on the WFP line tells candidates that we need to put the power back in the hands of workers, from predictable schedules to ending the separate, lower minimum wage for tipped workers, or fighting wage theft.
Now take healthcare costs. The U.S. has some of the highest healthcare costs in the world; we pay more for prescriptions, insurance, and actual care than anyone else. Although Democrats have done quite a bit to expand coverage (despite falling short in some areas, like Husky for undocumented kids), they have refused to go after the oversized profits of insurers and healthcare providers. A vote on the WFP line sends a clear message that we need more than small fixes and that Connecticut should embrace bolder solutions like a public option.
Then there is the consistent tension between talking big about supporting working families and falling short of delivering what we need. Childcare is a good example; Democrats unanimously believe that affordable childcare should be a priority but never manage to find the will or the resources to make it happen. Connecticut has a tangled, complicated mess of programs and funding streams that serve some parents and kids but always fall short of fulfilling current needs. Voting on the WFP line is a way to demand a system that covers all kids, not a patchwork of solutions constantly hampered by insufficient funding.
Housing is even more frustrating. Everyone in our state agrees we don’t have enough of it, and the rent is too darn high, yet many Democrats run for the exits the moment anyone suggests taking action. A vote on the WFP line is a call to build the housing Connecticut needs—and the vibrant, welcoming, open neighborhoods and communities where everyone can thrive.
We can ask for more in this election, and we should. Connecticut law makes it really difficult for minor parties to endorse presidential candidates, but this November, we must first soundly reject the authoritarian right with a proud vote for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, as endorsed by the national Working Families Party. In addition, we also should and must call for the kind of bold action that our state needs to advance economic justice and strong, equitable growth.
If you want policymakers, both here and in Washington, to do more and go further, cast your ballot on Row C, the Working Families Party line.
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Ganong is the state directory of the Connecticut Working Families Party