Working Class Party

The Working Class Party (WCP) is a left-wing political party in the United States, based in Detroit, Michigan. WCP first gained ballot access in 2016. WCP supports progressive, pro-labor and socialist policies and candidates.

Working Class Party
Abbreviation	WCP
Founded	2014; 10 years ago (2014)
Ideology	Progressivism Socialism
Political position	Left-wing
US House of Representatives	0 / 13
US Senate	0 / 2
Michigan House of Representatives	0 / 110
Michigan Senate	0 / 38
Michigan statewide offices	0 / 4
Website
workingclassfight.com
Politics of United States Political parties Elections

The party was created by Trotskyist newspaper The Spark and its supporters,^[1] which continues to endorse the party.^[2]

History

From 2011 to 2013, The Spark conducted a campaign to encourage the working class to organize independent of the Democratic Party.^{[citation needed]} In 2014, five people active in that campaign ran for office as Independent candidates.^[3][4] Four candidates lost. David Roehrig won his campaign for Wayne County Community College Trustee, due to his only opponent (the Democratic incumbent) being disqualified before the election.^[5]

Michigan has harsh ballot access laws. In 2016, several dozen WCP volunteers turned in more than 50,000 signatures, above the required 31,566, which enabled WCP candidates to appear as party candidates on Michigan ballots.^[6][7]

Ideology

The WCP argues that no working class party exists, because both the Democrats and the Republicans are controlled by the bosses.^[8] In the WCP's party program, it supports a living wage tied to inflation and full employment through reductions in working time.^[9] The WCP holds that the working class "won't change our situation with an election", but can "use this election to say there are [...] tens of thousands of people[ ]who agree with this program for the crisis".^[9]

Election results

The WCP has fielded electoral candidates in the United States for local, state, and federal offices. WCP candidates usually run as official WCP candidates on their own ballot line.

No WCP candidate has yet won a contested election, however one WCP candidate won an uncontested election for the Wayne County Community College Board in 2014.

As of November 2022, the party has ballot access in Illinois, Maryland and Michigan.^[10] As of December 2020, 2,102 voters were affiliated with the WCP in Maryland.^[11]

Congressional elections

Year	Candidate	Chamber	State	District	Votes	%	Result	Notes	Ref
2024	Ed Hershey	House	Illinois	4th					[12]
2024	Simone R. Coleman	House	Michigan	13th					[12]
2024	Gary Walkowicz	House	Michigan	12th					[12]
2024	Andrea L. Kirby	House	Michigan	10th					[12]
2024	Jim Walkowicz	House	Michigan	9th					[12]
2024	Kathy Goodwin	House	Michigan	8th					[12]
2024	Louis Palus	House	Michigan	3rd					[12]
2024	Liz Hakola	House	Michigan	1st					[12]
2024	Juan Rey	House	California	37th	8,910	10.3%	Advanced to general election	Nonpartisan blanket primary	[13]
2022	Simone R. Coleman	House	Michigan	13th	8,811	3.8%	Lost		[14]
2022	Gary Walkowicz	House	Michigan	12th	8,046	2.9%	Lost		[14]
2022	Andrea L. Kirby	House	Michigan	10th	5,905	1.8%	Lost		[14]
2022	Jim Walkowicz	House	Michigan	9th	6,570	1.8%	Lost		[14]
2022	Kathy Goodwin	House	Michigan	8th	9,077	2.7%	Lost		[14]
2022	Louis Palus	House	Michigan	3rd	4,192	1.3%	Lost		[14]
2022	Liz Hakola	House	Michigan	1st	5,480	1.4%	Lost		[14]
2022	Ed Hershey	House	Illinois	4th	4,503	3.4%	Lost		[15][16]
2020	Philip Kolody	House	Michigan	14th	2,534	0.7%	Lost		[17]
2020	Sam Johnson	House	Michigan	13th	5,284	1.8%	Lost		[17]
2020	Gary Walkowicz	House	Michigan	12th	11,147	2.9%	Lost		[17]
2020	Andrea Kirby	House	Michigan	9th	8,970	2.2%	Lost		[17]
2020	Kathy Goodwin	House	Michigan	5th	8,180	2.3%	Lost		[17]
2018	Philip Kolody	House	Michigan	14th	4,761	1.8%	Lost		[18]
2018	Sam Johnson	House	Michigan	13th	22,186	11.3%	Lost		[18]
2018	Gary Walkowicz	House	Michigan	12th	6,712	2.3%	Lost		[18]
2018	Andrea Kirby	House	Michigan	9th	6,797	2.2%	Lost		[18]
2018	Kathy Goodwin	House	Michigan	5th	12,646	4.6%	Lost		[18]
2018	Juan Rey	House	California	29th	944	1.4%	Lost	Nonpartisan blanket primary	[19][20]
2016	Sam Johnson	House	Michigan	13th	8,835	3.4%	Lost		[21]
2016	Gary Walkowicz	House	Michigan	12th	9,183	2.8%	Lost		[21]
2014	Gary Walkowicz	House	Michigan	12th	5,039	2.4%	Lost		[22]
2014	Sam Johnson	House	Michigan	13th	3,466	2.1%	Lost		[22]

Statewide elections

Year	Candidate	Office	State	District	Votes	%	Result	Notes	Ref
2024	Suzanne Roehrig	Wayne State University Board of Governors	Michigan	At-Large					[12]
2024	Mary Ann Hering	Board of Education	Michigan	At-Large					[12]
2022	Mary Anne Hering	Board of Education	Michigan	At-Large	135,442	1.6%	Lost		[14]
2022	David Harding	Governor	Maryland	At-Large	17,154	0.86%	Lost		[23]
2020	Mary Anne Hering	Board of Education	Michigan	At-Large	147,345	1.4%	Lost		[17]
2020	Hali McEachern	Board of Education	Michigan	At-Large	82,700	0.8%	Lost		[17]
2018	Mary Anne Hering	Board of Education	Michigan	At-Large	125,693	1.7%	Lost		[18]
2018	Logan Smith	Board of Education	Michigan	At-Large	91,077	1.3%	Lost		[18]
2016	Mary Anne Hering	Board of Education	Michigan	At-Large	224,392	2.66%	Lost	enough votes for WCP to keep ballot access in 2018 elections[24][25]	[21]

State legislature elections

Year	Candidate	Office	State	District	Votes	%	Result	Notes	Ref
2024	Linda Green Harris	House	Michigan	16th district					[12]
2024	Hashim Malik Bakari	House	Michigan	13th district					[12]
2024	Logan Ausherman	House	Michigan	8th district					[12]
2024	Linda Rayburn	House	Michigan	7th district					[12]
2024	Larry Darnell Betts	House	Michigan	3rd district					[12]
2024	Mark DaSacco	House	Michigan	2nd district					[12]
2022	Kimberly Givens	Senate	Michigan	6th district	3,396	3.1%	Lost		[14]
2022	Linda Rayburn	Senate	Michigan	3rd district	10,214	14.3%	Lost		[14]
2022	Larry Darnell Betts	Senate	Michigan	2nd district	1,636	2.6%	Lost		[14]
2020	Louis Palus	House	Michigan	75th district	1,234	3.0%	Lost		[17]
2020	Larry Darnell Betts	House	Michigan	15th district	970	2.4%	Lost		[17]
2020	Simone R. Coleman	House	Michigan	14th district	1,937	4.7%	Lost		[17]
2020	Kimberly Givens	House	Michigan	7th district	1,224	3.5%	Lost		[17]
2020	Linda Rayburn	House	Michigan	4th district	1,023	3.3%	Lost		[17]
2018	Louis Palus	Senate	Michigan	29th district	1,445	1.2%	Lost		[18]
2018	Thomas Repasky	Senate	Michigan	18th district	2,954	2.3%	Lost		[18]
2018	Larry Betts	Senate	Michigan	5th district	3,944	4.4%	Lost		[18]
2018	Hali McEachern	Senate	Michigan	3rd district	2,095	2.9%	Lost		[18]

Local elections

Year	Candidate	Office	Area	District	Votes	%	Result	Notes	Ref
2020	David Harding	Mayor	Baltimore, MD	At-Large	3,973	1.7%	Lost		[26]
2016	David Harding	Baltimore City Council	Baltimore	14th district	1,426	8.3%	Lost		[27][28]
2015	Ed Hershey	City Council	Chicago	25th ward	614	8.2%	Lost		[29]
2014	Mary Anne Hering	School Board	Dearborn, MI	At-Large	5,153	9.93%	Lost	3 seats to be filled	[30]
2014	Kenneth Jannot	School Board	Dearborn, MI	At-Large	2,431	4.69%	Lost	3 seats to be filled	[30]
2014	David A. Roehrig	Community College Board	Wayne County, MI	2nd	15,661	96.5%	Won	ran unopposed	[30]

Other candidates who shared many of the same ideas as the Working Class Party appeared as "non-partisan" (independent) candidates on the ballot in Chicago in 2015; in Baltimore in 2016 and 2020; and in Los Angeles in 2018.^[31][32][33]

See also

• The Spark (US Trotskyist group with ties to Lutte Ouvrière)

References

1. Taylor, Tristan (9 November 2022). "What Is the Michigan Working Class Party?". Left Voice.
2. Spark, The. "To Cast a Useful Vote November 5 — The Spark #1207". The Spark. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
3. Dupuis, Mary (31 October 2022). "What's the WC on the Ballot? Mary Anne Hering Explains the Working Class Party". Oakland County Times.
4. "Who are Gary Walkowicz and the Working Class Party?". World Socialist Web Site. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
5. "2014 Election Results, Michigan | Working Class Fight". www.workingclassfight.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
6. "Working Class Party Petition in Michigan Has Enough Valid Signatures | Ballot Access News". 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
7. Staff, Stateside (22 August 2016). "Michigan's newest political party gets certified today". www.michiganradio.org. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
8. "Gary Walkowicz: Main Speech of the WCP Convention | Working Class Fight". www.workingclassfight.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
9. "A Working Class Program To Combat the Crisis of Capitalism". Working Class Party. 2022. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022.
10. "Working Class Party on the Ballot in Illinois, Maryland & Michigan | Working Class Fight". www.workingclassfight.com. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
11. "Maryland State Board of Elections Summary of Voter Registration Activity Report December 2020" (PDF). Maryland State Board of Elections. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-27.
12. "Working Class Party on the Ballot in Michigan, Illinois, California, 2024 | Working Class Fight". www.workingclassfight.com. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
13. "Juan Rey: A Worker on the Ballot! | Working Class Fight". www.workingclassfight.com. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
14. "2022 Michigan Unofficial General Election Results - 11/08/2022". mielections.us. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
15. "DDHQ Election Results". results.decisiondeskhq.com. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
16. "Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago". chicagoelections.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
17. "2020 Michigan Official General Election Results - 11/03/2020". mielections.us. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
18. "2018 Michigan Official General Election Results - 11/06/2018".
19. "Statement of Vote JUNE 5, 2018 STATEWIDE DIRECT PRIMARY ELECTION" (PDF).
20. "California Secretary of State, Statewide Direct Primary Election - Statement of the Vote, June 5, 2018 - United States Representative in Congress by District, see page 10 in the 82-congress.pdf file" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
21. "2016 Michigan Official General Election Results - 11/08/2016". mielections.us. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
22. "2014 Michigan Official General Election Results - 11/04/2014". mielections.us. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
23. "Official 2022 Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
24. "STATE OF MICHIGAN POLITICAL PARTY STATUS AUGUST 4, 2020 PRIMARY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 GENERAL ELECTION" (PDF). Michigan State Bureau of Elections. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
25. "Political_Party_Status_482649_7.pdf" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
26. "2020 Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
27. "2016 Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
28. "Baltimore City Board of Elections, 2016 General Election Results - Election Summary Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
29. "Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago". chicagoelections.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
30. "November 4, 2014 General Election Results | Clerk". www.waynecounty.com. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
31. "I Stand for a Working Class Fight | Working Class Fight". www.workingclassfight.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
32. "David Harding, Working Class Candidate". Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
33. "Juan Rey: A Worker for Congress". Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-06-19.

External links

• Spark's homepage