Party Plays Major Roll as Progressive Newcomer Defeats 30-year Incumbent
For Immediate Release
New York – The Working Families Party (WFP) today cheered the victory of Daniel Squadron’s insurgent campaign for State Senate, hailing the upset over incumbent Sen. Martin Connor as a huge boost for progressive causes in Albany.
“Daniel Squadron is a true progressive who has got the energy and the leadership we need to shake up Albany,” said Dan Cantor, the WFP’s Executive Director. “We poured our hearts into this race. We knocked on tens of thousands of doors and energized hundreds of volunteers. This was exciting grassroots politics at its best.”
“Together, we were able to join with Daniel to excite thousands of New Yorkers with the bold notion that politicians need to do more than talk. They need to find real solutions to problems facing working families trying to make ends meet as the economy sours and cost of living goes up and up,” Cantor added.
The Working Families Party lent 5 full-time staff to work for Squadron’s election, played a leadership role in the campaign’s field operation, and helped devise campaign strategy. Over the course of the campaign, WFP canvassers, members, and volunteers, knocked on over 40,000 doors, identifying more than 4,000 Squadron supporters. Hundreds more WFP staff, members, and volunteers, helped turnout the vote this past weekend and on Election Day.
The Working Families Party’s renowned field operation has helped push insurgent State Senate candidates over the top before, playing big roles in Sen. Darrel Aubertine’s shocking upset in a heavily Republican district (SD 48) in the North Country this past February and in Craig Johnson’s successful campaign to become the only Senate Democrat on Long Island (SD 7) in 2007.
The WFP will deploy its field staff and activate its base of supporters in key State Senate races across New York from now until November as it helps Democrats take back control of the body for the first time in a generation.
The WFP received 155,184 votes for Eliot Spitzer in 2006 on its ballot line – “Row E.”
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