Working Families Party looking to be influential here

The Working Families Party has pushed their candidate screening until the last week of May. This move comes as they look to be influential in determining which Democratic candidate will have their support, potentially determining the the favored candidate. Ballot petitioning required for candidates to get their names on the primary ballot starts June 3rd so WFP is looking to have as much time as possible to screen candidates. If you don't already know the strength of the WFP support take a look at a recent email they sent out;

Change is finally coming to the White House in 2008. But nothing gets done in Washington without Congress. That means for New Yorkers, the most important thing we can do this fall is make sure New York's 29 Members of Congress are ready to help lead the fight for universal healthcare, ending the war in Iraq, and investment in green technologies which will create thousands of living-wage jobs and help prevent environmental catastrophe.

The Working Families Party isn't new to lending a critical hand in big Congressional elections:

* In 2002, votes on the Working Families ballot line put Tim Bishop (Suffolk) over the top against incumbent Republican Felix Grucci.

* In 2004 we did it again, giving 8,000 "Row E" votes to Brian Higgins (Western NY) to give him the margin of victory over Republican Nancy Naples.

* In 2006, our renowned field operation added two more wins in New York (Kirsten Gillibrand and Michael Arcuri) and another in Connecticut (Chris Murphy).

This year, the retirement of Republican Congressmen Jim Walsh (Central NY), and Tom Reynolds (Western NY), plus the vulnerability of Vito Fossella (Staten Island/Brooklyn) and Randy Kuhl (Fingerlakes / WNY) means we have four chances to add another voice for ordinary New Yorkers in Congress.