Nascent Working Families Party goes 6 for 10, at least, in legislative races

For a candidate, 60% on election night is a very comfortable win.

For an organization that landed in the state 11 months ago, it could be a sign of momentum. 

The Working Families Party launched its Massachusetts operation in 2025 with, as WFP’s Massachusetts state director Josh Wolfsun puts it, a North Star principle that "working people should run this state." The group inched toward that goal on Tuesday, with at least six of its candidates winning legislative primaries. 

"Part of what we're doing this year is we're piloting and figuring out," Wolfsun said. "We're here to learn some things, build and take some big swings and try some stuff. We endorsed 10 candidates, and we did not expect all of them to win. We were counting, I think, running up to the election, like two or three of them winning."

Instead, the Working Families Party — which in Massachusetts is active in Democratic primaries rather than pushing for its own spot on the ballot — notched a clean sweep in Lowell Tuesday, with Rep. Tara Hong fending off a challenge and Democrats Lorena Betts and John Drinkwater winning primaries for two open House seats in the city. The group's endorsed candidate in Lawrence, Celina Reyes, unseated Rep. Francisco Paulino, and Ben Ewen-Campen and Lora Wondolowski won open-seat primaries in Somerville and Franklin County. 

WFP also backed Boston’s Daniel Lander, who as of Thursday is just three votes ahead of state Sen. Will Brownsberger in a race that seems bound for a recount. 

With a goal of building the party long-term, Wolfsun said WFP picked a small slate, focusing on districts with a strong working-class base and looking for candidates who will "stand up for working folks and put them at the top of the agenda every day and are not going to be people that organizations, labor unions and grassroots leaders are going to need to go and sort of drag kicking and screaming to the table."

The group's super PAC reported about $165,000 in spending so far this year, including on mailers, digital ads and texting to support endorsed candidates.

The Working Families Party plans to be active in the general election, too, and in next year’s municipal races. In between, Wolfsun said, the group will likely work to help its successful candidates get oriented at the State House, with an eye on nudging the Legislature toward taxing the wealthy and lowering housing costs.

In other election updates:

Persis Yu declared victory Wednesday in her bid to unseat West Roxbury Sen. Mike Rush. Yu, a Hyde Park Democrat, toppled a member of Senate President Karen Spilka’s leadership team who last faced a challenge in 2010. A consumer rights advocate and attorney, Yu said last month she wasn’t deterred by Rush’s support from big names like Mayor Michelle Wu. “A long history and the endorsement of the establishment, those don't vote,” she said. “People vote.”   

Andover is gearing up for a battle of the 20-somethings. Republican Chris Shepley, a 21-year-old school committee member who ran a write-in campaign for state rep, says he earned enough votes for a spot on the November ballot. Shepley will square off against 23-year-old Democrat Connor Murray, who ran uncontested Tuesday. They’re vying for the seat Rep. Tram Nguyen gave up for her congressional run, which also represents Boxford and parts of Tewksbury and North Andover. 

Another Republican running as a write-in came up short. Former Gardner City Councilor Nate Boudreau said he hopes to see Democrat Mike Nicholson, the mayor of Gardner, "do good work" for the House district that includes the Chair City, Ashburnham, Templeton and part of Winchendon. Independent candidate John Reilly is also seeking the open seat, which is now held by outgoing Rep. Jon Zlotnik. 

Some post-primary pop culture trivia: A runner-up from a past season of The Bachelorette did indeed get the final rose from voters Tuesday night and is on the path to the State House, with no Republican on the ballot for November. Which TV personality is poised to land on Beacon Hill? Steal my inbox for a second and send your guesses to [email protected]

9:30 | Gov. Healey kicks off a six-stop tour with Housing Secretary Juana Matias to announce nearly $278 million in state and federal financing and tax credits, which will create or preserve 2,547 rental homes in 20 communities. They'll also be at Evergreen Circle in Erving at noon and Meadowbrook Apartments in Northampton at 1:30 p.m. | Lakeside Phase 3, 14 Lakeside Ave., Worcester

10:00 | Lt. Gov. Driscoll and Housing and Livable Communities Deputy Secretary Jennifer Maddox announce housing awards as part of a statewide tour. A second stop is planned at 12:30 p.m. at Needham's Linden Terrace, followed by a 3 p.m. visit to Orchard Gardens in Boston | Brown School Senior Affordable Housing, 42 Milk St., Newburyport

11:00 | Senate meets in an informal session | Senate Chamber

11:00 | House meets in an informal session | House Chamber

2:00 | House and Senate negotiators tasked with hashing out differences between their healthcare workplace violence prevention bills meet for the first time, more than a month after the end of scheduled formal sessions | Room 428A

3:00 | Deadline for candidates to file district-wide recount petitions with local election officials | More Info

3:30 | Tufts University facilities workers hold a rally and march as students return to campus. The workers, who are represented by 32BJ SEIU, have been working this summer without a contract, the union said. Medford City Council President Zac Bears and City Councilor Justin Tseng attend | 175 Packard Ave., Medford

5:00 | Deadline for candidates to file recount petitions by precincts or wards with local election officials | More Info

7:00 | U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton continues his "People Over Politics" town hall series | Weymouth-Braintree Lodge of Elks, 788 Liberty St., Braintree

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GLIDE PATH: In more than three-quarters of legislative districts, Tuesday's primary winners have no major-party opponent on the ballot for the general election. That includes the candidates who claimed two open Senate seats and seven in the House. Write-in and independent candidates can still add competition. | State House News Service (gift link)

VOTING WITH THEIR WALLETS: Secretary of State Bill Galvin put up $29,000 from his campaign account for the ballot question that would authorize same-day voter registration, which has also received donations from organized labor and Congresswoman Lori Trahan's leadership PAC. | Eagle-Tribune

TOMPKINS ACQUITTED: A "jubilant" Steven Tompkins, the sheriff of Suffolk County, was acquitted on charges of extorting a cannabis executive after a week-and-a-half-long trial. | Boston Herald

FLOCK FIGHT: A Suffolk Superior Court judge ruled that that the State Police must disclose the locations of Flock traffic surveillance cameras and make information public about when troopers search the license plate-reader database. The ACLU of Massachusetts has been seeking the records for five years. | Boston Globe

MAPPING IT OUT: Wide margins in Quincy, Weymouth, Brockton and Braintree pushed Congressman Stephen Lynch over the top in his primary against progressive lawyer Patrick Roath, who carried Boston and gave Lynch his a closer race than the last two Democrats to run against him. | MassLive

NORFOLK DA: Djuna Perkins emerged as the winner in the seven-way Democratic primary to succeed Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey. The former prosecutor from Dedham said she first decided to run after Morrissey did not prosecute the murder of Sandra Birchmore, and she does not consider the state's investigation closed. | The Enterprise

INFLUENCE METER: The too-close-to-call match between Sen. Will Brownsberger and Daniel Lander could be seen as a sign of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's political muscle, but other primary results show possible limits to her reach. | WBUR

GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES: North Adams Rep. John Barrett won his primary in a tight race with challenger Andrew Fitch. Barrett, 79, said he wished the race had been more about the issues than his age and that he decided to run for another term when Fitch suggested it was time for him to retire. | iBerkshires

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