Fusion voting can help working families win in November

Elections are won by who shows up to vote on Election Day and in New York, a lot of attention has been paid to the wins of "insurgent/left" candidates over the Democratic "establishment". The wins are undeniable and significant, even if they are mostly limited to a portion of voters in deep blue district primaries, they reflect a broader appetite for change.

The progressive movement should be proud of these recent wins, but on their own, they are not enough to defeat the larger challenge of MAGA extremism in both congressional battleground districts and in the many contested local races across the state. New voters that drove progressive wins in primaries will need to show up in the general election to vote for candidates they may not feel enthusiastic about.

Progressive leaders will have a big responsibility to ensure that they do, even if it means tarnishing some of their progressive credentials.

Moderate Democrats argue they are better suited to win in more "purple" parts of the state. But, in spite of there being a broad anti-Trump sentiment, the turnout of the Democratic Party’s traditional base of voters has been anemic. Rather than taking note of the challenges they have had in motivating their voter base and why that might be, some seem inclined to "go to war with the left"

To help ensure a win against MAGA extremism and authoritarianism, and to empower working people, both moderate and progressive leaders will have to resist getting stuck in "intra-party" fights that reinforce cynicism and apathy among voters. There’s no denying the tensions and differences in, and around the Democratic Party and the larger anti-MAGA movement.

They are real and they are not going away. But they won't be resolved in one or two election cycles and allowing them to demobilize voters is a failure of leadership.

Whether both centrist and progressives will be able to navigate these differences and keep the  focus on defeating MAGA extremism in November is an open question. Unlike most states though, New York has an electoral vehicle to help solve this dilemma and help working families win, fusion voting. 

Fusion voting is the ability of political parties to cross endorse candidates in elections and voters to vote for the same candidate on the party line of their choosing.  Once a commonplace part of the democratic process across the nation, it has a long history in New York, one of the few remaining states that still permits it.

The Working Families Party line, with a "big tent" of endorsed candidates on its line, can be a crucial tool in that effort. Both moderates and progressives should view the WFP line as an opportunity.

By urging voters to vote on the WFP line, moderate candidates can show they are not just interested in protecting the status quo, and progressives candidates show they are willing to participate in the "big tent" politics that is required to make change possible. Voters across ideology have shown a deep desire for both.

Governing power is more than who holds office. It is economic power, the means to shape and mobilize public opinion and the ability to define the parameters of what is considered possible in a society. 

Even in New York, where Democrats hold most of the "levers of power," that power still remains firmly in the hands of Wall Street, big insurance, real estate, tech and the grotesquely wealthy. A MAGA win in November will only reinforce that power and anyone concerned about bettering the lives of working people must be deeply focused on this November election's outcome both on a national and state level.

A swing to the right in New York should not be underestimated. Voters have shown a deep appetite for change, but elections have shown that appetite swings both left and right.

While ahead in polls, Governor Kathy Hochul's numbers are tightening. She will likely need the votes like those she got on the Working Families Party line in 2022 to put her over the top. Routinely, Democratic candidates that chose to run on the WFP line outperformed those who did not. Including some significant down ballot races that were won by the WFP vote margin.

This is a must-win election for anyone concerned about the state of American democracy and the lives of working people. Anti-MAGA leaders of all stripes have one pressing task, to mobilize voters to the polls in November.

In New York, fusion voting can help maximize that effort. If not, it won't be "the Democratic establishment" or "progressive insurgents" that lose, it will be ordinary New Yorkers.