“Locally, the Democrats are in dramatic decline. In a contested Democratic primary—and in New York City, most contested elections outside of the mayoralty are in Democratic primaries—the WFP has become much more than an alternate ballot-line option. It’s now the only machine in town. Being shut out of the mayor’s office for the past 16 years has stemmed the flow of patronage that Democrats long directed to their political clubs, once the source of Democratic strength. Except for a few anomalies, the clubs have mostly faded away, displaced in part by the rise of the mini-machines that come with each gerrymandered city council seat or state legislative slot. Shorn of its patronage hires and campaign workers, the Democratic Party has lost touch with the grass roots at the same time that the public-sector unions now have, in the WFP, an operation that can represent them without making the compromises necessary to attract a broader coalition…
Like 1199’s Dennis Rivera, the sophisticated Cantor—a man of sectarian orientation but mainstream tactics and ambitions—understands that “the Democrats and Republicans are basically media operations, not on-the-ground organizations.” The unions, not the Democrats, have the troops. By endorsing Democrats in the primaries and then delivering voters to the polls, Cantor saw that he could exercise considerable influence over the party’s nominees.”

This WFP looks like the old Democratic machine: old wine, new bottle. They certainly aren’t going to align with any national party other than the Democrats.

In California, there is no Working Families Party; neither is there a Progressive Party. At least, neither of those two Parties has ballot access. Why are they not putting more effort into the Golden State?