WISCONSIN — Today the Working Families Party announced its second round of endorsements for the 2021 election cycle. The grassroots political group is endorsing Jill Underly for WI State Superintendent and progressives up and down the ballot in Madison, including Madison Common Council candidates Brandi Grayson (District 14), Alderwoman Rebecca Kemble (District 18), Brian Benford (District 6) and Maia Pearson for Madison Metropolitan School District, Seat 1. The WI WFP is also supporting Michael Beardsley for Oshkosh City Council, the groups first-ever endorsement in Oshkosh.
“Multiple crises have rocked Wisconsin, and too many working families are barely treading water with no lifeline in sight,” said WI WFP organizer Priscilla Bort. “We can’t wait years for jobs to come back, or for Wisconsin Republicans to stop peddling conspiracies and blocking aid and start doing their jobs. The only way to get Wisconsin back on track is to elect leaders who will put their all into delivering the jobs, justice and care Wisconsin working families need to recover — and that’s exactly what these candidates are ready to do.”
“The WI WFP has been a voice for public school families in Wisconsin and across the nation, and I’m so proud to have their support”, said Underly. “I look forward to fighting alongside the WFP to make Wisconsin public schools truly work for the many, not the few.”
WI WFP staff and volunteers hit the ground running with voter contact support for its first round of candidates, and will start talking to voters on behalf of newly-endorsed candidates in the coming weeks. You can see the full list of first-round endorsed WI WFP candidates here.
“Time after time we have seen our Wisconsin State Senators vote for the wealthy few, not the many,” said Melissa Winker (SD-13), who was part of the WI WFP’s first round of endorsements.“I’m ready to get to work with WI WFP for all Wisconsinites and create a more fair state that values small business, takes care of each other during times of crisis, and makes healthcare affordable and accessible for all.”
The progressive political group, which previously, helped elect Gov. Tony Evers and WFP Board Member and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and swept the MPS elections, is scaling up its support for progressive candidates outside of Milwaukee. This cycle, the WI WFP is supporting seven progressive candidates for Madison Common Council, along with candidates in Kenosha, Racine and Middleton-Cross Plains School District. Last cycle, the WI WFP mobilized their members across the state to elect Rep. Marisabel Cabrera (AD09), Sara Rodriguez (AD13), Rep. Robyn Vining (AD14), Supreme Moore Omokunde (AD17), Samba Baldeh (AD48), Lee Snodgrass (AD57), Rep. Beth Meyers (AD74), Francesca Hong (AD76), Kristina Shelton (AD90) and Rep. Jodi Emerson (AD91).
The Working Families Party is a grassroots political party that recruits, trains, and elects the next generation of progressive leaders to office. The endorsements come on the heels of the massive volunteer-driven get out the vote effort, where dozens of WFP members and activists came together from across the state to help elect President Joe Biden. Over the course of three months, the WI WFP collected 95,000 commitments to vote from voters across the state — nearly quadruple Trump’s margin of victory in Wisconsin for 2016, and helped protect Gov. Evers’ veto in the state legislature.
