Working Class Party

From 2011 to 2013, The Spark conducted a campaign to encourage the working class to organize independent of the Democratic Party. In 2014, five people active in that campaign ran for office as Independent candidates. Four candidates lost. David Roehrig won his campaign for Wayne County Community College Trustee, due to his only opponent (the Democratic incumbent) being disqualified before the election. In 2016, several dozen WCP volunteers turned in more than 50,000 signatures, above the required 31,566, which enabled WCP candidates to appear as party candidates on Michigan ballots. In 2016, Mary Anne Hering won enough votes for Board of Education for WCP to keep ballot access in the 2018 Michigan elections. == Ideology ==

The WCP argues that neither major party represents the interests of the working class, because both the Democrats and the Republicans are controlled by the financial elite. In the WCP's party program, it supports a living wage tied to inflation and full employment through reductions in working time. The WCP holds that the working class "won't change our situation with an election", but can "use this election to say there are [...] tens of thousands of people who agree with this program for the crisis". == Election results ==

The WCP has fielded electoral candidates in the United States for local, state, and federal offices. WCP candidates usually run as official WCP candidates on their own ballot line. No WCP candidate has yet won a contested election, however one WCP candidate won an uncontested election for the Wayne County Community College Board in 2014. As of November 2022, the party has ballot access in Illinois, Maryland, and Michigan. As of December 2020, 2,102 voters were affiliated with the WCP in Maryland. Congressional elections Statewide elections State legislature elections Local elections == See also ==