Progressive Working Families Party backs candidate to replace Rep. Ruben Gallego

The ultra-progressive Working Families Party is moving to expand its ranks in Congress through an open seat in Arizona, POLITICO has learned first. It is backing a progressive state lawmaker in the crowded primary for the congressional seat currently occupied by Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego.

Raquel Terán is running for Arizona’s 3rd congressional district and WFP said that the seat will be a bellwether for progressives in the 2024 cycle.

“We think that this [race] is going to be a good indicator — if we’re able to win this seat, if we’re to get her off to a strong start — of what the rest of the cycle can look like for progressives,” Natalia Salgado, Working Families Party’s director of federal affairs, told POLITICO.

WFP said this is the first step in expanding on the six Democrats in Congress that it endorsed in the midterm, including Congress' first Gen Z member, Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.). The organization backs candidates with backgrounds in grassroots organizing and authentic connections to their districts.

Terán’s endorsement shows the Working Families Party’s willingness to compete in safe Democratic seats and indicated there are more endorsements in the works.

“We want to recapture the House. That is a non-negotiable. But we also want to recapture the House with Working Families candidates,” Salgado said. “We’re excited to do that and we’re especially proud of starting the 2024 election season with the endorsement of a candidate like Raquel Terán.”

Terán, a current Arizona state senator, was also a union organizer and advocate for immigration reform, who opposed the “show me your papers” law that was criticized by Democrats as unfairly targeting Latinos in Arizona, including those in the country legally. The law was challenged in court, and upheld in part by the Supreme Court. Terán also led a successful effort to recall the state lawmaker who wrote that law.

“For us, this is who we’re going to be this cycle. These are the types of candidates that we will be putting our full force behind, women of color who have the track record of winning and believing in the values that we believe in,” Salgado said.

Terán is the first endorsement from the national branch of the Working Families Party. The California chapter has also endorsed Lateefah Simon in California’s 12th district, currently held by Rep. Barbara Lee, who is running for U.S. Senate.

Arizona’s 3rd district is a safely Democratic seat that Gallego won with more than 70 percent of the vote in 2022, so the 2024 primary battle is already underway. In a five-way race that could still expand, Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari is leading the field in fundraising.

It's a familiar dynamic for the Working Families Party. Candidates who win WFP’s endorsement, a progressive stamp of approval, are often out-raised — usually by opponents who are seen as more moderate. And when considering outside spending, WFP-backed candidates are also often out-spent.

In 2022, Working Families Party was outspent in several primary races by moderate and pro-Israel Super PACs, such as the United Democracy Project and Democratic Majority for Israel. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) got an investment of $800,000 from the Working Families Party but faced more than $4 million in outside spending from groups opposing her candidacy, according to Open Secrets.

Incumbents endorsed by WFP in 2022, like Ilhan Omar and Andy Levin, also faced significant outside spending in their midterm primary elections. Omar (D-Minn.) won by about 2 points, while Levin, of Michigan, lost by 19.

“I think the David and Goliath fight is one that we’ve always been willing, ready and able to engage in,” Salgado said. “We understand the role of money and the necessity and importance of money, so this is not to understate that. But we also know that money doesn’t get you the full way there.”

Jessica Cisneros, another WFP-backed candidate, lost in Texas to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) by fewer than 300 votes, and in Oregon, progressive Jamie McLeod-Skinner lost to Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer by about 1 point.