The recent election of Analilia Mejia in the New Jersey Democratic primary to represent the 11th District in Congress has emboldened the Working Families Party in New York and Westchester to start endorsing their own candidates for November before Democrats make their selections in a Democratic primary in June.
Mejia is a self-described political outsider who “has spent her life organizing for working families — training leaders, building coalitions, and fighting for communities that are too often ignored. She doesn’t take corporate PAC money. Her campaign is rooted in people power.”
In the race for Congress here in Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties, Congressman Mike Lawler will once again be in the political fight of his life in November to hold onto his seat. And his election, or defeat, will likely determine which party has control of the House in 2027.
Six democrats are running to see who will run against Lawler on the democratic line. So far, the three favorites are Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson, Veteran Cait Conley, and Briarcliff millionaire Peter Chatzky.
One of the other candidates is Effie Phillips-Staley, a Tarrytown Trustee. Effie just received the NY Working Families Party endorsement for Congress in NY-17 and will be on the ballot on the WFP line in November, regardless of who wins the democratic primary.
“We are proud to announce Effie Phillips Staley for Congress, NY17, as our pick for the NY17 primary. If we are going to defeat Mike Lawler and reject the MAGA agenda in the Hudson Valley, we need a bold, working-class vision for the future. The NYWFP is fighting for a Working Families Guarantee: homes people can actually afford, universal childcare, healthcare for all, and real protections for our immigrant neighbors. Effie Phillips-Staley shares this vision for the future and has the moral clarity and determination our communities need now,” said the NYWFP.
“I am proud to be in this fight with you and thank you for your support. The progressive movement is growing across the nation, and I firmly believe that the best way to defeat Mike Lawler is to show moral leadership and fight for what’s possible, not cater to Republicans by watering down our priorities,” said Phillips-Staley, who did not make a larger announcement about this endorsement other than adding a comment to the NYWFP post.
The Lawler campaign used the NYWFP endorsement to portray Phillips-Staley as too far-left for the district. “The Lawler for Congress campaign responded after NY-17 Democratic candidate Effie Phillips-Staley proudly announced she has earned the endorsement of the New York Working Families Party — and made crystal clear what it cost her: a public pledge to support raising taxes, abolishing ICE, socialized medicine, and the so-called “Block the Bombs” legislation that would cut off arms to Israel while it defends itself against Hamas and Iranian-backed terror proxies
“The price of admission to the Working Families Party is pledging allegiance and selling your soul to Hamas sympathizers and open borders activists,” stated Ciro Riccardi, campaign manager for Lawler for Congress. “Beth Davidson, Cait Conley, Peter Chatzky, and Mike Sacks must publicly state right now whether they will seek or accept the Working Families Party line if they win the primary. Because if the WFP’s prerequisite for endorsement is raising taxes, supporting the abolition of ICE, embracing Sanctuary Cities, and cutting off Israel while it fights Hamas, then any candidate who takes that line is telling voters exactly where they stand.”
In Yonkers, the NYWFP has endorsed three candidates seeking election and challenging the Yonkers Democratic Party’s endorsed candidates. More on this next week.
