David Harding, candidate of the Working Class Party of Maryland, had 3,677 votes (as of the November 10 count) for mayor of Baltimore City. This was about 1.7% of the votes cast for mayor.
This was an encouraging vote, given the difficulties of campaigning during the pandemic – which was doubly so for a new party, just starting to sink in its roots. Despite the difficulties, we had a bunch of dedicated volunteers who found the way to discuss our new party with quite a few people.
If we did the work to start this party, including collecting 14,000 signatures, it’s because there is not and has not been any party on the ballot that represents the interests of working people, no party that claims allegiance to the working class.
The nearly 3700 votes we got in this first campaign shows that there are people in the city of Baltimore who agree with the basic ideas of our campaign, which are that the working class needs to fight for its own interests and build its own party.
What’s next for Working Class Party of Maryland? In the state of Maryland, election law requires us, over the next four year period to run, first for governor, then for president, and get at least one percent of the highest vote for each position. This is the only way for a new party to stay on the ballot. It certainly is a testimony to the desire of the capitalist class that runs this society to be able to dominate the political scene, without any opposition.
In any case, we will be ready to present a candidate for these top spots in both 2022 and 2024, and we are already planning how to start the work to do it.
We would love to hear from anyone who agrees with these ideas AND is ready to work to put Working Class Party forward. You can write us a note sent to Working Class Party Maryland, PO Box 7152, Baltimore Md 21218, or email us at: workingclasspartymd@gmail.com.