On July 10, the Connecticut Working Families nominated candidates in all five of the state’s U.S. House districts. In each case, the WFP nominated the person who is expected to also be the Democratic nominee. The party is already ballot-qualified in one of the U.S. House districts, and is petitioning in the other four districts.

This will be the first time the Working Families Party will have been on the ballot throughout the entire state of Connecticut. Starting in 2004, the party started running in certain legislative districts and in a single U.S. House district. Due to a change in the law made in 2007, it is now generally possible for a new party to participate in fusion. Legally speaking, the Working Families Party is “new” in some parts of Connecticut, whereas it is already established in other parts.

It is possible that the WFP of Connecticut will also nominate Barack Obama for president. If that happens, the party would immediately begin to circulate a petition for itself for presidential ballot status, which takes 7,500 valid signatures. The WFP will not act until Obama agrees to accept the nomination. President is the only statewide office on the Connecticut ballot in 2006; there is no U.S. Senate race this year.