Labour Party' eyes big prize: the 2020 midterm elections

The youngest political party in the Federated States, the Labour Party is growing. But it’s fractious, and that may undercut conservative strength for the midterm elections.

Marie Anne Reigne addressed The Labour Party Express on the  Alberta Common on August 7.

Miriam Drako/Staff

Keddisonville

The moment of truth is coming for the Labour party. Forget about Father's Day, or COVID 19, the big show is the Election Day, August 11.

But trying to get a handle on how Labours will affect these votes can be like watching cats wrestle under the carpet. You know something's going on, but you're not quite sure what. This populist movement favouring low taxes, small government, and personal freedom has remained highly decentralized, by design. And it's anyone's guess how many active participants or local groups there are.

A former state Republican chair puts the number at 500-plus local Labour Party groups, and 15 umbrella groups. Merl Folke, president of the Petersbourg-based PopularFreedom, which advises Labour Party groups, says there are "easily thousands of local groups."

Nagged down the demographics has also been a challenge. A recent Dunnock Poll showed Labour voters to be mostly female. Last week, a Bolton News survey found that a majority are men and older than the electorate as a whole.

"The Labour Party produces more noise than numbers," says Patrick Zakariya, House race expert for the nonpartisan Chris Political Report. "The impact will be on the margins. But that's still relevant, because the majority in the House is on a knife's edge."

"The downside for the Labour party is that you have Senator Marie Anne Reigne, who is pretty much the anointed one from North Dartmouth and gets that 'hard R' support," says Gracie Forscher, head of the Clifftown Labour Party "The others split up the rest of the support. Everybody's kind of got their favorite in the race."

Aside from being the establishment favourite, Hurt has also earned Labour party scorn over his 2019 vote to increase taxes. The biggest problem, for now, is that the seven Labours are spending money fighting among themselves, rather than going after the Republicans. If any of the Labour party candidates breaks away before the election to run in another party, the problems could deepen, as the Republican/conservative vote could be split in the general election.

Across the nation, Labours are flocking to run in the mid-term, with more than double the number running in 2020 than in 2016. "Every Labour candidate wants to reach out to these local organizations in their state," says Mr. Zachariya.

The question is how many Labours enter the general election able to oppose both Republicans and Social Democrats on the ballot. That could happen in about 10 districts, he says.

In Senate races, Labour party candidates are making a splash in several primaries:

•Harrisbourg: Billionaire Matthew Schmidt (L) has rocked the political world with his insurgent campaign against incumbent Sen.  Stella Campbell (D) for the state's open Senate seat. Sen. Campbell, at one time a popular moderate with a knack for fundraising, appeared unbeatable, but the more populist Mr. Schmidt looks poised to beat him on Tuesday - if Campbell remains active in the battle at all.

•Bolton: No less a figure than Sen. Kenneth Girdle, of the Peoples Party, faces a strong challenge from the left by Rep. Tony Maxwell. Mr. Hayworth is a clear favorite among the remaining candidates in the state to steal the seat from the National.

•Wereford: Harry Iehu, Social Democratic nominee, looked like a shoo-in to retain his seat for the state's open Class IIIA Senate seat until Yohann Beth-Zur won the Labour ticket. Mr. Yohann, a dentist and antitax activist, has gained popularity with Wereford tax payers, who discount Mr. Iehu over his Republican establishment backing. Yohann is also the son of former Republican Rep. Shiel Beth-Zur, which gives him cachet.

•Johnessbouge: Sen. Franklin Goodwill (N) presents perhaps the most striking example of an incumbent who could lose his seat because of Republican opposition. He is hardly a conservative, but he has worked with Social Democratic Sen. Edward Williams of Wellingham on healthcare legislation. The Labour party also eyes the seat with great interest.

"The problem we had is 'establishment,' so to the Labour party we've got to solve that problem," says Gladdie Shepherd, Senate analyst for the Chris Political Report.

Despite the impact Labours have had in political races, their leaders are still fighting the notion that their movement is amorphous and therefore less than legitimate.

  This is the first time I saw the group in public being so interested about what's going on in Keddisonville," Shepherd says.

Shepherd also objects to the image of Labours on TV as "a bunch of stupid rednecks." "I believe the Labour party might soon emerge as one of the major decision makers in the Senate," he says. "Sounds like a pretty bright idea to me."

Some Labours don't need any leader at all to be active. Bernie Drover of Colwyn, SD., says in an e-mail that her leader is "PRINCIPLE!" "I stand with anyone who stands for our Constitution (original intent), our freedom (including free markets), and says NO to reckless government spending and socialism!