Forward Party aims to press forward with uphill political climb

They'll be back in 2025, local leaders of the Forward Party declare.

Despite the party's four endorsed candidates in Arlington and Alexandria races not pulling out any victories, the leadership said 2024 was just the start of a multi-year growth plan in Virginia.

"We're going to try to field serious candidates every year," said Mike Cantwell, who served as an adviser to Forward Party endorsed County Board candidate Madison Granger and School Board contender James "Vell" Rives IV, who ran as an independent with ties to the party.

Both finished toward the bottom of the pack in the four-candidate races won by candidates backed by the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

For first-time candidate Granger, starting politically from scratch against one of the most well-oiled and effective Democratic political organizations in the state if not nation was, if nothing else, a learning experience.

"I was getting my legs under me" during the campaign, she told ARLnow during an Election Night gathering for the party's boosters at Ireland's Four Courts in Courthouse.

"I met so many people who were frustrated," largely over a perceived lack of responsiveness among county leaders, Granger said.

"They're not really listening," she said of elected officials.

For Rives, who was making his second bid for School Board, being part of the Forward Party augmented his standing in the race.

"It was great," he said, with many voters as interested in talking about Forward Party positions as his own platform.

Based on updated and evolving vote totals reported by county and state election officials:

The Forward Party, founded in 2021 by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, positions itself as a centrist alternative to Republicans and Democrats. The party asks prospective candidates to sign onto a pledge to support its broad principles.

Cantwell, who previously ran as an independent for County Board, said that while Forward Party contenders have to be in sync with the party's goals, there are no ultimate litmus tests.

Using a football analogy, he said candidate need to compete "between the hashmarks" — neither too far left nor too far right.

Chris Hessler, Northern Virginia coordinator for the party, said Virginia was well-represented among the approximately 125 candidates backed by the Forward Party nationally this fall.

What the party seeks, Hessler said, is a group of innovative problem-solvers who could effectively enunciate their cases before the electorate.

"We had candidates working their tails off," he said. "We accomplished a lot in Virginia — got an awful lot done."

Granger said that she is going to take some time away from politics for a month or two, but was open to the possibility of another run.

"I would be more confident" during a second bid, she said.