The founder of the Forward Party, Andrew Yang, has endorsed Pittsburgh-area resident Chris Foster in the race for Pennsylvania treasurer.
Foster joins a field of competitors that includes two Democrats vying to unseat Republican Stacy Garrity.
But while Foster himself has long been a Democrat, he didn’t attempt to qualify for the upcoming April primary ballot. Instead, he said he is changing his registration to Independent so he can run in the November election.
In a press conference atop Mt. Washington on Tuesday, Yang said Foster was “a small business leader, former competitive athlete” and a published author.
“He’s been married for 7 or 8 years now,” Yang said. “And so he knows what Pennsylvanians are struggling with in terms of their day to day finances.”
Neither Foster nor Yang mentioned what kind of business Foster runs during the press conference and a follow-up press release didn’t mention any further details about Foster’s background. WESA reached out to a spokesperson for the Forward Party to ask for more biographical information and didn’t receive a response. But a LinkedIn profile with Foster’s photo says that he’s been a “real estate sales associate” for a little over two years and, prior to that, a self-employed tennis professional for 17 years.
Foster’s parents and Foster’s husband, Tim Jackson, joined Yang for the campaign launch announcement at a lookout on Grandview Avenue.
Foster didn’t cite any specific issues where he disagreed with the three candidates who will appear on the April primary ballot, but said the current two-party system has left people feeling divided and said it doesn’t have a place in the treasurer’s office in particular.
“This independent branch of government should make informed and objective decisions that maximize return on investments, minimize risks, and safeguard taxpayer dollars, party and politics free,” he said.
Foster would make financial literacy a centerpiece of his work if he is elected. “Financial education is not just a luxury,” he said. “It's a fundamental tool for empowerment and for economic stability.”
Foster didn’t have a specific opinion about whether Garrity is doing a good job returning money to Pennsylvania residents. That is one of the few issues related to the job that has defined the low-key Treasure’s race. The candidates have sparred more vociferously over Garrity’s support of abortion restrictions and her support of Donald Trump’s election denial efforts. Foster didn’t mention Garrity or Trump during his announcement.
Later in the day, Yang also endorsed Eric Settle in a more crowded, and somewhat higher-profile, race for attorney general. Settle has some previous political experience in Montgomery County.
Like other outside political movements, the Forward Party stresses the need for alternatives to the two-party system that dominates politics, and it supports reforms to election rules that are accused of shoring up that system. It backs, for example, open primaries, ranked-choice voting, and legislative boundaries drawn by independent redistricting commissions.
Beyond such an agenda, however, it lacks a party platform on most top-of-mind issues that drive much of the political debate. Instead, it says state chapters “determine their own priorities, not Washington. And individual candidates develop innovative policy solutions around those priorities.”
This is the first time the Forward Party has endorsed two statewide candidates.
Last year Yang endorsed Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala, and failed county executive candidate Joe Rockey. During his endorsement of Rockey last year Yang declined to cite any specific issue he agreed with Rockey on, but said he agreed with Rockey’s rhetoric identifying himself as a moderate.
On Tuesday, Yang said he believed his endorsements had a positive impact on Allegheny County races last year.
“There have been a number of folks who've been in touch with us, to seek out our endorsement in part, I think, because of the results of some of those races,” he said. “They were both tightly contested races. I think people have looked at them objectively and said that any vote made a difference.”
