logo

Former GOP Chair, Dem Congressman Join Forces to Elect Indies

image
Kaia Los HuertosKaia Los Huertos
Published: 19 Dec, 2017
1 min read

T.J. O’Hara is joined by Brian Baird, former Democratic U.S. representative and co-founder of Washington Independents. The two discuss the partisanship and dysfunction in state legislatures and Congress, the Centrist Project and its approach, as well as the principles and goals of the organization he co-founded with former GOP Chair Chris Vance to elect independents.

“There was a time when you could work across the aisle with reasonable people on boths sides and get things done. And that has gotten harder and harder and harder to do, right now," says Baird.

The Honorable Brian Baird, Ph.D. served six terms (12 years) in the United States House of Representatives, representing Washington State’s 3rd Congressional District.

Prior to serving in Congress, Baird chaired the Department of Psychology at Pacific Lutheran University and for more than two decades practiced clinically, specializing in neuropsychology.

Baird is also the founder and president of 4Pir2 Communication, a consulting firm focused on public policy and science communication.

You Might Also Like

Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
Ballrooms, Ballots, and a Three-Way Fight for New York
The latest Independent Voter Podcast episode takes listeners through the messy intersections of politics, reform, and public perception. Chad and Cara open with the irony of partisan outrage over trivial issues like a White House ballroom while overlooking the deeper dysfunctions in our democracy. From California to Maine, they unpack how the very words on a ballot can tilt entire elections and how both major parties manipulate language and process to maintain power....
30 Oct, 2025
-
1 min read
California Prop 50 gets an F
Princeton Gerrymandering Project Gives California Prop 50 an 'F'
The special election for California Prop 50 wraps up November 4 and recent polling shows the odds strongly favor its passage. The measure suspends the state’s independent congressional map for a legislative gerrymander that Princeton grades as one of the worst in the nation....
30 Oct, 2025
-
3 min read
bucking party on gerrymandering
5 Politicians Bucking Their Party on Gerrymandering
Across the country, both parties are weighing whether to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Texas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Utah, Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, and Virginia are all in various stages of the action. Here are five politicians who have declined to support redistricting efforts promoted by their own parties....
31 Oct, 2025
-
4 min read