LISTEN: Running for President as an Independent -- How it Really Works

Image of the White House.
Image created by IVN staff.
Published: 30 Apr, 2025
Updated: 18 Jun, 2025
1 min read

Your ideal president probably can't even get on the ballot.

Think about the leaders with bold visions you’ve wanted to vote for -- the ones with the best ideas who have the potential to transform American politics. Most never stand a chance, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.

In our revealing episode, 'Running for President as an Independent: How it Really Works,' the Independent Voter Podcast exposes exactly why candidates with powerful ideas and dedicated supporters get systematically shut out of presidential contention.

Host Chad Peace and guest Cara McCormick dissect the interconnected barriers that block real political diversity: prohibitive ballot access requirements that drain millions from campaigns, the structural disadvantages of running without party infrastructure, strategic debate exclusions that limit national exposure, and a winner-take-all Electoral College that is almost mathematically certain to eliminate anyone outside the two major parties.

With real-world examples from H. Ross Perot to RFK, Jr., the conversation shows how even candidates with substantial resources, name recognition, and passionate supporters crash against these barriers, not because their ideas lack merit, but because the system itself prevents electoral choice.

Produced for Independent Voter News by Olas Media, this isn't just about procedural roadblocks. It's about how America's political system actively prevents the bold thinkers and paradigm-shifters you actually want to vote for from ever reaching your ballot.

🎧 Listen now to understand the high cost of trying to break the mold and why the system isn’t built for outsiders.

Related articles

US Capitol Building with American Flags in front.
Five Seats, One Revolution: Independents Launch Political Disruptor
One week after hosting its inaugural event in DC, the founders of The Independent Center announced the formation of the Independent PAC, a hybrid political action committee designed to do one thing: deny the two major parties a majority in Congress....
31 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Joe Manchin
Manchin to DC: Independents Are Here, and We’re Not Going Away
The rise of an independent majority has long been dismissed by the press as a myth, which is why few people heard about an event in the nation’s capital on July 23 that gathered prominent and rising independent voices....
29 Jul, 2025
-
4 min read
Jason Pizzo
Florida Senator Jason Pizzo Launches Independent Bid for Governor
Breaking ranks with both major parties, Florida State Senator Jason Pizzo has declared his candidacy for governor in 2026 as a no-party-affiliation (NPA) candidate, setting the stage for a rare and potentially disruptive independent run in one of the nation’s most competitive political battlegrounds....
14 May, 2025
-
4 min read

Latest articles

Gas station weed signs next to Texas flag
Texas Senate Votes to Ban Gas Station Weed Again -- Will Abbott Go Along This Time?
AUSTIN, TX — The Texas Senate on August 1 passed a bill that would ban all intoxicating hemp-derived...
01 Aug, 2025
-
2 min read
House of Cards logo in front of Texas Capitol
Texas Redistricting Drama Turns into 'House of Cards' Episode
As Texas Republicans push forward with a controversial plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts, Democrats are weighing whether to deploy one of their most extreme forms of resistance: a quorum break....
31 Jul, 2025
-
4 min read
US Capitol Building with American Flags in front.
Five Seats, One Revolution: Independents Launch Political Disruptor
One week after hosting its inaugural event in DC, the founders of The Independent Center announced the formation of the Independent PAC, a hybrid political action committee designed to do one thing: deny the two major parties a majority in Congress....
31 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read