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# The Two-Party System CONTROLS Our Elections. It’s Time to FIGHT BACK (John Opdycke) | EP64
- URL: https://ivn.us/podcasts/the-two-party-system-controls-our-elections-its-time-to-fight-back-john-opdycke-ep64/
- Published: 2026-10-22T17:24:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-22T18:16:32.000Z
- Description: Open Primaries founder John Opdycke joins hosts Chad Peace and Cara McCormick to discuss why 48% of Americans identify as independent but have no real voice in elections, and what it will take to break the two-party system's control over primaries.
- Author: Independent Voter Podcast
- Tags: Independent Voter Podcast, Open Primaries, Podcast

Open Primaries founder John Opdycke joins Chad Peace and Cara McCormick for a wide-ranging, no-bs conversation on where the reform movement actually stands, starting with Pennsylvania's open primary fight and then asking the question: are presidential primaries even elections in the first place?

John Opdycke breaks down why 48% of Americans now identify as independent and still have no real seat at the table, then walks through Pennsylvania's Senate Bill 400 (stuck in committee despite Governor Josh Shapiro's endorsement and a bipartisan House vote). Cara and John trade war stories from Maine and Oregon, including the 2014 top-two measure that got "wiped out" 65-35 and the hard lessons that shaped Maine's later ranked choice voting win, while Chad connects it back to California's Prop 14 and the simple turnout trick that got it passed.

**This episode is sponsored by the** [**Independent Voter Project**](https://independentvoterproject.org/?ref=ivn.us) **and produced by** [**Olas Media**](https://olasmedia.com/blogs/the-two-party-system-controls-our-elections-its-time-to-fight-back-john-opdycke?ref=ivn.us)**. Listen on** [**Spotify**](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TUnkxpAqZ3f2Bw13nXQ13?si=jax5LocpQCOT9Bp%5FOQmNSw&ref=ivn.us) **or** [**Apple Podcasts**](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-two-party-system-controls-our-elections-its-time/id1680559155?i=1000797645268&ref=ivn.us)**.**

**The Independent Voter Podcast also has its own YouTube channel! If you enjoy these conversations,** [**subscribe to our dedicated channel**](https://www.youtube.com/@independentvoterpodcast?ref=ivn.us) **for full episodes, interviews, and future content.**

## Episode Highlights

On this episode of the **Independent Voter Podcast**, hosts **Chad Peace** and **Cara McCormick** welcome **John Opdycke**, founder of **Open Primaries**, who lays out his organization's mission since 2009: mobilizing the **48% of Americans** who identify as independent and pushing back on **Democratic** and **Republican** control over primary elections.

The conversation turns to **Pennsylvania's Senate Bill 400**, an open primaries measure that passed the state Assembly with bipartisan support and earned **Governor Josh Shapiro's** endorsement, but remains stuck in the state Senate. John and Chad frame the fight as a **voting rights issue**, arguing taxpaying, military-serving independents are being denied a basic right to vote in taxpayer-funded elections.

Cara and John trade origin stories from the reform trenches, recalling **Oregon's 2014 top-two ballot measure** that got crushed **65-35** and how watching that defeat shaped her strategy for **Maine's 2016 ranked choice voting** campaign, including the importance of securing establishment "tables" and donors early.

Chad connects the thread to **California's Proposition 14**, explaining how a quiet, low-turnout strategy, simply informing independent voters the measure existed without a traditional campaign, drove a surge in independent turnout that caught party consultants off guard and helped the measure pass.

The group digs into Maine's current semi-open primary system and why John sees it as unfinished business compared to the fully open model he's chasing in **Pennsylvania** and other states, while also noting how mixing multiple reforms into one ballot measure (as in **Alaska** and **Massachusetts**) can create vulnerabilities when factions within the reform movement disagree.

Chad and John debate whether big outside money in politics actually works, with Chad arguing that poorly targeted, consultant-driven spending often underperforms because it ignores independent voters entirely, a dynamic he says explains why so many expensive campaigns against reform measures fail.

Looking ahead to **2028**, John pitches the idea of an all-independent presidential primary that polls independents on every candidate across parties, while Chad argues presidential primaries function less like elections and more like unofficial polls controlled entirely by party conventions, raising the question of what role the state should actually play.

Cara closes by pointing to the bitter **Maine Senate race** between **Troy Jackson** and **Susan Collins** as a real-time example of the two-party system deepening division, even as John insists the independent movement is gaining momentum through grassroots organizing and growing voter engagement nationwide.