Virtual Discussion: The Primary Solution with Unite America's Nick Troiano

Nick Troiano
Published: 19 Mar, 2024
Updated: 18 Jun, 2025
1 min read

In the latest virtual discussion from Open Primaries, the group's president, John Opdycke, sat down with Unite America Executive Director Nick Troiano to discuss Troiano's new book, "The Primary Solution," the rise in independent voters, and the state of democracy reform in the 2024 US political landscape.

LEARN MORE: Over 23.5 Million Independent Voters Are Disenfranchised in 2024 Primaries, Study Finds

Troiano has been in the independent voter and reform movement since 2014, when he ran for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 10th District. He not only ran as an independent candidate, but he was the youngest candidate in the cycle and ran the most competitive independent campaign in two decades.

The Primary Problem: Only 8% of Voters Elect 83% of Our Representatives

Troiano has said he wrote his book because he believes partisan primaries are the biggest solvable problem in the US. They are the most critical stage of the elections process in most races for political office, and yet millions of independent voters are denied access to them across the country. 

Since 2019, Unite America has invested over $70 million to help nonpartisan election reform victories that include 50 statewide and municipal policy efforts Opdycke and Troiano discuss all of this and more in their discussion. Check out the full conversation above. 

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