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# SCOTUS Just Strengthened the 2-Party System
- URL: https://ivn.us/scotus-just-strengthened-the-2-party-system/
- Published: 2026-07-01T19:22:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-01T19:22:15.000Z
- Description: and no, the country isn't going socialist
- Author: IVN Editorial Board
- Tags: Weekly Newsletter

The headlines call Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling a First Amendment victory. Read the fine print. In a 6-3 decision, the Court struck down the limit on how much the two major parties can spend in lockstep with their own candidates — a guardrail that had stood since the post-Watergate reforms of the 1970s.

Coordinated money is the most valuable money in politics, worth far more dollar-for-dollar than any super PAC. The Court just removed the ceiling on it — **but only if you belong to one of the two clubs.** [Matt Shinners breaks down what actually changed](https://ivn.us/the-supreme-court-just-made-americas-two-party-money-problem-worse/).

This isn’t campaign finance reform. It’s the two-party system writing itself a bigger check. For the [nearly half of Americans who now call themselves independent](https://ivn.us/47-independent-the-two-party-system-has-lost-the-country-it-claims-to-represent/), the message is blunt: the game just got more expensive, and the rules still don’t include you.

The same story is playing out everywhere this week. [Democratic Socialists are racking up wins in low-turnout closed primaries](https://ivn.us/the-dsa-class-of-2026-11-democrats-running-as-socialists/), and Zohran Mamdani says the model can win “anywhere” — [watch the clip](https://www.instagram.com/p/DaQm9SkErJO/?ref=ivn.us). But turnout was only 9% in New York, while the [nearly half of Americans who now call themselves independent](https://ivn.us/47-independent-the-two-party-system-has-lost-the-country-it-claims-to-represent/) were unable to participate. 

Representative?

Even worse, Jeremy Gruber from Open Primaries joins the [Independent Voter Podcast](https://ivn.us/podcasts/truth-40-of-nyc-democrats-arent-really-democrats-jeremy-gruber/), to talk about our recent poll showing 40% of NYC Democrats don't even like their own party!

Check out more stories that go outside the two-sided narrative below.

### *FEATURED ▶▶▶*

## The Supreme Court Just Made America’s Two-Party Money Problem Worse

[![Justice Brett Kavanaugh shakes hands with a U.S. senator](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/07/Kavanaugh_Handshake.png)](https://ivn.us/the-supreme-court-just-made-americas-two-party-money-problem-worse/)

IVN’s Matt Shinners breaks down what actually changed, why coordinated spending is far more valuable to a campaign than independent expenditures, and how the decision tightens the two parties’ grip.

[READ FULL ARTICLE](https://ivn.us/the-supreme-court-just-made-americas-two-party-money-problem-worse/)

### *POPULAR ON IVN ▶▶▶*

[Commentary: Birthright Citizenship Is More Complicated Than It Sounds ](https://ivn.us/irwin-nowick-kavanaughs-confusing-birthright-decision-is-right-and-still-wrong/) 

By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/06/irwin-headshot-1.jpg) Irwin Nowick 

[ ![Commentary: Birthright Citizenship Is More Complicated Than It Sounds](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/06/scotus-birthright-decision.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/irwin-nowick-kavanaughs-confusing-birthright-decision-is-right-and-still-wrong/) 

[‘Undo The Top Two’ Crossed Out “All Voters May Vote” ](https://ivn.us/undo-the-top-two-crossed-out-all-voters-may-vote/) 

By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/02/IMG_5249.png) Chad Peace 

[ ![‘Undo The Top Two’ Crossed Out “All Voters May Vote”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/06/california-primary-vote.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/undo-the-top-two-crossed-out-all-voters-may-vote/) 

[The DSA Class of 2026: 11 Democrats Running as Socialists ](https://ivn.us/the-dsa-class-of-2026-11-democrats-running-as-socialists/) 

By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/02/Cara-McCormick-IVN.png) Cara Brown McCormick 

[ ![The DSA Class of 2026: 11 Democrats Running as Socialists](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/06/Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez-DSC-Candidates.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/the-dsa-class-of-2026-11-democrats-running-as-socialists/) 

[He Ran as a Democrat Once. Brian Bengs Says Never Again. ](https://ivn.us/he-ran-as-a-democrat-once-brian-bengs-says-never-again/) 

By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/05/matt-shinners.png) Matt Shinners 

[ ![He Ran as a Democrat Once. Brian Bengs Says Never Again.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/06/Brian-Bengs.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/he-ran-as-a-democrat-once-brian-bengs-says-never-again/) 

[NY Independents Watch DC Open Its Primaries and Ask: 'Why Not Us?' ](https://ivn.us/ny-independents-watch-dc-open-its-primaries-and-ask-why-not-us/) 

By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/06/1517747530842.jpg) Jeremy Gruber 

[ ![NY Independents Watch DC Open Its Primaries and Ask: 'Why Not Us?'](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/06/new-york-independent-voters-primaries.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/ny-independents-watch-dc-open-its-primaries-and-ask-why-not-us/) 

[Arizona Made Voting Hard Enough for Independents. Then It Sent Me Two Ballots. ](https://ivn.us/arizona-made-voting-hard-enough-for-independents-then-it-sent-me-two-ballots/) 

By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/07/sherrycartoon.jpg) Sherry Harrison 

[ ![Arizona Made Voting Hard Enough for Independents. Then It Sent Me Two Ballots.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/07/Arizona-Vote.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/arizona-made-voting-hard-enough-for-independents-then-it-sent-me-two-ballots/) 

[In New York, 7% of Voters Just Decided for the Other 93% ](https://ivn.us/7-of-voters-just-decided-for-the-other-93/) 

By ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w30/2026/02/dJY12ln-_400x400.jpg) Shawn Griffiths 

[ ![In New York, 7% of Voters Just Decided for the Other 93%](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/size/w320/2026/06/new-york-primary-eelctions.jpg) ](https://ivn.us/7-of-voters-just-decided-for-the-other-93/) 

### *NEW EPISODE ▶▶▶*

## Independent Voter Podcast

We sit down with Jeremy, Senior VP of Open Primaries, to dig into a new IVP/Open Primaries poll of registered NYC Democrats - and what it reveals is wild.

[WATCH NOW](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycjp48aoKS4&ref=ivn.us)

### *VIDEO CLIP ▶▶▶*

## Zohran Mamdani Says Democratic Socialists Can Get Elected President 'Anywhere'

[![Zohran Mamdani says democratic socialists can get elected president anywhere](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/07/Mamdani_Social_Preview.png)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DaQm9SkErJO/?ref=ivn.us)

Can a democratic socialist really get elected "anywhere"? NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says voters want the model to go national — for any position, up to and including president. But the DSA’s recent wins came in low-turnout closed primaries that lock out millions of independents, raising the real question: is it broad appeal, or **just who shows up**?

[WATCH NOW ON INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/p/DaQm9SkErJO/?ref=ivn.us)

## NEW: Join the Conversation

Now, when you [sign-up for an account on IVN](https://ivn.us/#/portal/signup), you can help frame, change, and inform the discussion. In fact, you can [submit your own news stories](https://ivn.us/publish/), as long as you follow the simple [IVN Etiquette](https://ivn.us/etiquette/).

[SIGN UP NOW](https://ivn.us/#/portal/signup) 

### *ANNOUNCEMENT ▶▶▶*

## IVN Joins Forces with Latino News Network & The Fulcrum to Expand Voter-First Journalism

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/06/IVN_Fulcrum_LNN_Announcement-1.png)](https://ivn.us/independent-voter-news-joins-forces-with-latino-news-network-and-the-fulcrum-to-expand-voter-first-journalism/)

Independent Voter News (IVN) has entered into a collaborative partnership with the Latino News Network (LNN) and The Fulcrum, bringing together three outlets whose editorial missions converge on a shared conviction: that American democracy is best served by journalism that reaches the people most often left out of the conversation.

[LEARN MORE ON IVN](https://ivn.us/independent-voter-news-joins-forces-with-latino-news-network-and-the-fulcrum-to-expand-voter-first-journalism/)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/05/omp-320x50-1.gif)](https://openmyprimary.org/?ref=ivn.us)