With a nationwide slate of independent candidates, $2 million ready to be deployed, and campaign staff with real experience, Bob Chew’s in a better position than many to force a conversation he believes is necessary.
The goal is to deny either party a working majority, then set terms before helping anyone organize the chamber. Pinkins offered a particularly specific account of what those terms would look like.
This isn't a candidate who left one party for the other. It's a candidate who spent time in both, looked around, and decided that the incentives that govern both are the fundamental problem.
June 2 primary elections are being held in several states across the US. And when it comes to independent voters and their rights, none of them have the same rules.
The media reports that nearly 80% of independent voters who participated in early voting picked a Democratic ballot. What the story missed, however, was why.
Duggan’s story is not a new one. Independent candidates across the country have run into the same wall, with many never even making it to Election Day.
How first-past-the-post voting turned a primary election into accusations of planted candidates, strategic surrenders, and a Democrat who ran to withdraw.
The 2026 midterm elections are already underway as states conduct their primary elections – and independent voters are expected to have a major impact on results from California to Maine and in several places in-between.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 31 directing federal agencies to build a new citizenship-verification system for federal elections and requiring the U.S. Postal Service to begin rulemaking on new standards for mailed ballots.
Matt Shinners
Independent Voter Project
Shawn Griffiths
Chad Peace
