The New Third Party

What an amazing 48 hours! Upon the announcement of the new Forward Party over 20,000 Americans signed up in all 50 states; at one point every 35 seconds someone new was joining. We raised well over $100,000 in grassroots donations too, demonstrating just how hungry people are for a new alternative approach to our politics. Thank you for being part of it!

Perhaps equally important, mainstream news coverage of Forward was everywhere. Every major news outlet covered it, reaching nearly 40 million Americans on TV and radio alone. We trended #1 on Twitter and 500+ articles were posted about the new common sense party that Americans have been waiting for.

I’ve heard from myriad friends that people at work or online were curious – “Can a third party work? God knows we need one.” It has entered the consideration set for millions of Americans in a country where 62% of Americans want a third party and 88% think we are on the wrong track.

People want this – need this – to succeed. That is why we will.

But of course, nothing matters if we don’t start delivering. Most people will be eager to see what comes next.

Happily, that’s where our focus has been the whole time.

In real life, nothing happens without people working on it. This week on the podcast I interview Matt Shinners, co-CEO of Forward, for the background on how we reached this point and, perhaps more important, what the plan is.

A national party consists of 50 state parties. We are launching our national tour on September 24th in Houston, Texas and then heading to 15 states where we hope to be on the ballot by year-end. We already have ballot access or recognition in 4 states thanks to the merger. We will announce more Tour dates in the coming days so keep an eye out. Our goal is to be recognized in all 50 states by 2024.

There are about 506,000 locally elected officials around the country, from school board to city council members to county executives. More than 20% of these positions are non-partisan or uncontested; our goal is to recruit or elect 5,000 local officials by 2024. The fact is, many are functionally Independent and would love to join Forward to have a new base of support – some will come speak at our first national convention next summer. We already have many officials reaching out to us, so we are on our way.

There are important elections and ballot initiatives in November, just weeks away. Evan McMullin in Utah in particular presents an historic opportunity as an Independent running a competitive Senate race against a Trump-endorsed incumbent. I wrote about Evan here and Politico covered his race this week. Lisa Murkowski prevailing in her Alaska Senate race against another Trump-backed figure is crucial to demonstrating the power of open primaries and ranked choice voting. On that front, there is a ballot initiative for ranked choice voting and open primaries in Nevada that would dramatically transform the political landscape there. Clint Smith, Betsy Johnson, and Bill Walker are other independent candidates who are aligned with Forward. We have our hands full already in vital, competitive races.

And yes, people associated with the two major parties are reaching out to us to discuss joining us. The dysfunction runs deep, and some who are immersed in it are looking for a new home.

There is a balance between what national press will find interesting and what we have to do. We are building Forward for the long-term and want to put points on the board in communities now. We are doing this to help people, and the fact is your locally elected officials or other leaders in your community often have a greater impact on your day-to-day well being than someone in Washington D.C. Lasting change generally happens from the ground up.

These are exciting times. We would love your help building Forward. If you haven’t already done so, please sign up at forwardparty.com and perhaps make a donation. And then reach out to people in your network and say, “Hey, have you seen this new party? I think it’s exactly what the country needs.” That’s how the wave will build – on the ground in our own lives and in our communities.

For all of the interest in Forward, it’s up to us to build the party that most Americans want. Let’s deliver it to ourselves and reclaim our future as quickly as possible. The world is waiting to see what we do next. Take action today! We are just getting started.