New independent movement wants to deny both parties a House majority

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

May 10, 2025 at 1:31 p.m. EDT


LIVONIA, Mich. — During focus-group sessions in this bellwether state, two groups of swing voters were asked last month to give an instant assessment of the two political parties. The Democratic Party came under attack: “old, slow … lost … a joke … rudderless.” The image of today’s Republican Party wasn’t much better, viewed largely through President Donald Trump: “far right, no middle … a joke, too … united … delusional.” Behind the screen that blocked her from the participants, Lura Forcum nodded with approval. As president of the Independent Center, Forcum is leading a bid to rally voters who dislike both major parties around alternative candidates who will appeal to the vast middle.

A former marketing executive, Forcum has joined up with several disaffected former Republican-leaning operatives to do intense research on voter attitudes. Their next step will be to recruit candidates willing to take long-shot bets at winning House seats and upending a political system that’s been built around a two-party Congress since just after the Civil War. “You have two actors who’ve insulated themselves from competition, but what it’s allowed them to do is stop responding to the market. So, of course, it’s going to invite in a competitor,” Forcum said in a follow-up call Thursday.

Her cohorts, Adam Brandon and Brett Loyd, are the top political strategists. Brandon served as president of FreedomWorks until last May, when he had to shutter the libertarian-aligned organization that lost relevance in the Trump era. Loyd, who once served on Trump’s polling team, now runs a nonpartisan polling and data firm while overseeing the research and focus groups for the Independent Center. Their objective is both relatively small and, in terms of impact, potentially massive.

Rather than trying to run a third-party presidential campaign that would require billions of dollars and untold resources to get ballot access in all 50 states, they hope to win up to a handful of House races with centrist candidates who will not accept support from either major party. In this era of such narrow margins, that might deny Republicans and Democrats the 218 votes needed for the majority and create a protracted negotiation for a coalition government. “We’re going to that new center. So I will say that people are scared of this being a spoiler. Yes, we’re trying to wreck the system. We’re trying to disrupt the entire duopoly,” Brandon said during Thursday’s video call.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/10/independents-two-party-system-house/

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No paywall (gift)

Sounds like another version of "The Problem Solvers Caucus" and "No Labels" BUT this (from the excerpts) tells you all you need to know -

Her cohorts, Adam Brandon and Brett Loyd, are the top political strategists. Brandon served as president of FreedomWorks until last May, when he had to shutter the libertarian-aligned organization that lost relevance in the Trump era.