A group that backed a failed effort to get rid of the state’s partisan primary election system last year is now merging with No Labels Arizona, which backed a short-lived third-party presidential ticket in 2024.
But the new version of the Arizona No Labels Party plans to recruit moderate and independent candidates to run up and down the ballot — a stark departure from the national organization, which went to court to block down ballot candidates from running under the No Labels banner last year.
According to a press release, former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson is the state party’s new chairman. Johnson previously co-chaired Make Elections Fair AZ, the group that backed Proposition 140, a ballot measure that would have created an open primary system in Arizona to allow all primary voters to select a candidate of their choosing, regardless of party affiliation.
Prop. 140 lost at the ballot, with 58% of voters opposing the measure.
“So we began looking at, ‘how do we continue to move this forward?’” Johnson said. “And we began to think about creating or forming our own party, and that's when we ended up getting connected to the No Label group nationally.”
In 2024, No Labels gained ballot access in 21 states, including Arizona, in hopes of backing a centrist “unity ticket” in the presidential race as alternatives to President Donald Trump or former President Joe Biden, then the presumptive Democratic nominee. But it quashed those plans in April after it failed to attract candidates.
The national group also filed a federal lawsuit after some Arizonans sought to run in down-ballot races as No Labels candidates without the party’s permission. The organization argued No Labels bylaws stated it only intended to field candidates in the presidential contest.
A federal judge sided with the group, ordering Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to keep those candidates off the ballot, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling this month.
A new state party?
Despite losing at the polls last year, Johnson said the Make Elections Fair board saw starting a new party as a way to move their goals forward.
That includes the desire to run candidates who appeal voters disenchanted by the major parties — candidates who, Johnson argues, rarely make it to the general election due to hyper partisan primaries with low voter turnout.
In Arizona, independent voters make up 34% of the electorate. That’s the second largest bloc, behind Republicans at 36%. Democrats account for 28% of Arizona voters.
But only two of the state’s nine congressional districts are considered competitive. And only five legislative districts fall within competitive range.
Echoing arguments made during the open primaries campaign, he said No Labels Arizona could provide alternatives to the candidates selected by the Republican and Democratic parties in their primary elections.
“Parties have been fighting over a narrower and narrower ground trying to appeal to the extremes in both of their parties,” Johnson said. “Because of gerrymandered districts, they don't really ever have to appeal to voters in the general election … and, consequently, most of the major issues end up going unresolved.”
Outside of the desire to run down-ballot candidates, Johnson said the new state party’s goals largely align with the national No Labels organization.
Johnson said his appointment as chairman was approved by the board for the No Labels national organization and the board for the state party.
Staff for No Labels, which is based in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment.
And it's unclear how long the affiliation with the No Labels national group will last.
In a press release, Johnson asks interested Arizonans to reach out to him directly and “start by suggesting a new name for the party.”
“If you think we can do better than the duopoly, we have a home for your place to vote,” he said.
Three’s a crowd
Johnson said the party is already recruiting candidates to run in 2026.
“A lot of that is carving a path,” he said. “In 2028, we hope to have a bigger impact.”
Not everyone is convinced another third party — Libertarians and Greens also have ballot access — will make much of a difference in Arizona.
Republican consultant Bob Charles said the party could make a dent if they have the money to back robust campaigns in Arizona’s statewide races, which have been increasingly close in recent years. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is up for reelection next year, won her last race by just 280 votes in 2022.
“These were very close races, so they could have an impact,” Charles said. “But they're going to have to have very deep pockets to establish any relevance with voters.”
Make Elections Fair, Johnson’s old group, raised nearly $17 million in support of that campaign. The No Labels national organization had also pledged to raise $70 million for its presidential ticket last year, and Mother Jones reported the dark money group was backed by notable billionaires and corporate CEOs with ties to the major political parties.
Johnson said it is still early, “so we have ideas or lots of plans and limited resources.”
He said the first step for the new party is to amend its bylaws, which had barred running any candidate outside of the presidential race.
“Then what I would like to do is to go out and create a target list of seats that we think that we could be effective in either winning or at least changing the outcome enough that the candidates running recognize that they need to appeal to the center if they want to win,” he said.
But Charles said attracting Arizona’s independent voters to a new party and actually getting them to vote for a third-party candidate will be harder than it looks
“When people register independent, they still stick strongly with one party,” Charles said. “A Republican or Democrat that might switch to No Labels likely doesn't leave that party when they're holding their ballot.”
A 2018 Pew Research poll found that 81% of independents still lean Republican or Democrat.
Still, with so many statewide races decided by a slim margin, data shows a moderate third-party candidate could siphon votes away from the major party nominees.
In 2022, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs defeated Republican Kari Lake, despite the GOP voter registration advantage in Arizona. An NBC News exit poll found that Hobbs won a majority of independents and 59% of self-described moderates.
