There’s a new political party in Arizona, recycled from the bones of a failed attempt to field a legitimate third-party presidential candidate in 2024.
The Arizona Independent Party hopes to make waves in 2026, perhaps in key statewide or legislative races. Founded by former Phoenix mayor Paul Johnson, it’s actually a rebrand of the No Labels Party — founded when the national No Labels organization sought to gain ballot access in as many states as possible ahead of the last presidential election.
But No Labels didn’t last long in Arizona. The organization only intended to use it to run a presidential candidate that never materialized in 2024. And when an Arizona judge ruled that No Labels couldn’t block Arizonans who registered with their party from running for office in down ballot races, it agreed to hand over the reins to Johnson.
Now Johnson’s first move as party chair — rebranding as the Arizona Independent Party — is cause for concern for some election officials, given that the second largest bloc of Arizona voters, those who choose not to affiliate with Republicans, Democrats or any political party, are commonly referred to as lowercase-I independents.
