Arizona Independent Party partners with Andrew Yang's Forward Party to field candidates

The new Arizona Independent Party is joining forces with a national group as both organizations attempt to create a viable third party option appealing to moderate and centrist voters.

On the heels of a failed effort to create an open primary system, former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson took over the No Labels Party in Arizona and rebranded it as the Arizona Independent Party in October.

Now, Johnson is joining forces with the Forward Party, the organization launched four years ago by former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and Andrew Yang after the latter’s failed bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Forward Party CEO Lindsey Drath said the partnership will give Arizona Independent Party candidates access to the infrastructure built by her organization, which has gained full or partial ballot access in eight states and has ambitions to field candidates nationwide.

That infrastructure includes access to experienced staff, polling, voter lists and other tools that are typically provided by political parties to their candidates.

Johnson said the two groups share a common goal to provide an alternative to the two major political parties, which he blames for gridlock in Washington and sowing division amongst the electorate.

“They've created an ideologically pure group on both sides who are not only grievance voters, but their single greatest grievance is this: they hate the other side,” he said.

That message appealed to Michael Zepeda, one of just three candidates who has filed papers to run for office under the Independent Party — or former No Labels — banner.

“Well, in the past, growing up as a kid, I always heard, you know, what's the best of the two bad options that we have out there?” said Zepeda, a former teacher running for Arizona Treasurer. “And then seeing this avenue through the Independent Party, really having, you know, the ability to be on the major ticket, it just created like the perfect situation to want to take the chance.”

A wide net 

As for which races the coalition plans to target, Johnson said they are casting a wide net rather than focusing on races with tight margins, such as legislative contests in competitive districts.

He said only focusing on competitive races would be antithetical to the party’s mission.

“We can provide competition where they couldn't exist, where it didn't exist before, because we have a different constituency,” Johnson said.

Drath, the Forward Party CEO, said around 70% of downballot races go uncontested.

Johnson blamed that on the fact that most legislative and Congressional districts are skewed so far in favor of one party or the other, that it doesn’t make sense to field a candidate in those races. For instance, in Arizona, only a handful of legislative districts are considered truly competitive, and 10 of the 90 legislative races in 2024 featured candidates from only one party.

“They've gerrymandered these districts so badly that there's no competition in 25 out of 30 legislative seats,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean Johnson's party will only focus on downballot races. He said he invites any candidate interested in the party to join races under its banner.

In fact, of the three candidates who have filed papers so far, two — Zepeda and state Superintendent candidate Dr. Stephen Neal — are running for statewide offices.

Uphill battle

If history is any guide, creating a viable third-party will be no simple task.

In fact, the Arizona Independent Party was only able to take over No Labels’ spot on the ballot after that party went largely dormant in the state following a failed national effort to field an alternative presidential candidate.

And the Forward Party has seen only moderate success since its inception.

According to the organization’s website, 49 candidates affiliated with the group have won office, mostly in lower-level municipal and state legislative elections.

But only five of those candidates actually won by running under the Forward Party banner. The others ran as Democrats, Republicans, independents or in non-partisan races.

Independent voters, meaning those that aren’t affiliated with any political party, make up about 34% of Arizona’s electorate, making them the second largest voting bloc behind Republicans.

Johnson acknowledged that registering as an independent doesn’t mean a voter is automatically a centrist, but he said it does signal dissatisfaction with the major political parties.

“Maybe in some ways they are not the middle ideologically. Some are very conservative, some are very liberal. Some are actually truly kind of in the middle,” Johnson said. “But they're done with the two party labels that have become toxic, that are damaging to this country, that can no longer find a way to work with one another.”

Spoiler? 

But, so far, the other recognized third parties in the state — the Libertarians and Greens — have seen virtually no electoral success.

And they are sometimes the subjects of manipulation by the Democrats and Republicans seeking to siphon votes away from their opponents, including the state’s 2024 U.S. Senate race.

That’s already led to criticism that the Arizona Independent Party could just be the latest spoiler on the scene, especially after Democrats like Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes won in 2022, in part, by appealing to independent and moderate Republicans put off by the Republican Party’s direction under President Trump’s leadership.

Johnson bristled at questions about the potential that his party could play spoiler to Democrats in upcoming elections.

“If their answer is, ‘Well, we really should be secret Democrats,’ too bad for them, because that's not who we are,” he said.

And he blamed both major parties for making it too difficult for independent-minded candidates to run. He pointed to the fact that candidates running without a party affiliation face larger hurdles than Republicans or Democrats.

For instance, an independent candidate needed more than 42,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot in a statewide race in 2024. A No Labels candidate would have needed just 1,300.

And Johnson admitted this new effort is motivated by the failed measure last year to create open primaries in Arizona, which votes shot down by a 59%-41% margin.

He said he still believes open primaries are a better way to increase independent participation – and candidates seeking the Arizona Independent Party’s endorsement must pledge to support future open primary efforts.

Building a movement

Beyond increasing participation, those backing the new party’s efforts do believe they have a real path to victory by providing a moderate alternative to voters who have a penchant for splitting tickets, or voting for candidates from multiple parties.

“So much of what we're talking about here today is there are changes that grow out of what the public is saying they want,” said Clarkdale resident Jackie Salit, a Forward Party board member who will be joining the Arizona Independent Party’s board. “We're trying to build something that is responsive to a new set of circumstances and a new way of looking at participation.”

The party’s actual platform is still somewhat unclear, though Johnson and Drath made general statements about addressing cost of living, balancing government budgets and supporting public safety and education.

And Drath pointed to polling numbers that show over 40% of Americans self-identify as independents, and even more say third-party candidates are needed — though few indicated they would actually vote for them.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The photo caption in this story has been updated to correctly identify the Forward Party's Scott Brooks.