Dozens of former Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday announced a new third party aimed at voters unhappy with the two-party system, Reuters reports.
The Forward Party will be co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former Republican New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman. Yang first proposed the party after losing the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor in 2021.
The party will hold a series of events this fall in dozens of cities, including an official launch in September in Houston.
The party plans to hold a national convention in an unannounced major U.S. city next summer.
Merger:
The party is effectively a merger of three political groups: The Forward Party, founded by Yang, the Renew America Movement, which was formed in 2021 by former officials from the Reagan, Bush I, Bush II, and Trump administrations, and the Serve America Movement, a nonpartisan group founded by former Republican Rep. David Jolly.
The party aims to “reinvigorate a fair, flourishing economy” and to “give Americans more choices in elections, more confidence in a government that works, and more say in our future.”
Big plans:
Third parties have historically struggled to attract voters but the Forward Party has big plans.
The party hopes to gain party registration and ballot access in 30 states by the end of next year and in all 50 states by the 2024 presidential election.
The party aims to field candidates for local races like school boards as well as state houses, Congress, and perhaps even the presidency.
The party has already raised $5 million.
“We are starting in a very strong financial position. Financial support will not be a problem,” Yang said.
Former Trump administration official Miles Taylor said the party aims to be a “viable, credible national third party.”
“The fundamentals have changed,” Taylor said. “When other third-party movements have emerged in the past it’s largely been inside a system where the American people aren’t asking for an alternative. The difference here is we are seeing an historic number of Americans saying they want one.”
