They are fed up with America’s two-party system and are coming together from across the aisle to start their own party.
Dozens of former Republican and Democrat officials announced this week that there will be a new game in town that could appeal to millions of voters.
They are forming a new national political third party for people who are frustrated with the nation’s two-party system.
The new party is going to be called “Forward,” and it will be co-chaired initially by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former GOP governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman.
Yang and Whitman hope that the new party will quickly become a viable alternative to the existing parties that dominate the elections.
Leaders of the new party will host several events in two dozen cities across the nation this fall. They will focus on their platform and raise support. Forward will host an official launch in Houston on September 24th. Their first convention will take place in a major U.S. city next summer.
The new party is a merger of three political groups that have come together in recent years. They have cited a Gallup poll that indicated that two-thirds of Americans believe a third party is necessary.
One of the groups in the merger is the Renew America Movement, which was formed in 2021 by dozens of former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.
Another group is the Forward Party which was founded by Yang. He left the Democratic Party in 2021 and became independent.
And the third group in the merger is the Serve America Movement, which is a group of Democrats, Republicans, and independents whose executive director is former Republican congressman David Jolly.
The two primary pillars of the platform are 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.”
The Forward Party will attempt to be moderate or centrist, but they have not revealed any specific policies at this time. At their launch event, the one topic they will address is: “How will we solve the big issues facing America? Not Left. Not Right. Forward.”
Although it seems that they have the people who could make this work, and they seem to already have momentum, the party will have a steep hill to climb. Third parties have not succeeded in America’s two-party system. They have impacted a presidential election by taking votes away from a party that might have won without them.
Some experts believe that Ralph Nader’s Green Party took enough votes for Al Gore and the Democratic Party in 2000 so that Republican George W. Bush won the White House.
Some political analysts are skeptical about the Forward Party’s chances of success.
The reaction to this new party on social media came fast. Most Democrats responded complaining that it will siphon votes away from their candidates and help the GOP in close races.
Forward has a goal to get party registration and ballot access in 30 states by the end of 2023, and they will have all 50 states by late 2024. That will be just in time for the 2024 presidential election. And they plan to raise candidates for local races, school boards, and city councils all through the process.
Yang indicated that the party will start with a budget of approximately $5 million. They already have donors lined up and a plan for grassroots memberships.
“We are starting in a very strong financial position. Financial support will not be a problem,” Yang said.
This party will have an impact on the coming elections, but their success is hard to predict.
