The Forward Party just became the state's eighth official minor political party.
in addition to the Democrat and Republican parties — the largest number in at least two decades, according to data available from the Secretary of State's Office. The newest minor party, theare registered with one of the eight minor parties as of February 1, up from only 12,500 minor party voters in 2004.
That means just under 1.9 percent of Colorado voters are affiliated with minor parties, compared to 0.45 percent twenty years ago. "That's exciting news," says Rich Herrmann, chair of the Colorado Forward Party."We are building a new political community." Before these additions, there were only a handful of minor parties in the state, ranging from three to five between 2009 and 2022, according to voter registration data from the Secretary of State's Office. But Colorado is now becoming a hot spot for third parties, as more and more voters turn away from the Democratic and Republican mainstays. The Green, American Constitution, Unity and Approval Voting parties are all official minor parties in this state; so is the Libertarian Party, whichAs recently as 2013, Republicans and Democrats both outnumbered unaffiliated voters in Colorado. But now, nearly 48 percent of the state's active voters are independents, compared to fewer than 27 percent who are Democrats and fewer than 24 percent who are Republicans.in which unaffiliated voters are the plurality; the others are Alaska, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon and Rhode Island, according to the Independent Voter Project.connected growing political independence to rising partisan hostility, as an increasing number of both Democrats and Republicans view members of the other party as closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent.“Colorado Forward Party is creating a new home for these voters who are tired of partisan leaders more interested in winning political points than serving their constituents," Herrmann said when announcing the party's designation."Our candidates and sitting officials are committed to civility, fact-driven discourse and pragmatic compromise for the best interests of the common-sense majority that is increasingly being ignored by the two major parties." The Colorado Forward Party's policy initiatives include implementing ranked-choice voting, making primary elections nonpartisan and preserving the state's independent redistricting commission. However, the party's main schtick is that it prioritizes general principles and values over specific policy positions; it champions moderation, collaboration and accountability as its core principles. Any political candidate or official who supports those principles can affiliate themselves with the Forward Party, even if they're members of a different party. Fort Collins Mayor. It is led by 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and the former Republican governor of New Jersey, Christine Todd Whitman. Yang celebrated the party's Colorado expansion last month, calling it "an amazing accomplishment." But Forwardists will have to work to maintain their status as an official minor party. At least six minor parties have gained and then lost their status in Colorado since 2004. "Our three primary goals for 2024 are to grow our membership, fundraise and attract and support candidates," Herrmann says."It will be interesting to see the pace at which those members and others begin to change their voter registrations to Forward."to obtain the 10,000 petition signatures needed to become a minor political party in Colorado. To remain a minor party, it will need one of its candidates to receive at least one percent of the votes in an election for statewide office in the next two general elections — or have 1,000 voters register with the Forward Party.
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