Dozens of former Democrats and Republicans want to solve the country’s major problems.
Dozens of former Republican and Democratic officials will unveil a new political party called Forward on Thursday (local time), the founding members said on Wednesday. Forward does not yet have a concrete agenda, but wants to establish itself as a centrist party.
“How are we going to solve the big problems America faces? Not left. Not right. Forward.” The main pillars of the party program are “revival of a fair, prosperous economy” and “more choices for Americans, more confidence in a functioning government and more say in our future”.
The party is based on the merger of three organizations:
From the Renew America Movement, founded in 2021 by former Republicans from the Ronald Reagan, George Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations.
Likewise, the original Forward Party, launched by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, is joining the new party. Yang becomes co-chair of the new party.
The Serve America Movement, a group of Democrats, Republicans, and independents established by former Republican Congressman David Jolly.
In an interview, Yang said the party will launch with a budget of about $5 million. It has a number of donors and a base membership of the three merged groups that numbers in the hundreds of thousands.
“We start with a very strong financial position. Financial support will not be a problem,” Yang said. Another person who helped found Forward, Miles Taylor – a former Trump administration aide – said the idea was to provide voters with “an appropriate, credible national third party.”
Political system in the US is deadlocked
The organizations had emerged in recent years in response to the increasingly polarized and deadlocked US political system.
Historically, third parties have not succeeded in America’s two-party system. Since the middle of the 19th century only the Democratic and Republican parties have been of any importance. Occasionally they can influence a presidential election, like the Green Party’s Ralph Nader, who in 2000 won enough votes from Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore to help Republican George W. Bush win the White House.
Forward aims to achieve party registration and voting access in 30 states by the end of 2023 and in all 50 states by the end of 2024, in time for the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.
A record two-thirds of Americans think a third party is necessary, according to a Gallup poll last year. Political analysts are skeptical that they can succeed.
