| Reacting to a Sea Change 2026 Midterm Election
The Forward Party celebrated Election Day by watching election results as a team in Baltimore, MD on Tuesday. The next morning, Forward Party CEO Lindsey Williams Drath, Founding Co-Chair Christine Todd Whitman, and Executive Chair Kerry Healey sat down to share their reaction to the results.
Watch the full episode.
Other Thoughts on the 2026 Midterms
The results are mostly in, and while we at the Forward Party didn’t win many of our races, we’ve also have never been more certain that the Independent movement is making huge progress.
Voters in Texas, South Carolina, Kansas and Iowa sent a clear message about the direction of the country and the current administration, electing opposing-party leaders in places that seemed unwinnable for them just a few years ago. Voters weren’t voting for a party so much as they were voting in opposition to the dysfunction they’ve grown so tired of. That’s the voter Forward exists to serve.
Something is happening in the Mountain West
In Montana, South Dakota, Idaho, and Nebraska, Republicans won, but an independent, not a Democrat, finished second.
Nearly every one of our federal candidates cleared 30% of the vote, which is no small feat running outside of the two-party system. And compared with the last Democrat to run in each state, independents did markedly better this cycle.
Senate Candidates Brian Bengs and Todd Achilles Outperform Previous Outings
In South Dakota, Brian Bengs earned 39.5% as an independent, up from 26.1% when he ran as a Democrat in 2022, and in his home county of Fall River, he went from 18% to 32%. In Idaho, Todd Achilles earned 33.6%, up from 28.7% for the 2022 Democratic nominee. The trend is unmistakable. In some of the reddest states in the country, independents are now a real alternative.
So What Comes Next?
We’ve had our eyes on 2028 since day one, and today we have more candidates, more data, more state infrastructure and more proof than ever that independents can compete. The question is no longer whether independent voters matter, but whether our political system will catch up to them.
We hope you’ll continue on this journey with us and we thank you for being a supporter of our work and the ever growing Independent political movement. |
