Six Candidates. Two Chambers. One Movement. 06/26/2026

The Forward Party has officially endorsed six independent candidates running for federal office — four for the U.S. Senate and two for the U.S. House. Their elections could fundamentally change how Congress works.

Six Candidates. Two Chambers. One Argument.

The Forward Party has announced the most expansive independent federal endorsement slate by any political organization in the 2026 election cycle. Four U.S. Senate candidates across Idaho, Colorado, South Dakota, and Montana, plus two U.S. House candidates in Iowa are being added to our growing list of endorsed candidates. They are veterans, business leaders, and public servants, all running without a party.

Idaho

Todd Achilles

U.S. Senate  |  Independent  |  Challenging Sen. Jim Risch (R)

Todd Achilles is an Army veteran, former Idaho State Representative, technology executive, and public policy instructor from Boise. He has the military record, the legislative experience, the private-sector track record, and the classroom credibility that most Senate candidates would dream of — and he’s running without a party label against a three-term incumbent who has held Idaho office since nearly 1970.

In Idaho, unaffiliated voters now outnumber registered Democrats two to one. Achilles’ campaign polling shows him trailing Risch by 14 points among uninformed voters — and leading by 3 among voters who know both candidates. That gap shows this race gets better every time a voter hears the argument.

He is also a founder and board member of Veterans for Idaho Voters, and a member of the American Federation of Teachers union and Idaho Business for Education — the kind of cross-constituency coalition that can actually win a Senate race in a state that’s ready for something different.

Colorado

Bob Chew

U.S. Senate  |  Forward Party  |  Challenging Sen. John Hickenlooper (D)

Bob Chew served as an officer on a nuclear submarine during the Cold War, then spent 30 years building a global company from four employees to 700.  He knows how to build something real and work hard for it.

He’s running on the Forward Party line in Colorado because he believes both parties have spent decades refusing to have the hard conversations: the national debt, Social Security solvency, immigration, and energy. He is self-funding his candidacy and has pledged to invest whatever it takes because conviction, not calculation, is what got him into this race.

The forward argument isn’t always about which race is easiest to win. Sometimes it’s about challenging a system that has gone unchallenged. Chew’s opponent Sen. John Hickenlooper is an incumbent in a state where one party has been unchallenged for too long.

South Dakota

Brian Bengs

U.S. Senate |  Independent  |  Challenging Sen. Mike Rounds (R)

Brian Bengs is a U.S. Navy and Air Force JAG Corps veteran, former instructor at the Air Force Academy and NATO School, law professor at Northern State University, and Wind Cave National Park Ranger. He has spent his life in service — in uniform, in the classroom, and in his community — and now he’s channeling that same ethic into a Senate campaign built on a simple foundational argument: big money in politics is the root cause of nearly every policy failure South Dakotans are living with.

He’s been a member of the American Legion, the VFW, and Veterans for All Voters as a state leader. In 2023, he led a citizen-driven constitutional amendment effort to protect voter-passed ballot measures from legislative override. He’s done this before — organized from scratch, built a coalition, fought the system.

Montana

Seth Bodnar

U.S. Senate |  Independent  |  Open Seat

Seth Bodnar graduated first in his class at West Point, served as a Green Beret with multiple overseas deployments, built a career in business, and spent eight years as president of the University of Montana.

The story of how he got into this race tells you something about the problem he’s running to fix. Two-term incumbent Sen. Steve Daines withdrew from the race eight minutes before the filing deadline and simultaneously endorsed his chosen successor, Kurt Alme — without a primary, without voter input, without asking Montana if that’s what they wanted. Numerous elected Montana Republicans have gone on record expressing their frustration with the move. It is exactly the kind of insider self-dealing that Bodnar’s campaign is built to challenge.

He has outraised every other candidate in the race — Democrat and Republican. Montana showed up for him before a single vote was cast.

Iowa is a state with a sizable unaffiliated electorate and is about to have independent candidates in two competitive congressional districts at the same time. Both are candidates who did the strenuous door-to-door work to earn their place on the November ballot.

Michael Bridgford

U.S. House, IA-01  |  Independent  |  Challenging Mariette Miller-Meeks (R)

Michael Bridgford is running in one of the most-watched congressional districts in the country. Cook Political Report rates Iowa’s 1st District a toss-up. Roughly one-third of voters in the district aren’t registered with either major party.

His district’s general election will be a three-way race — and this is the third consecutive cycle in which the same two major-party candidates, incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) and Democrat Christina Bohannon, will face off. Iowa’s 1st District voters know exactly what they’re getting from both parties. Bridgford is offering them something they haven’t had: a choice. “I think 2026 is a big year for an independent movement across the country,” he has said. He’s not wrong.

Dave Bushaw

U.S. House IA-02  |  Independent  |  Open Seat

Dave Bushaw is a squash farmer in West Union, a labor unionist, and a folk musician who has played at union strikes across the country. “Both parties walked away from the people who built this country,” he has said. That conviction drove him to do something Iowa’s legislature tried to prevent: qualify for the November ballot as an independent after the state raised the signature threshold mid-campaign.

He knocked on more than 7,000 doors in northeast Iowa. 88% of the people who answered signed his petition. He officially filed his signatures on June 2nd — primary day itself — achieving 200% of the required number in every single county in Iowa’s 2nd District. That is not just ballot access. That is a grassroots mandate. The general election will be a three-way race against Democrat Lindsay James and Trump-backed Republican Joe Mitchell, in a district Cook now describes as “increasingly competitive.”

How These Candidates Could Change Everything

Here’s the argument both parties hope you never think about too hard.

The Senate and the House both operate on razor-thin margins right now. Whichever party holds the majority controls the committee chairs, the legislative calendar, and every procedural lever that determines what bills ever reach a vote. The minority party can obstruct. That’s it. And that majority can be as thin as one or two seats before everything changes. Independent senators and representatives are not required to caucus with either major party. That means a small enough bloc — even two or three seats in the Senate — could deny either party an outright working majority, and in exchange for agreeing to organize the chamber, demand real structural changes

Forward Party candidates are accountable to the voters. They will focus on solutions, not partisan fighting, in order to serve their constituents. In these six campaigns, it’s a description of what they’ve already done before a single November vote is cast.

Please forward this to your friends, family, and coworkers. It helps us introduce them to Forward and to what we are building. Also consider inviting them to one of our upcoming events listed below. We’d love to meet them.

If you haven’t watched the newest episode of The Forward Party Podcast from last week with John Avlon, journalist, political analyst, and host of “How to Fix It” and special guest Khalil Ekulona, former NPR host and community storyteller, you are missing out!

Click the image below to watch.

ICYMI: Episode 11

June 28, 2026 at 5:00pm Eastern Time

Young Forwardists High School Introduction

The Young Forwardists are looking for passionate students ready to bring civic engagement to their local high school! Join our growing movement to diversify politics by creating a Young Forwardists Chapter at your school, where you’ll have real exposure to political opportunities, candidates, campaigns, and policy writing.

June 29, 2026 at 7:30pm Eastern Time

Welcome Team Training

Training and a show of resources for new members of the Welcome Team! Welcome Team participants will call new supporters in their state and welcome them to the Forward Party. A suggested script for conversations and email template for follow up will be provided.

July 01, 2026 at 5:30pm Eastern Time

Town Hall Training

Join us for a practical, energizing training on how to plan and run town halls that actually bring people together. You’ll learn how to choose the right venue, confirm speakers, promote the event effectively, and handle day of details with confidence. With GOTV season upon us, we know you want to be able to hold impactful events to help your candidates, so RSVP to learn more with us!

If you’re tired of waiting for the system to fix itself — this is your moment.
👥 Volunteer | 🗳️ Run for Office | 💸 Donate | 🌐 forwardparty.com

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