A new Gallup poll finds the share of American adults who identify as political independents hit a record high of 45% last year, Semafor reports.
The increase over the past high of 43%, recorded in 2014, 2023, and 2024, was partially driven by younger Americans increasingly identifying as independent.
CNN: “Among independents, there is a subset that rejects party labels but aligns closely with one of the two major parties on many issues, which we’re calling Democratic Lookalikes and Republican Lookalikes. The poll also identifies two groups that remix the definition of a traditional swing voter — the Disappointed Middle and the Upbeat Outsiders. A fifth group — The Checked Out — is largely uninterested in politics.”
NOTUS: “Inspired by Dan Osborn’s surprisingly strong showing in Nebraska, independents are jumping into races across the country.”
“Elon Musk is quietly pumping the brakes on his plans to start a political party,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Musk has told allies that he wants to focus his attention on his companies and is reluctant to alienate powerful Republicans by starting a third party that could siphon off GOP voters.”
“Musk’s posture marks a shift from early last month, when he said he would form what he called the America Party to represent U.S. voters who are unhappy with the two major political parties.”
“Elon Musk’s talk of a third political party is an idea supported by more than half of voters in the latest Fox News national survey – as long as that party isn’t linked to the billionaire.”
“By an 11-point margin, more voters think it is a good idea rather than a bad one for there to be a third major party (53% vs. 42%). That’s down from a 27-point spread in 2010, the most recent time Fox asked the question.”
“Independents – by a 44-point margin and Democrats – by 20 points say a third party is a good idea while Republicans think it’s a bad one by 9 points.”
“Elon Musk’s new political party is so far a no-go on the launch pad,” Axios reports.
“The rockets-to-robotaxis billionaire hasn’t taken visible steps to make formal filings for the America Party, and once-frenetic whispers from third party consultants about working for him have gone radio silent.”
“Elon Musk is promising to shake up the midterms with his own political party. Democrats aren’t sweating it,” Politico reports.
“Musk’s yet-unfulfilled plans to form an ‘America Party’ could threaten Republicans already fighting to defend their seats by razor-thin margins in next year’s midterms elections, Democrats argued, by siphoning off more disgruntled conservatives from Republicans than disaffected liberals from the Democrats.”
A new Quinnipiac poll finds 49% of voters would consider joining a third party as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties, while 45% say they would not consider joining a third party.
“As Elon Musk studies up on how to start a third political party, among the people from whom he has sought advice is a somewhat surprising choice of consultant: the right-wing blogger Curtis Yarvin, who is perhaps best known for advocating monarchism,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Yarvin is one of the most influential thinkers on the so-called tech right, where he has attracted attention for his oft-expressed distaste for traditional American democracy.”
“Third parties are good for me; I don’t know about Republicans, but for me.”
— President Trump, speaking to reporters.
“As Elon Musk moves to create a third party to upend America’s political system, he’s spoken with one-time Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang about the nascent effort,” Politico reports.
Said Yang: “I’m excited for anyone who wants to move on from the duopoly. And I’m happy to help give someone a sense of what the path looks like.”
New York Times: “The American electoral system tends to favor a two-party system, and one of the most important reasons is that it’s winner-take-all.”
“It doesn’t have proportional representation, which might allow a third party to gain a modest number of seats with a modest share of the vote. Most states don’t employ ranked choice voting, which could hypothetically allow a third party’s voters to eventually transfer their support to a major party. And unlike a parliamentary system, the presidency doesn’t lend itself to coalition government.”
“With third parties unlikely to obtain power, people often see a vote for a third party as a wasted vote that might be better spent ensuring their preferred major party prevails.”
Jonathan Bernstein: “This is one of those things, perhaps, that sounds clever until one thinks about it for, oh, thirty seconds.”
For members: Why Elon Musk’s Third Party Is Doomed
“Launching a new national political party in the United States may be more difficult than sending a man to Mars,” the New York Times reports.
“Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who last year was the nation’s biggest known political donor, now says that he is trying to do both. But while the effort to achieve interplanetary travel has made slow progress for over 20 years, the past several decades of American politics are littered with abandoned attempts to disrupt the two-party system.”
For members: Why Elon Musk’s Third Party Is Doomed
President Trump said Elon Musk was “essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK,” while expressing disappointment that his formerly loyal supporter has decided to form a political party, Politico reports.
Said Trump, on Truth Social: “He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States.”
He added: “The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds! Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running ‘machine,’ that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country.”
Daily Beast: Trump goes nuclear on ‘“train wreck” Elon.
“Elon Musk said a new political party he has been threatening to start up ‘is formed,’ a day after President Donald Trump signed a tax-cut and spending bill that the Tesla Inc. billionaire chief executive officer has denounced,” Bloomberg reports.
CNBC: “Musk is the world’s richest man, so his involvement in any close political races could prove to be decisive.”
Elon Musk floated a strategy for his hypothetical third political party:
“One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts. Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.”
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”
— Elon Musk, on X, once again slamming President Trump’s tax bill.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.