The Forward Party, launched by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, announced plans Saturday to seek ballot status in Arizona. ||YouTube
By Mary Jo Pitzl || The Arizona Republic
Arizona’s swing state turf has attracted interest from another political party that’s hoping to appeal to voters fed up with extremism and division.
The Forward Party, launched by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, announced plans Saturday to seek ballot status in Arizona, which would allow it to have candidates running under its banner.
The push comes on the heels of the No Labels Party gaining ballot status as Arizona’s newest political party earlier this month. Both upstart efforts hope to appeal to independent voters as the crucial 2024 presidential election year nears, but whether either party would field a candidate for president or endorse a candidate from another party is unclear.
At a crowded, buzzy launch in downtown Phoenix, Yang called Arizona “ground zero for democracy.”
“This is a genuine swing state that’s going to determine the future of America,” he said.
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He was joined on stage by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes — an “act of courage,” Yang told the crowd, given Fontes, a Democrat, is an elected official.
Fontes, while describing himself as “a proud Democrat,” pledged to keep partisanship out of the election oversight his office is tasked with. But the current two-party system tends to produce candidates from the extremes of the Democratic and Republican parties, often leaving voters with unappetizing choices, Fontes said.
Yang said the Forward Party will work to ensure all voices are heard.
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