There’s no way out but independent with nearly 80 million (45%) independent voters
- LIV
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
We, here at the League of Independent Voters of Texas (LIV), have taken a two month break to reflect on reorganizing LIV to reach millions of Texas independents.
We have been looking for the right people to come on board with honest financial, technical and intellectual chops. We’re excited to report that this is beginning to happen, though we’re not there yet.
The big question is this: Is there a genuine “independent political movement” in the country? We’re not there yet either, but there might be momentum.
We suggest you read this short report by Texas independent Bill King about the “Tarrant County Shocker,” suggesting the Texas GOP may have “gone too far,” forging a way for a Democrat to win a solid Republican Senate Seat, District 9.
What an independent movement looks like
The most popular ballot measure in U.S. history was for term limits. They were passed by millions of voters in 23 states, but stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court. One of the leaders, Jack Gargan (deceased), of THROW – Throw the Hypocritical Rascals Out – convinced billionaire Ross Perot to throw his hat in to run as an independent for President in 1992. The 1990s independent electoral movement – in fact, a voter revolt involving at its height 45% of the electorate -- was on!
The Reform Party USA was formed out of the Perot 1992 race in 1994. It was a grand and well-funded four-year experiment ending in an abrupt implosion.
We learned then that independents cannot be shoe-horned into one political party.
In 1993 “United We Stand America,” a nonpartisan association for independent voters was founded by Perot before the Reform Party. When the Reform Party was founded in 1994, it almost immediately put UWSA to sleep.
The efforts to form new parties more recently – Forward and No Labels – are laudable. But they are struggling because we believe they put the cart before the horse – the independent voters – who are rightly wary of partisan organizations.
If independent organizers face and attend to independent voters themselves, rather than party organizations, these voters could be deployed by the millions to bust open the two-party system.
We believe this is a PRErequisite for successful new parties. And it’s not been tried yet!
Some candidates running this year as independents COULD win big!
We would love to see Mike Collier, who is running as an independent for Lt. Governor, take longtime incumbent Republican Lt. Governor Dan Patrick to the woodshed. A three-way race with three strong candidates means that in November any one of them could take the seat with as little as 34%.
Bring it on! Defeating Dan Patrick in November could be the biggest upset in the 2026 election in the country. It could strike a lightning bolt that ignites an independent electoral revolt in Texas, opening the door for a new viable party or parties to hit the jackpot in future elections.
No way out but independent requires we do this
Bring in the engineers – the organizers – into the same working group with those who follow Professor Lee Drutman’s ideas laid out in his book “Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop”. Read LIV's short review of the book by Richard Winger, America's premiere ballot access expert HERE.
We need an association of independent voters to work across our divisions on policy, not politics. This assocation must support the election of problem solvers in all parties. It must also prepare for the likelihood that the two-party system is on its way to the dustbin of American history -- if we finally get this right. This is the LIV.
Note: LIV is designed similarly to the League of Women Voters that came into existence upon the passage of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. Drutman makes the point in his book that we don’t need a constitutional amendment to forge a competitive electoral system, because the constitution never enshrined a two-party system. In fact, it never mentions political parties, as the founders had a healthy disdain for them.
Making this happen is the job of organizers, techies, financial investors, petitioners and more. There’s no applicable college degree; it is earned in action! Join us!
What YOU/WE Can Do Today
If you don’t live in Texas, and want your own LIV, reach us.
● Become a member of LIV or donate, if you haven’t already for the year. Membership dues range from $10 to $1000/annually. Sign up HERE.
● Participate with us. Join us for a members-only meeting on Zoom on Monday, February 9, at 8 pm CST. Sign up HERE for the ZOOM instructions. We will discuss open board positions and more.
● Use this contact form to reach us to participate wherever you are. If you know of candidates running as independents for public office in Texas, please let us know more about them or ask them to contact us.
Please read, comment and share this entire LIV News report.
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One of LIV’s founders, Linda Curtis (age 43 at the time), was there in 1994 when supporters convinced Ross Perot to found, fund and lead the Reform Party USA. Linda said, “in those four glorious years, we learned that organizing independents is like herding cats. Herd them gently - with respect -- or your cats run off!”