Independents

Topic

Voters who do not align themselves with a political party. Manchin argues that this is the largest group of voters and they are disenfranchised by the closed primary system.


First Mentioned

10/24/2025, 6:16:54 AM

Last Updated

10/24/2025, 6:23:44 AM

Research Retrieved

10/24/2025, 6:23:44 AM

Summary

The term "Independents" refers to individuals in politics who are not affiliated with a specific political party, often also called non-party, unenrolled, or unaffiliated voters. These individuals play a significant role in political discourse by challenging the two-party system and introducing diverse perspectives, as they are not constrained by party loyalty and can hold views across the entire political spectrum. Senator Joe Manchin, a notable centrist, highlights a critical issue for this growing demographic: closed primaries, which he believes disenfranchise independents and hinder the emergence of a viable third party. Manchin, who has frequently championed bipartisanship and defended practices like the filibuster against his own Democratic Party, advocates for policies emphasizing personal responsibility and seeks to break the political duopoly. He proposes challenging closed primaries as a crucial step to open the door for independent candidates and potentially a third party before the 2028 election, reflecting a broader desire among independents for electoral reforms like open primaries to enhance their electoral chances.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Advocacy

    Support for electoral reforms like open primaries and ranked-choice voting to improve chances for independent and third-party candidates

  • Synonyms

    Non-party, unenrolled, unaffiliated

  • Definition

    An individual not affiliated with a specific political party

  • Disenfranchisement Issue

    Closed primaries are believed to disenfranchise the growing number of Independents

  • Political Characteristics

    Not constrained by party loyalty; views can span the entire political spectrum from far-left to far-right

  • Role in Political Discourse

    Challenge the dominance of the two-party system, introduce new ideas, push for reforms, and serve as a check on major parties' power

Timeline
  • Potential for a viable Third Party to emerge, facilitated by challenging closed primaries, to break the political duopoly. (Source: Document 78145934-1093-4ceb-a558-1f8c0c42eb28)

    Before 2028-11-01

Independent

Independent or Independents may refer to:

Web Search Results
  • Independent - Ballotpedia

    In politics, an independent is an individual not affiliated with a political party. The following terms may be used synonymously with independent: non-party, unenrolled, and unaffiliated. An independent political candidate or voter may choose not to affiliate with a political party because no existing party reflects his or her viewpoints. In some cases, an independent candidate may associate in some way with a political party (for example, as a voter in a party's primary elections) but opt not [...] The term independent should not be confused with nonpartisan, which is a term used by some government agencies, such as the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, to describe groups or individuals that do not expressly support one political party or candidate over another. The term nonpartisan may also be used to describe elections in which the candidates do not run with partisan labels. ## See also

  • INDEPENDENT | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary

    us /ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt/ uk /ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt/ ### independent noun [C] (POLITICS) a politician who does not represent a political party: He left the Republicans and ran as an independent. US a voter who does not belong to a political party: She is gaining support among independents who have no political preference or who lean Democratic. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Politics - general words [...] adverb us /ˌɪn·dɪˈpen·dənt·li/ The telephone was actually invented independently by two different people at almost the same time. independent noun (/us/help/codes.html) us /ˌɪn·dɪˈpen·dənt/ politics & government a voter or politician who does not belong to a political party: She is gaining support among independents who have no political preference or who lean Democratic. (Definition of independent from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) [...] privately financed and not receiving money from the government: pupils from state and independent schools not taking help or money from other people: financially/economically independent not involved in a situation so able to judge it fairly: It's important to seek independent advice. independent noun (/us/help/codes.html) uk /ˌɪndɪˈpendənt/ us COMMERCE a business that does not belong to a larger company or group: The industry ranges from large retailers to small independents.

  • Moderate vs. Independent: 7 Key Differences | GoodParty.org

    Independents often influence political discourse by challenging the dominance of the two-party system and introducing new ideas or perspectives. Because they’re not constrained by party loyalty, independents can raise issues that have been ignored by the major parties and push for reforms that address systemic problems in the political process. Independents can also serve as a check on the power of the major parties, holding them accountable when they fail to represent the interests of the [...] Independents may have more varied — and occasionally more radical — goals. Because they’re not tied to a specific political party, independents may be more willing to support candidates or policies that challenge the status quo or push for significant change. Some independents want to disrupt the two-party system altogether, advocating for electoral reforms such as ranked choice voting or open primaries that would give independent and third-party candidates a better chance of winning elections. [...] Independents are not bound by the traditional party lines, making their political views diverse and difficult to categorize. Unlike moderates, who generally gravitate toward the center of the political spectrum, independents can hold views that span the entire spectrum, from far-left to centrist to far-right.

  • INDEPENDENT definition in American English - Collins Dictionary

    having an independent income; not needing to work for a living 3. [I-] of or having to do with Independents noun 4. a person who is independent in thinking, action, etc. 5. US; [often I-] a voter who is not an adherent of or committed to any political party 6. [I-] a member of a religious and political movement of the 17th cent. in England that advocated self-sufficiency of each local Christian church: the movement led to the organization of Congregationalists and Baptists [...] an independent person or thing 20. a small, privately owned business The conglomerates are buying up the independents 21. Politics a person who votes for candidates, measures, etc., in accordance with his or her own judgment and without regard to the endorsement of, or the positions taken by, any party 22. (cap) Ecclesiast an adherent of Independency 23. Brit a member of a Protestant denomination where each church is independent and self-governing; Congregationalist [...] not depending upon another for its value 14. Grammar capable of standing syntactically as a complete sentence an independent clause Compare dependent (sense 4)"), main1 (sense 4)") 15. Logic a. (of a set of propositions) having no one proposition deducible from the others b. (of a proposition) belonging to such a set 16. Statistics See statistically independent 17. (cap) Ecclesiast of or pertaining to the Independents 18. See independent of noun 19.

  • Independent voter - Wikipedia

    The earliest concept of independents is of a person whose political choices, by definition, were made based on issues and candidates (due to lack of party affiliation). Furthermore, early studies of voting behavior conclusively demonstrated that self-identified independent voters are less interested in specific elections than partisan voters, poorly informed about issues and candidates, and less active politically. However, a contrary view emerged: The independent usually voted on the basis of

Location Data

Independents, Richland County, South Carolina, 29209, United States of America

hamlet

Coordinates: 33.9449886, -80.9040982

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