The new party, Forward, seeks to win over millions of American voters dissatisfied with what they see as the “dysfunctional” two-party system in the United States, and the new party will be headed initially by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former New Jersey Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman.
Founding members said they hoped the party would become a viable alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties that dominate American politics, noting that party leaders will hold a series of conferences in more than 20 cities this fall to publicize its platform and attract support, and they will host an official launch event in Houston at September 24, with the party’s first national convention in a major American city next summer.
The new party will be formed by the merger of three political groups that have emerged in recent years in response to the increasingly polarized and closed US political system, with leaders citing a Gallup poll last year that showed two-thirds of Americans believe a third party is needed.
The merger includes the Renew America Movement, formed in 2021 by dozens of former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
Two pillars of the new party’s platform are to “revitalize a just and prosperous economy” and “give Americans more choice in elections, more confidence in a functioning government, and more say in our future.”
Challenges and obstacles
Regarding the new party, the American expert in international affairs and strategy, Irina Zuckerman, said that third parties in general have a poor record in the United States.
“Historically speaking, they do best in local elections in general, but they act as spoilers in convergent elections in general in favor of the most radical candidates. They thrive on pushing marginal politics and appealing to the most radical segments of the population,” Zuckerman told Sky News Arabia. .
She noted that they “do not have the same level of popular or financial support to compete equally with the two major parties in national elections. Nor do they have political institutional backing or endorsement from the media, influencers, or popular candidates.”
She explained that “the Forward Party at the moment is more of a movement than a party, focusing mostly on Pennsylvania with the main issue being the closure of prisons and the release of prisoners, despite the high crime rates.”
She emphasized that “this is unlikely to have enough support to become a serious political challenge, which should be able to address the concerns of the economy, energy, elections and foreign policy that the two major parties have not addressed.”
She continued, “They have no plans to address inflation, recession, supply chain disruption, major political disagreements, or national security threats such as active Russian and Chinese actions, cyber security, Iranian aggression, or terrorism. They seem more focused on the political message and reactions to one or several issues.” from a cohesive platform.
And at the end of last April, a poll by the “Harris” polling company revealed that 58 percent of voters “are open to the presence of a moderate figure from outside the two parties in the 2024 elections,” which The Times attributed to “the repercussions of the situation on traditional supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties on the Both”.
The poll included questions, including: “Do you think of a moderate independent candidate for president if the confrontation in 2024 is between Donald Trump and Joe Biden?” The 58 percent of voters included 60 percent of Democrats, 47 percent of Republicans, and 71 percent of independent voters, and sentiment was strongest among young voters.
A recent CNN poll revealed that 75 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters want the party to nominate someone other than current President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, a sharp increase from earlier this year.
In the upcoming elections, Trump will turn 78, while Biden will have two weeks until his 82nd birthday. Trump is organizing a campaign as if he will run, although he has not announced his candidacy, while Biden confirms that he will run again.
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