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The Forward Party, a political party whose members say they want a return to civility in politics and improvements to U.S. democracy, announced Tuesday it is seeking 3,500 signatures to secure minor party status in New Mexico.
The New Mexico chapter鈥檚 launch comes after what members tout as a major success a decade in the making: allowing unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in primary elections here.
Bob Perls, New Mexico Forward Party chair and a former state representative, championed that effort since 2015. He told a small group gathered at a historic church in Corrales on Tuesday afternoon that a major focus of the Forward Party in New Mexico will be those types of democratic improvements, like taking on unfairness in the redistricting process, campaign finance reform, and empowering more people to vote in races where there are meaningful choices on the ballot.
鈥淚f you look at what is the root cause of hyper-partisanship and political polarization in this country, you can trace a lot of it to how we elect, district and finance candidates,鈥� Perls said.
The party hopes to collect enough signatures to endorse and recruit candidates to run in the 2026 midterm elections. It will likely not have enough support or resources to weigh in on the Albuquerque mayoral elections this year, said spokesperson Karin Williams.
Perls also said the party would target members of both parties who voted to keep New Mexico鈥檚 primaries closed and would seek to increase the number of candidates on the ballot across the state.
In the most recent New Mexico legislative elections, had already won their primaries on the day the primary election was held. That meant that 70% of registered Democrats and 78% of registered Republicans had one or zero House candidates to vote for that day, according to a Source New Mexico analysis.
The group hopes that it can tap into what its leaders describe as widespread disenchantment with the two major political parties. As of December 2024, 340,000 New Mexico voters, roughly a quarter of all voters in the state, were not affiliated with any of the state鈥檚 three major parties, which are Democrats, Republicans or Libertarians, according to the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office.
And 40% of New Mexico voters aged 18 to 24 are unaffiliated, said Rep. Cristina Paraj贸n (D-Albuquerque), who sponsored the open-primary bill, during the House floor debate March 21.
Andrew Yang, who unsuccessfully ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, founded the Forward Party in 2022. Its leaders now cite a number of 鈥淔orwardists,鈥� most recently ato join the Forward Party last month.
Christine Todd Whitman, the former New Jersey governor and Environmental Protection Agency secretary during George W. Bush鈥檚 presidency, is also a Forward Party leader. She joined Perls on Monday, saying the party is focused heavily on expanding its footprint in local races and statehouses, along with nationally, as part of its strategy to challenge two-party dominance.
The Forward Party does not have much of a platform, apart from a pledge it requires candidates it supports. The pledge requires candidates to affirm their commitments to the rule of law and the Constitution, data-driven policy-making, and creating 鈥渁 safe space to discuss controversial issues,鈥� Todd Whitman said.
鈥淏ut we recognize that every state is different, and within states, you鈥檙e going to have different areas of issues, and that people need that flexibility,鈥� Todd Whitman said. 鈥淐andidates need to be able to respond to their constituents.鈥�
Todd Whitman said Forward Party, to her, represents a 鈥渃entrist鈥� alternative to two parties that have increasingly catered to extreme members of their own parties, though she suggested leaders might not want to market themselves as centrists.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we are, in a vacuum, and that鈥檚 what most of the people who are part of Forward are. They鈥檙e in the center,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey want to see the problem solved. They鈥檙e not extreme, which makes you in the center, but you have to find the right language.鈥�
Heather Balas, a Democrat who lost her primary race for state Senate in 2024, asked what it would take for a third party to become competitive in New Mexico and across the country. William Scott, another Democrat, spoke up to say he was 鈥渉ammered by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party,鈥� for being a 鈥渃entrist, Forward鈥� Democrat.
He ran unopposed in the primary but lost to Republican Ant Thornton for state Senate District 19. He said he needs more support from the Forward party, in terms of a campaign manager and fundraising, if he were to run again.
鈥淪o I鈥檓 just wondering, what is the way forward?鈥� he asked. Perls and Todd Whitman told him to run again, promising more support should he seek a state House seat in an upcoming election and noting that, if the party can get ballot access, he can skip the Democratic primary.
鈥淚 think just bypassing the Democratic primary is going to make a huge difference for your ability to speak your mind and be true to yourself, and represent a far broader cross section of the voters than you would trying to appeal to the party base to get through the Democratic primary,鈥� Perls told him. 鈥淧lease run.鈥�
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