Bengs on money in politics

“My big focus from the start has been on the corruption of our government, big money controlling our politics,” Bengs said. “And so when I go out and I talk to people and I ask them, do you think our government is functioning as the founders intended, as the Constitution is designed? And typically, they’re going to chuckle and then they say no. And then I’m able to engage them with the conversation: Do you think big money is controlling our elected officials in the sense that they’re doing what people who write them large checks want more so than us lowly voters? And basically, to a person of the thousands of people I’ve talked to — left, right, in the middle — everybody agrees that’s a problem.”

Many voters are familiar with a Republican and Democratic campaign, but 38th State Senate District Candidate Sara Cambensy says running without a party has its own pros and cons. The former democratic party member is running as an Independent for this November election.

She says an Independent needs to collect signatures to be on the ballot. Meanwhile, party candidates can choose to run petitions or pay a $100 fee.

“So, the minimum was 1,500, and they tell you to get about 150 extra,” she said. “We came in with about 840 extra just to be sure.”

Those extra signatures paid off after an independent voter challenged her qualifying petitions last month. The State Board of Canvassers voted to accept the remaining signatures Monday, leaving her enough to qualify for the ballot.

Melisa Finkle, a 10‑year investigator with the State of Oregon, is taking an unconventional approach in her run for Senate District 16: she is declining endorsements, donor networks, and party backing entirely — a rarity in Oregon legislative politics.

Her decision comes as Oregon’s voter landscape continues to shift. According to Oregon Secretary of State registration data, more than 40% of Oregonians are unaffiliated with any political party, a proportion that has climbed steadily over the past decade. Analysts say the trend reflects growing frustration with partisan structures and the influence of major donors. Finkle’s approach aligns with that sentiment, emphasizing direct accountability to district residents rather than organizations.

Independent congressional candidate Dave Bushaw asked for Iowans’ support Saturday at the Iowa State Fair as he works to build an “independent movement” past the 2026 election season throughout the state.

Bushaw is running as an independent candidate in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, but has a history in Democratic politics, having worked as an organizer for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign during the 2020 Democratic presidential nominating cycle. But during his speech at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, he criticized both the Democratic and Republican parties as “two wings of the same bird that feed corporate greed,” which he said do not represent working class Americans.

It will be hosted in collaboration with media partners Fox59 & CBS4 and IBJ Media, and coverage of HobNob will be shared with viewers and voters.

“HobNob reflects the Indy Chamber’s commitment to informed civic engagement,” said Taylor Hughes, chief strategy officer and chief of staff at the Indy Chamber. “Bringing candidates together in one forum gives our business community and voters the opportunity to hear directly from those seeking office and better understand the issues that will shape Indiana’s future.”

These are somd highlights from the recess Emergency Docket activity.

Before we argue about left and right, liberal and conservative, or capitalism and socialism, we need a map of how political power actually works.

Episode 0 of Beyond Party Labels builds that map. It separates political terms that are often blended together—including state, government, regime, constitution, democracy, republic, monarchy, oligarchy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, economic systems, parties, and policy.

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch are joined by reporter Reem Ibrahim to discuss whether America can afford Medicare for All and the broader Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) agenda. They examine the enormous cost of expanding government-run health care, why taxing billionaires wouldn't come close to covering the bill, and what the experiences of the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and other countries reveal about the tradeoffs of universal health care. They also consider whether either major political party is prepared to confront America's growing deficits and looming fiscal crisis.

In Colorado, unaffiliated voters are the largest voting block in the state.

These voters decide the direction of our state every election.

Just imagine if these voters were able to unite around important issues.

That's what Erin Brantley is counting on with her new project, Independent Majority.

The issues of affordability, government transparency and voter control of government transcend traditional party lines.

Michael Bridgford is an independent candidate running for Congress in Iowa's First District. This conversation spans topics from Michael's basic values and upbringing to specific policies on some of Iowa's most concerning issues.

Laura Belin recorded Thomas Laehn's media availability at the Iowa State Fair on August 15, 2026.

Laehn, the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate, had just finished speaking at the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox.

There's a quiet revolution happening in K-12 education, driven by parents and teachers who say they've had enough.

Jessica Zivkovic knows the feeling. "Ultimately I got to a point where I knew that we needed a whole overhaul," she says, "and I could not bring about the change within the system."

A federal judge has denied independent Texas lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Michael Collier’s emergency request for ballot access, finding that both forms of relief his campaign requested would go beyond the purpose of a preliminary injunction.

Ballot Access News reported on August 10 that U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman denied Collier’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Even so, according to the court filing, Pitman acknowledged that the evidence presented by the plaintiffs pointed to a “concerningly persistent pattern of exclusion of independent candidates from the ballot” and extremely high and unequal costs imposed on independent candidates.

The Reform Party of the United States has endorsed independent congressional candidate Sarah Zabel in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, making her the party’s first endorsement of a U.S. House candidate this election cycle.

The Reform Party National Committee announced the organization’s support for Zabel over social media on August 13, writing in a follow-up remark that it expects to back between 15 and 20 candidates during the 2026 election. Zabel is the first candidate endorsed by the party since its initial round of endorsements in March, when it backed two independent candidates for statewide office along with several candidates for local positions.

Derrick Michael Reid has entered the race for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination, announcing his candidacy this week to prospective delegates to the 2028 Libertarian National Convention.

Reid shared news of his candidacy in a private Facebook group on August 13, presenting members with a platform he said is intended to usher in a unity government. The platform calls for the elimination of the federal income tax, national debt, Federal Reserve, and what he calls “federal socialism.” He also called himself “indispensable to the nation” and “invincible as a presidential candidate,” predicting that his platform would garner overwhelming support among Libertarians.

What does it take to govern effectively when you leave the traditional party system behind? On this episode of The Forward Party Podcast, hosts Lindsey Drath, former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, and former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healy sit down with two independent candidates running for governor in 2026: Ken Block of Rhode Island and Rick Bennett of Maine.

Their conversations explore why experienced political leaders are stepping away from party labels, what voters are asking for, and whether independent candidates can offer a different approach to governing.

Support for the major parties has plummeted to an all time low, with the Democratic Party even more disliked than the Republican. More Americans than ever are leaving the duopoly, and people are clamoring for the solutions we outside of the duopoly put on the national agenda – from Medicare for All, to an end to funding genocidal Israel, free higher education, the Green New Deal, a $25 dollar minimum wage, abolishing ICE, a foreign policy based on international law/human rights and more.

In this video Jim Lark discusses Libertarians and the underlying struggles that exist for candidates today. Questions he was asked ranged from health care to opinions on SCOTUS and the electoral college.