The Minnesota Forward Party and the Independence-Alliance Party of Minnesota will convene for a special convention in July where the two organizations will vote to approve a merger. This would be the second instance this year where a state Forward affiliate has sought to formally combine with an already recognized minor party.
Editorial note: This article has been updated to include additional details on the merger from the chair of the Independence-Alliance Party of Minnesota.
The convention will take place on July 26 at the Ramsey County Library in Maplewood. According to details provided to IPR by state Forward leadership, both organizations voted earlier this month on May 3 at separate annual conventions to approve an initial intent to merge. Since then, a joint task force has been meeting to discuss organizational details, including the new name, constitution, bylaws, and governance structures.
In addition to approving the merger, the state Forward Party also elected new officers at its May convention. Bill Halter and Rich Tru were chosen as co-chairs, Tony Comer as secretary, and Peter Theisen as treasurer. Members also heard from Tom Horner, the 2010 gubernatorial nominee of the then-Independence Party of Minnesota, and Maureen Reed of FairVote. Meanwhile, members of the Independence-Alliance Party reelected Phil Fuehrer as chair and Mike Winter as director, according to details shared on social media.
As of this year, the Independence-Alliance Party is recognized as a minor party by the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office. However, the Minnesota Forward Party does not currently share this status. It remains unclear how the state will classify the merged organization if the merger is approved.
While the Minnesota Forward Party remains actively affiliated with the national Forward Party, the current status of the Independence-Alliance Party’s involvement with the national Alliance Party is uncertain. The IAP has been affiliated with the Alliance Party since 2019 and has given no public indication that this has changed. That organization was originally formed in 2018 through a combination of smaller parties, including the American Moderates Party, the Modern Whig Party, and the American Party of South Carolina.
Several additional groups later joined the Alliance Party or merged with one of its affiliates, including the Independence Party of Minnesota and a previous iteration of the Reform Party of Florida. Although the Alliance Party’s national leadership still lists Fuehrer as its vice chair, its official channels have seen little activity, with no updates on its website since 2023 and no social media posts since late 2024.
According to details later provided to IPR by Fuehrer, he intends for the new party to maintain “dual national affiliation” with both the national Forward Party and the Alliance Party, at least through the latter organization’s 2027 state convention. He also expressed hope that during this period, the two national organizations might ultimately merge.
Fuehrer shared that the joint task force consists of four members from each party, with decisions requiring the support of six votes. An initial name for the merged organization has been selected, and a memorandum of understanding is being developed. For the purpose of state recognition, the Forward Party is merging into the Independence-Alliance Party, though both groups are treating the agreement as a “merger of equals.”
If approved, the Minnesota merger would be the third such agreement between a state Forward affiliate and another political party since the national Forward organization’s founding. This does not take into consideration those instances where the party has entered into coalition with other state groups or endorsed another party’s candidates.
Earlier this year, members of the Utah Forward Party and the United Utah Party agreed to merge the two parties at a special convention, retaining the Forward Party name and adopting a shared leadership structure. State and national leaders also published a memorandum of understanding outlining the terms of the agreement. Before that, in October 2023, the South Carolina Forward Party and the Independence Party of South Carolina completed a similar merger, forming the Forward Party of South Carolina.
Editorial note: This article has been updated to include additional details on the merger from the chair of the Independence-Alliance Party of Minnesota.
The Minnesota minor party legal category has nothing to do with ballot access. It only relates to being eligible for public funding. So in terms of ballot access, Minnesota only has two qualified parties of any type, Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican.