A recent opinion piece in The Hill argues that independent and third party organizations may be laying the groundwork for future gains, even if the 2026 midterms are likely to reinforce the existing major-party duopoly.
Colin Pascal, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and senior fellow at the Orion Policy Institute, writes that voter frustration with both major parties is unlikely to translate into a major third party breakthrough this year. He argues that Democrats may benefit in November both from disapproval of President Donald Trump and from voter doubts that congressional Republicans will oppose him, but that such a result would repeat a pattern of voters choosing what they view as the “lesser of two evils” rather than backing either major party on its own merits.
Pascal points to public dissatisfaction with the two-party system, writing that Democrats and Republicans alike remain protected by a structure that often leaves voters with only one major-party alternative to punish the party in power. He also argues that both parties have contributed to political division and have failed to address problems such as the national debt, declining trust in government, and economic insecurity.
The piece treats the conduct of both major parties as an opening for alternatives to grow, pointing to the Forward Party’s 2025 mayoral win in Georgetown, South Carolina, and the organizing of the Center Party, an early-stage group Pascal says could appeal to a range of Americans, as signs that such efforts are taking shape. Pascal writes that 45 percent of Americans now identify as independents, while 27 percent identify as Democrats and 27 percent as Republicans, but says most voters are still left choosing between Democratic and Republican candidates in practice.
Read the full opinion piece at The Hill.
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