The Texas Forward Party held its inaugural state convention this month, where delegates elected the party’s first statewide leadership team and adopted a multi-year strategy to secure ballot access for the 2028 election cycle.
The convention formally took place on April 11 in Austin, following a reception the previous evening that doubled as a public rally. Christine Todd Whitman, co-chair of the national Forward Party, delivered the keynote address, appearing alongside a slate of independent candidates backed by the state party, including lieutenant governor candidate Mike Collier and congressional candidates Veronica Williams and William Taggart.
Other speakers included local advocates and figures active in independent politics, among them Sophia DeLoretto-Chudy of the Texas Voter Project, Linda Curtis of the League of Independent Voters of Texas, and both Shannon Fohn and Holly Bohart of Texans for Thoughtful Politics.
According to a statement by the Texas Forward Party following the event, delegates elected its first full leadership team, choosing Brandon David as state chair. David previously served as interim vice chair in the lead-up to the convention. They also elected Dan Allen as vice chair, with Preston Love as secretary and Becky Neely as treasurer.
State delegates also confirmed regional executive committee chairs tasked with overseeing organizing efforts across the state, including Vicky Weller in the Capital Region, Jerod Neff in Central Texas, John Flud along the Gulf Coast, Dan Allen in the Metroplex, and Isaiah Salas in South Texas.
The party further named Ciara Perez as chair for affiliates and candidates and Zain Ali as outreach chair, and established a political advisory board with Ed Graham serving as interim chair.
Central to the convention was the adoption of an outreach plan the Texas Forward Party calls the “Texas 28” initiative, presenting it as a strategic roadmap toward securing “permanent ballot access” for the organization through 2038.
The plan is a three-year strategy intended to position the party for ballot access starting in 2028 by building organizational infrastructure during the 2026 cycle, which it has already been pursuing. In the months preceding the convention, the party said it organized new affiliates in Williamson, Cameron, and Harris counties, in addition to areas where it had already been active.
“What our friends and leaders witnessed this weekend wasn’t just another political meeting; it was the birth of a serious alternative for the millions of Texans who feel left behind by the two-party system,” David said in the statement. “Electing our first officers by convention and launching the ‘Texas 28’ strategy, we are moving from idea to real action, a real political movement.”
Next steps in the plan include identifying at least 28 prospective candidates in 2027 and using that organizing momentum to support a statewide petition drive in advance of the 2028 election. That petition drive will be central to the party’s effort to appear on the ballot, as Texas law requires new parties to qualify by submitting signatures from registered voters who did not participate in that year’s party primaries.
While the figure fluctuates based on turnout in the most recent gubernatorial election, in the 2026 cycle that meant collecting 81,030 valid signatures within the state’s post-primary window.
If successful, the party would be able to nominate candidates at its next even-year convention and place them on the general election ballot under the Forward label. To retain ballot access, it would then need to secure at least 5% of the vote in a statewide race or be forced to repeat the petitioning process in future cycles.
Editorial note: Linda Curtis is a guest contributor to Independent Political Report. She was not consulted for this article and had no involvement in its reporting.
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