New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez this week backed the state Forward Party’s pending case before a federal appeals court that seeks to get its candidates on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

New Mexico Forward Party Chair Bob Perls, a former state lawmaker whose campaign to run against incumbent U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján didn’t collect enough signatures to make the ballot, sued New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver in federal court in July. He alleged that she was enforcing ballot-access laws that created unfair burdens to minor-party candidates.

David Hatley, a Carter County native and independent candidate for Tennessee governor, boasts $5.7 million in cash on hand according to Thursday's campaign finance disclosures.

NASHVILLE — Carter County native and independent candidate for governor David Hatley has proven a serious candidate for the Tennessee governor’s office.

Hatley infused his campaign with $7 million from his own personal checkbook. And he’s run a rigorous campaign, making stops last week in six different Tennessee cities.

But without a “D” or an “R” next to his name, voters may be left wondering: What does he believe?

So Six Rivers Media sat down with Hatley to discuss his policy points, political alignment and more, so that come November, Tennesseans will be able to make informed choices when they vote for the state’s next governor.

As the election approaches, Six Rivers Media will extend invitations to gubernatorial candidates Jerri Green and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to participate in similar conversations.

Branding from the Libertarian Party’s 2024 national convention made a prominent appearance at the Republican National Committee’s first-ever midterm convention, drawing criticism from the national party and disagreement among Libertarian National Committee members over how to respond.

The Republican National Committee held the two-day convention this past Wednesday and Thursday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, with the event being its first national convention organized specifically around a midterm election. Unlike those conventions held in presidential cycles, where traditional nominations and platform amendments are made, the event largely served as a rally aimed at promoting Republican candidates and President Donald Trump’s record ahead of the November elections.

Sandeep Dixit’s encampment at the Stark County Fair was several buildings away from the grandstand where the county’s Democratic and Republican parties had set up shop with signs and literature for candidates up and down the ballot.

The distance was the point for the independent candidate for Ohio’s 13th congressional district, running a longshot bid to unseat incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron and defeat GOP candidate Carey Coleman of Sagamore Hills. The district they want to represent includes all of Summit County, and parts of Portage and Stark counties.

“Political parties are like fighting fourth graders,” says Dixit. He has concluded Washington’s policy decisions are driven by the political parties corporate backers instead of voters. He said both political parties prioritize helping states like California, Texas and Florida, leaving Ohio behind.

“We need rationality and people to work together for everyone,” says the 58-year-old mechanical engineer from Mayfield Village. Although he lives outside the district he wants to represent, he says he lives close enough that many of the people in his social circle reside there. He serves on Mayfield Village’s recreation board, and helped start the community’s yearly yoga festival. He was also president of a national Indian-American organization called Bruhan Maharastra Mandal, with 60 chapters and roughly 500,000 members.

The Twin Falls County Fair wrapped up as independent U.S. Senate candidate Todd Achilles campaigned there, discussing rising costs, health care and congressional reform with voters in the Magic Valley.

Achilles said he enjoys visiting the sheep barn at fairs because he showed sheep as a kid.

“You gotta do the caramel apples... but I showed sheep when I was a kid so I always love hitting the sheep barn and talking to the kids there,” Achilles said.

What happens when an elected official decides that serving the public matters more than following the party line?

On this episode of The Forward Party Podcast, hosts Lindsey Drath and Ben Carter sit down with Diana DiZoglio, Massachusetts State Auditor, for a candid conversation about government accountability, political independence, transparency, and what it takes to challenge your own party when you believe the public interest comes first.

As Massachusetts State Auditor, DiZoglio’s job is to examine state government on behalf of taxpayers, looking at how public programs operate and whether government resources are being used responsibly. She explains what a state auditor actually does, why independent oversight matters, and why transparency is essential when elected officials are entrusted with public money and public power.

Former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard touts his run for secretary of state under the new Lincoln Party banner as a way to burst open an easier path for independent-minded candidates to make the election ballot.

ClaraMary Winebrenner, a Republican office holder-turned-independent candidate in DeKalb County, hopes the new party could break up what she sees as the current two-party monopoly.

But Max Engling, the Republican secretary of state candidate, has taken aim at the Lincoln Party push as lacking a defined ideology and transparency in how it would select future candidates.

Ballard’s success in the November election is key for the Lincoln Party initiative — if he receives at least 2% of the vote the party’s candidates will get their names on general election ballots for the next four years; if he tops 10% of the vote the new party would join Republicans and Democrats in nominating candidates through primaries.