What is the Forward Independence Party and how is its candidate angling to become governor?

[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA MOINI: Minnesota has two major parties, the Democratic Farmer Labor Party and the Republican Party. That's fewer than in the recent past, when there were four parties with such status. It's important because it provides some built-in advantages come campaign season.

The Forward Independence Party has high hopes of getting into the big leagues and showcased some of its candidates earlier today at the Capitol. Peter Cox was there and joins me now from the Capitol. Thanks for joining us, Peter.

PETER COX: Hi, Nina.

NINA MOINI: So the Forward Independence Party, it's not exactly a household name, at least not yet. Where did it come from?

PETER COX: So the party can trace its roots back to the Reform Party presidential run of Ross Perot in 1992. Perot supporters in Minnesota worked to build a third-party structure here, and that was called the Independence Party of Minnesota at first.

Perot had a decent showing in the state again in 1996. And in 1998, they affiliated themselves with the Reform Party, and Jesse Ventura used that banner to run for governor. As we know, he pulled off an upset win.

Shortly after, the name changed back to the Independence Party. And that party was a player in Minnesota politics for more than a decade. I know it's a lot, Nina. And it gets even more complicated.

In the past decade, there have been more splits and mergers, along with name changes. But not long ago, the Independence Party and the Forward Party merged to become the Forward Independence Party of Minnesota.

NINA MOINI: So that's where we're at, the Forward Independence Party of Minnesota. So what brought members of that party out to the Capitol today?

PETER COX: Well, on Monday, the party held its state convention and endorsed three candidates, two running for statewide office and one running for a seat in Congress. Now, for third parties, especially getting names out early and building familiarity with candidates is just important to having any viability.

Often, these parties don't have the organization that really lends itself to having this early of a launch. But the party was able to introduce Jay Reeves, an Army veteran who's running for state auditor, Kelly Doss, who owns a coaching business. She's running for Republican Tom Emmer's 6th District seat in Congress. And Mike Newcome, a businessman who is running for governor.

NINA MOINI: Tell us more about Mike Newcome. You wrote earlier this week-- as he gets ready for his campaign for governor. Just getting that off the ground, you wrote about that.

PETER COX: Newcome says he thinks the DFL and GOP are too hyperfocused on party. And he thinks that's bogging down the capital. He's not run for office before, but it's not unfamiliar to him. His father served in the legislature for a decade. Both his parents were members of the Met Council. And Newcome himself worked on several campaigns. He says he's a fiscal conservative and social liberal, and he feels he fits somewhere between the two parties.

NINA MOINI: And where does he fit into the 2026 race for governor?

PETER COX: So I think it's a little too early to predict, but getting out and campaigning a year ahead of the election is vital to building his presence and his platform. And he's hoping to seize on a couple of things.

One is that voters might have some fatigue with Governor Tim Walz, who's running for a third term in office. And also, while Republicans have a large number of candidates, they'll face a fired-up Democratic electorate looking to send a message to the ballot box about Donald Trump. Newcome feels he's in a good moment to be running as an outsider, and he spoke about taking on the existing two-party system earlier this morning.

MIKE NEWCOME: So over the next 12 months, like Paul Bunyan, I'm going to chop through this political system, and we're going to talk about real issues-- public safety, and accountable government, and public education.

PETER COX: Now, Newcome has invested $100,000 of his own money in his campaign, and he says he's going to do that again next year. That kind of funding could help him push into the spotlight a little bit more than some upstart candidates. And he also has this going for him. The state has a history of supporting third-party candidates.

NINA MOINI: Sure. So what does a minor party, though, do to become a major party, do you think? And then, why does that matter?

PETER COX: So Nina, in the past, a minor party could reach major party status by having a candidate get 5% of the vote, or more. But the legislature recently changed that. Now, a candidate has to get at least 8% in a statewide race, and at least one vote in every county to get major status.

But a party also has to meet standards of being a political organization, and having certain candidate numbers. Now, minor party candidates lack certain access to public campaign subsidies, and candidates also have to gather voter petitions just to get on the ballot.

The voter-- the Forward Independence Party is one of a handful of minor parties that have consistently fielded candidates in the past in the state. Others include the Libertarian Party, the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party, and the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party.

NINA MOINI: All right, Peter. Thanks for that context.

PETER COX: You're welcome.

NINA MOINI: Peter Cox is a reporter for MPR News. We appreciate that, Peter. We're going to talk now to someone who's been on a similar journey to the one Mike Newcome just began. In 2010, a political strategist named Tom Horner broke from the Republican Party to run for Minnesota Governor as an independent. Horner won nearly 12% of the vote that November.

The results for Republican Tom Emmer and Democrat Mark Dayton were so close that they triggered a recount. Ultimately, Dayton won that election. Tom Horner went on to launch a public relations firm, and he writes about politics in Minnesota and beyond. He joins me now to help us understand this new dynamic that Minnesota seems to be entering into for the 2026 governor's race. Welcome to the program.

TOM HORNER: Thank you, Nina. Pleasure to be with you.

NINA MOINI: Thanks so much for your time. What a unique experience you've had. Many third party candidates, yourself included, like we talked about, have roots in the two major parties. In your experience, how hard is it to break those ties and encourage others to jump in with you? It seems like it's really hard.

TOM HORNER: Well, there certainly are some pains of divorce, no question about it. On the other hand, Nina, my roots in the Republican Party go back to the likes of Dave Durenberger. I had the great honor of serving as his first chief of staff in Washington. I've always supported people like Jim Ramstad and Governor Arne Carlson, and some of those more thoughtful, moderate Republicans.

By the 20 aughts, the Republican Party was changing. And you could see the Tea Party take over and push it so far to the right, that it just-- it was not my Republican Party. It was not the party that I really could embrace.

And so at the end of the day, when I made the decision to run for office, it was because I felt in Tom Emmer and Mark Dayton, there was going to be a conversation that just wouldn't be very productive for Minnesota at a time when there were a lot of very important issues facing the state.

And so never having wanted to be a candidate, never having had that great desire, I thought it's an opportunity to contribute something, to share my ideas, and thoughts, and hope that we can move the agenda forward, even if I don't win. Can I gain a platform? Can I introduce new ideas into the environment? And hope that through that, at the very least, that the needle moves.

And I feel as if it was worthwhile. I've been very fortunate to have a very rewarding professional career. In many ways, this turned out to be one of my favorite years. I mean, it was just-- it was great fun going around the state and talking to Minnesotans, and being reminded what a terrific state it really is.

NINA MOINI: The idea is for everyone to have their ideas, and then throw them out there. I mean, you had 12% of the vote that November, but it was a really close election. And a lot of people thought that-- as they often do with third-party candidates, that they get in and complicate things for other people, and could sway the way that an election comes out. What do you think the biggest challenge is, facing someone who does splinter off?

TOM HORNER: Well, first of all, let me just take issue, that the idea that a candidate is stealing votes from one or another party really reflects the idea that Republicans and Democrats own all the voters, and it's an exclusive jurisdiction. I don't believe that. I've never believed that. I think every candidate has both the obligation and the opportunity to go out and earn votes. And if you don't earn votes, it is your issue, not the other candidate's issue.

I think, looking to 2026, there is a tremendous, I think, blowback to Republican and Democratic parties. You see in surveys how weak both of the parties are in their standing.

But at the end of the day, polarization, and especially extreme polarization, is not a friend to third-party candidates. Because the more polarized the two candidates become from the major parties, the more that fear factor sets in, and the more Democrats and Republicans join in the one thing they do very, very well together, and that is drive that fear to say, if you vote for candidate X, it's really a vote against the candidate that you hate the most, or it's a vote for the candidate you hate the most. And likewise, on the other side.

Because more and more, our elections are becoming contests of who we dislike the least rather than what ideas we really embrace. So I think-- you look at a guy like Mike Newcome, and I think there's a tremendous opportunity. He's a thoughtful, articulate guy. He brings his own resources.

But you're still in a position where-- and Peter Cox, in his report, touched on a couple of these. You need an organization. And that's always been a third-party challenge. You need that network of people you can count on because volunteers still drive campaigns. You need resources. And Mr. Newcome has the opportunity to bring some of his own resources to the table, an enormous asset.

If you do those two things well, then you get to the third point, where you can build ID and recognition, and get people invested in your platform. And fourth, and finally, you have to convince people that you have a chance to win. You have to convince voters that it's not a wasted vote. And you have to do that by Labor Day. So that early organization, the early campaigning, the early resources really puts the pressure on you to be perceived as having a path to victory by Labor Day.

NINA MOINI: And that's why Peter was saying starting a year in advance or so is really critical. Tom, thank you so much for your insights. I really appreciate it. And I hope you'll come back.

TOM HORNER: Thank you, Nina. Always a pleasure.

NINA MOINI: Tom Horner is a political strategist who ran for Minnesota Governor with the Independence Party in 2010. And hey, if you tune in to All Things Considered with Clay Masters tomorrow afternoon, you can hear an interview with Forward Independence party candidate that we were talking about, Mike Newcome.