More Dems Consider Running as Independents

A growing number of Democrats reportedly are considering whether they should leave the party to become independent.

That appears to be especially true in swing states.

"I reached the conclusion that if you call yourself a Democrat, all the Republicans automatically line up against it. You call yourself a Republican, all the Democrats automatically line up against it," Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who's pursuing an independent campaign for governor, told Politico.

"And I really don’t think there's a path forward for this state if you don't get the reasonable folks in both parties to work together."

Duggan's Michigan is one of seven key battleground states Trump won in last month’s presidential election.

Democrats also took note of independent Dan Osborn's stronger than expected performance in losing Nebraska’s U.S. Senate race to incumbent Deb Fischer.

Then there's John Morgan, a Florida-based Democrat who's considering a gubernatorial run. He has said he may launch a bid under a new party called the "Capitalist Party."

Trump's victory and Republicans winning control of both chambers of Congress has prompted operatives at major Democrat media firms to investigate creating a company that would help elect left-leaning independent candidates, Politico reported Sunday.

One Midwest Democrat leader urged the party to overhaul its agenda and rebuild trust among American voters.

"For the first time in modern history, the perceptions that Americans have of the two major political parties switched," Ken Martin, chair of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and contender for the Democratic National Committee chair, wrote in a DNC framework proposal, The Hill reported.

"The majority of Americans now believe the Republican Party best represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and the Democratic Party is the party of the wealthy and the elites."

Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., were two well-known figures in recent years who left the Democratic Party to become independent.

With the Senate map in 2026 seemingly favoring Republicans, some Democrats are looking for more Osborn-like candidates.

"Anyone looking at the Senate map, not just in 2026 but over the next six years and beyond, sees that we need a path to chipping into the Republican majority," a Democrat strategist told Politico.

"And it doesn’t necessarily mean electing Democrats. But it means changing what the denominator is that we need to get to a majority."

Independent candidates, though, don't have a major party supporting them financially or structurally.

• Democratic Brand Needs to Rebrand or Lose
• Dems to Biden: Take Action Before Trump Takes Over