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The Independent Party of Oregon sent out a survey to members this week and, judging by a copy WW obtained, it would appear the IPO is unhappy with Democrats, many of whom sought and accepted endorsements from the Independent Party in 2022.
Here’s the question the IPO posed to members:
As an Oregon minor party, the Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) can nominate its own candidates for certain state offices, including Senators and Representatives in the Legislature. IPO can also “cross-nominate” candidates who have been nominated by other parties, including Democrats and Republicans.
In 2022, the Independent Party of Oregon sided heavily with Democrats in state legislative races, based on concerns about rising authoritarian extremism in the Republican Party and because many of the Democratic candidates running represented themselves as aligning with the Independent Party’s 2022-2024 platform and agenda, including addressing issues like campaign finance reform and working in a more non-partisan manner to resolve issues like homelessness. However, at the 2023 session of the Oregon Legislature, there was little support for our party’s core issues among many of the Democrats we helped to elect, including election reforms to empower independent voters and campaign finance reform.
The survey then asks members what the party should do in response to Democrats’ apparently taking them for granted:
In the majority of legislative districts, endorsements don’t mean a lot in the general election because gerrymandering has ensured there are relatively few competitive or “swing” districts. But those districts do exist, and candidates like to have the Independent Party endorsement to show they are not extremists.
The Independent Party of Oregon counts 141,720 voters as members, which is about 4.7% of the state’s registered voters. That’s a thin slice of the electorate but large enough to potentially make a difference in swing district races. Because of automatic voter registration, the percentage of voters who register as Democrats or Republicans has declined: State figures show that unaffiliated voters long ago eclipsed the number of registered Republicans in Oregon and are also now more numerous than registered Democrats.
Dan Meek, a public interest lawyer and one of the founders of the Independent Party, tells WW it’s too early to get a sense of what party members think is the best course of action.
“The survey just went out yesterday, so we don’t have results yet,” Meek said in an email. “The survey closes on December 12. We will release the results after that.”