Another day, another party? Not in these United States. America has been locked in a two-party system almost perpetually since Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson rap battled each other for influence in George Washington’s cabinet. In many other countries, especially parliamentary systems, there are multiple parties representing different ideologies. Members of the International Democracy Union, including the Republican Party, tend to be center-right to right wing. The Progressive Alliance is made up of center-left to left wing parties including the Democratic Party. Centrist parties like Canada’s Liberals are in the Liberal International, left wing to far-left parties such as the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party are in the Socialist International, and Greens are in the Global Greens. (The International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties is all the literal communist parties.)
Blah, blah, blah, get to the interesting stuff. The prospect of third party has long attracted Americans, but few people join third parties, likely in part because the definition of party membership varies greatly state by state. In Oregon, I am a registered member of the Oregon Republican Party. In Virginia, I would join a local Republican club and request a Republican ballot at my polling place on election day. What would an America Party actually look like?
It appears that the America Party is in the process of being registered with the Federal Elections Commission, with no real public details. Elon Musk should start on a state by state basis, particularly in states with electoral fusion. Electoral fusion is a process by which candidates are nominated by multiple parties. Oregon State Senator Todd Nash, for example, was a candidate in the Republican Primary but he was nominated by Senate District 29 Democratic voters through write-in votes, thus appearing on the general election ballot as both a Republican and Democrat. Connecticut, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Vermont all have fusion voting options, and forming America Parties in these states sets the stage for both cooperation and competition with the Republican Party by forcing a reckoning over fiscal responsibility, free markets, and constituent concerns rather than obsession with President Donald Trump’s tweet of the day.
As parties in electoral fusion states start to form, Elon Musk should begin founding affiliate parties in states with large populations and conservative dominance. Florida, Ohio, and Texas are high on the list, with a well-funded third option forcing Republicans in gerrymandered districts to cater to the whole electorate rather than the plurality that supports Donald Trump. With Trump unable to run for a third term, conservatives need to plan for what comes next, and the America Party can help spur that transition.
It remains unclear whether this political gambit has steam or Mr. Musk intends to try and form a true party. If he has any intention of seeing it through, he needs to spurn the consultants and meet with activists as well as elected officials across America. The first America Party Congress should be in a state with electoral fusion, and I humbly propose Portland, Oregon as a location where leftism strangles state government with Republicans unable to form an effective opposition. If Elon Musk wants to start the America Party, these initial concrete goals with measurable completion metrics will build a powerful foundation for the electoral battles he intends to fight in 2026.
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