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In many election cycles, voters and candidates pay relatively little attention to the Independent Party of Connecticut.
But every four years, the party suddenly takes on an outsized role by having a separate ballot line in the governor’s race and other key contests. That often sets off a scramble by candidates who want to be cross-endorsed by the Independent Party so that their name will appear on two lines of the ballot.
This year, the party has endorsed a mixed bag of candidates who lack the same ideological positions.
That includes Republican Sen. Ryan Fazio for governor and former Republican state Rep. Fred Wilms of Norwalk for state treasurer alongside two incumbent Democrats, Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas and state comptroller Sean Scanlon. In addition, the party has endorsed longtime radio host Lee Elci for the state Senate in the 20th District in southeastern Connecticut and outspoken parents rights advocate Gwen Samuel in the 9th Senate District in the Rocky Hill-Cromwell area.
“It’s not very ideologically based at all,” said former Republican Stewart “Chip” Beckett, who now serves as the party chairman. “Our idea is we would like solutions to problems that work for everybody — not just partisan talking points. We want to be the voice in the middle that tries to represent the average person, rather than the two extremes. So that’s our real mission.”
Overall, the party has endorsed about 80 candidates in the upcoming elections, with mostly cross-endorsements with the Democratic and Republican parties.
“We would very much like to represent the unaffiliated and disaffected,” said Beckett, a longtime Glastonbury resident.
On the national level, various groups have sought to capture voters who are in the middle of the political spectrum at a time of intense partisanship. In the past, that was done by former U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman as co-chairman of “No Labels,” a group that sought to solve problems through bipartisanship without regard to political affiliation.
Lieberman helped run an all-day “Problem Solver Convention” in New Hampshire during the 2016 cycle that brought some of the biggest names in the presidential race to the stage, including Republican front-runner Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
In Connecticut, the Independent Party avoids extreme candidates both on the right and the left.
“Jadon out in the 50th would be an example,” Beckett said, referring to outspoken conservative Republican Jadon E. MacCormack, a 23-year-old political novice who recently lost a primary for the state legislature by 78% to 22% after making anti-gay comments and vowing to “Make America Straight Again.”
On the left, the Independent Party would reject extreme candidates who want to “destroy the fiscal guardrails, shut down the police locally, and raise taxes on everybody that’s not on welfare,” Beckett said.
The party rejected the endorsements of four incumbent state legislators from both sides of the aisle who had sought the party’s support but had been involved in various controversies. Those were Rep. Aundre Bumgardner of Groton, Raghib Allie Brennan of Bethel, Cara Pavalock-D’Amato of Bristol, and Nick Menapace of East Lyme.
Concerning the legislature, the party’s endorsements this year were about 60% for Republicans and about 40% for Democrats.
“We’re concerned about a veto-proof majority in the House and Senate,” he said.
Currently, Democrats control the state House of Representatives by 102-49 and the Senate by 25-11.
This year, the biggest endorsement went to Fazio, who described the party as “an important institution in our state that understands the need for checks and balances in our state Capitol,” in Hartford. Fazio is currently trailing in the polls to Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat who is seeking a third term.
“Connecticut needs an independent voice who will put people and policy ahead of party and politics,” Fazio said. “We cannot keep on the same path as the last eight years with hyper-partisanship, high taxes, high electric bills, and an unaccountable government. As governor, I will work with anyone and everyone to deliver positive change, make our state more affordable, and build a brighter future for all of Connecticut.”
Compared to more than 875,000 Democrats and more than 522,000 Republicans, the Independent Party is relatively small at 32,284 members, based on the latest statistics. The largest single group in Connecticut is unaffiliated with more than 1 million registered voters out of nearly 2.5 million voters statewide.
While Republicans and Democrats dominate the political landscape, Connecticut currently has 13 different political parties — including some with a handful of members.
The Independent Party is sometimes confused with others on the Secretary of the State’s official list that includes different spellings for various parties. That includes two members under Independence and one member under Independance. The Libertarian Party, by contrast, has more than 3,000 members, with the Green Party at fewer than 1,500, and the Working Families Party at 365 members, according to the official state numbers.
The Independent Party has been a player in various races for governor as candidates have sought the endorsement through the years.
In 2018, Republican Bob Stefanowski of Madison won more than 25,000 votes on the Independent Party line — an important total in a race that he lost by about 44,000 votes. He lost that year to Lamont, who won 17,861 votes on the Working Families Party line in 2018 before winning the endorsement again in 2022 from the union-backed party that supports liberal causes.
In September 2022, Stefanowski suffered a blow to his campaign when he lost a high-profile lawsuit that ensured that Independent Party candidate Rob Hotaling would be on the ballot.
Looking ahead, Beckett wants to grow the party in a fractured American political landscape.
“We want to be a legitimate third party,” Beckett said.
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