No Labels Rebrands as Arizona Independent Party, Joins with Andrew Yang’s Forward Party

Arizona’s newly renamed Arizona Independent Party (AIP) — formerly the No Labels Party of Arizona — has formally partnered with Andrew Yang’s Forward Party, setting the stage for a joint campaign to recruit and support independent candidates ahead of the 2026 election cycle. Despite the party’s embrace of the ‘No Labels’ non-partisan framework, the tone of AIP party leadership has a distinctly anti-MAGA, anti-Trump tone, presented as a rejection of “extremism.”

The announcement was made Thursday in a joint statement from both groups, describing the cooperation agreement as a way to “help recruit, support, and endorse candidates for the AIP… [and] preserve and strengthen a ballot line that ensures independent voices can compete in local, state, and federal races beginning in 2026.” 

The Arizona Independent Party’s rebrand preserves the statewide ballot line initially secured by No Labels in 2024. Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson, now AIP chair, explained that the new organization intends to provide “organizational infrastructure that independent candidates have long lacked.”

“Democrats and Republicans needing 6,000 signatures to run for state office and independents needing 48,000 wasn’t a mistake,” Johnson said. “It was the two parties boxing out the largest group of voters in Arizona from having access.” 

According to Axios Phoenix’s October coverage, Johnson said the Arizona Independent Party would make it easier for unaffiliated candidates to run statewide — a point echoed in the party’s own press statements about signature requirements. 

The Forward Party, founded by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, bills itself as “bringing moderates, conservatives, and progressives together to heal our political divisions.” In the joint release, Forward CEO Lindsey Drath said:

“Independent voters are the fastest-growing force in Arizona, and they deserve more than a broken two-party system that doesn’t speak for them,” adding, “By joining forces with the Arizona Independent Party, we’re giving those voters real choices, real power, and a political home that puts people over partisanship. What is happening here in Arizona is part of a national movement to empower independents across the country and reshape American politics for the better.”

Drath, a former GOP strategist and Romney campaign alumna, has repeatedly criticized the two-party system and its incentives toward polarization. In an appearance on The Andrew Yang Podcast with Yang, she called Trump’s rise “a symptom of something deeply systemic in our nation” and faulted both major parties for “incentiviz[ing] extremism.” Drath, described Republican alignment with Trump as “like pod people. like zombie apocalypse, like they had been bitten or something, right? They couldn’t help themselves.”

Drath echoed that theme recently in an interview with Fox 5 DC, calling the ongoing federal dysfunction “Groundhog Day for Americans,” and in remarks to The State Press, saying, “There’s a fundamental distrust right now that Americans have in our leadership,” referring to the Trump Administration as well as the GOP-controlled House and Senate.

Drath further implicitly laid blame on the Democrat-led government shutdown on the Trump Administration, claiming, “We do not have an appropriate check on the balance of power on the Executive Branch right now, and because of that, the American people are suffering.”

Officially, both the AIP and Forward Party emphasize non-partisan reform, not opposition to any single faction. Forward’s website defines its mission as “rejecting political extremes and working together to take real action,” and “steering away from far fringes of the Left and Right to find common ground.” Yet, in practice, their leaders’ language is unmistakably critical of Trump-era Republican politics.

Forward CEO Drath said the party’s immediate focus is on building local presence: “We want folks to know we’re here… we want to make a splash, recruit volunteers, and raise a lot of money.” The group plans a “Forward Together” national tour and a June 22–25, 2026, national convention expected to draw state leaders and volunteers from around the country. 

Here’s where it gets interesting: According to Axios, the AIP does not adopt a traditional, detailed platform. Instead, it will offer a broad “statement of beliefs” covering issues such as increasing education funding, fiscal balance, an all-of-the-above energy policy (including renewables and nuclear), support for law enforcement and civil rights, and opposition to excessive taxes or regulation. Crucially, candidates are not required to endorse every point in that list to win the party’s support. That suggests a loose ideological tent.

According to the Forward website, “Forward won’t dictate a rigid, top-down policy platform and expect it to work for every community across the country.”

So yes, policy ideas are floating around—but they’re light on specifics and uniformity. In that sense, much of their narrative appeals to emotion: frustration with the two-party duopoly, celebration of “independents,” and a promise to give voters “real choices.”

The heavy use of anti-extremism language and positioning against only one side of the political aisle also raises the question: Is this a genuine policy‐driven initiative or a rebranded vehicle for disaffected voters to express dissatisfaction? Time will tell whether meaningful policy proposals emerge—or whether API is primarily a branding and fundraising exercise.