Wikipedia

Arizona Independent Party

The No Labels Party of Arizona is the third largest political party in the U.S. state of Arizona. Despite its name, the party, founded in 2023,[2] has not been affiliated with the national No Labels organization since 2025.[3] The party is chaired by Paul Johnson, the former mayor of Phoenix.[1] Johnson, and other proponents of Proposition 140, which would have created a nonpartisan primary, took over the No Labels Party in 2025 and attempted to rename it the Arizona Independent Party.[4] Their intention is for it to be a vehicle for Independents to gain ballot access.[5][6][7]

No Labels Party of Arizona
ChairpersonPaul Johnson[1]
Founded2023; 3 years ago (2023)
Website
arizonaindependentparty.com

Immediately after the name change took effect on December 1, 2025, the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission filed a lawsuit challenging the name change. They said the new name would confuse voters.[8] The Arizona Democratic and Republican parties also sued to block the new name.[9][10] On March 25, 2026, a judge ruled that the party name change was invalid.[11] The party planned to appeal.[12]

On November 6, 2025, a partnership was announced with the Forward Party.[13]

History

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The national No Labels organization was founded on December 13, 2010, with the slogan "Not Left. Not Right. Forward."[14]

No Labels intended to offer its ballot line to a "unity ticket" in the 2024 presidential election, as an "insurance policy" in the event that "both major parties nominate presidential candidates that the vast majority of Americans don’t want". In November 2023, No Labels' chief strategist, Ryan Clancy, stated that "Based on the conditions as they are, we expect to be putting up a ticket early next year".[15] By January 2024, No Labels had ballot access in 16 states:[16] Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii,[17] Kansas,[18] Maine,[17] Maryland,[19] Mississippi, Montana,[20] Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, and Utah.[17] No Labels additionally achieved ballot access in Delaware,[21] Nebraska,[22] North Dakota,[23] Wisconsin,[24] Rhode Island, Tennessee, Wyoming,[25] Alabama, and Louisiana, bringing the total number of states with No Labels ballot access to 25 states. However, On April 4, 2024, the organization ended its effort to run a presidential ticket for the 2024 election.[26]

As of the fall of 2023, over 15,000 Arizona residents had chosen to register their party affiliation as No Labels, more than the margin of victory in the 2020 presidential election in Arizona.[27]

After No Labels attained recognition, perennial candidate Richard Grayson opted to run under the No Labels banner.[27] No Labels then sued the Arizona Secretary of State, Democrat Adrian Fontes, to prevent candidates it did not approve from running under the No Labels banner on its ballot line.[28] U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi ruled in No Labels' favor.[29]

By April 2025, over 36,000 Arizonans had registered as No Labels voters, making it the state's third largest party.[30]

In the 2025 special election in Arizona's 7th Congressional District, the Secretary of State permitted Grayson to run as a write-in candidate in the July 15 No Labels Party primary.[31] Just four days before that primary, on July 11, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the District Court's 2024 opinion, saying that No Labels had no right to tell the Secretary of State to block anyone from filing for partisan office in the No Labels primary.[32] Grayson won the primary with one write-in vote and advanced to the special general election.[33]

By July 2025, the new chair of the Arizona No Labels Party, former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson, announced that after the Ninth Circuit ruling, the state party, with nearly 40,000 members, would open itself up to independent candidates up and down the ballot.[5] “We believe that an open primary and more people participating is to our advantage, and we’re going to look for candidates and for people who believe that, who believe civility matters, decency matters, and focusing on the big issues matter,” Johnson said. In response, the national No Labels organization issued a statement that said, "No Labels has no ongoing involvement with the Arizona state party. A group of local Arizonans is leading this effort without any affiliation with No Labels. They will change the state party’s name and be responsible for all aspects of the state party’s operations moving forward."[6]

On October 24, 2025, the party announced it would be rebranding as the Arizona Independent Party to better appeal to independent and undecided voters.[34] Despite this name change being approved by the Arizona Secretary of State, the state Republican, and Democratic parties jointly sued to block the name change arguing that No Labels was trying to “bait and switch” voters.[35] The Arizona Superior Court ruled that the name change was illegal, as there is no legal mechanism in Arizona state law for a party to change their name, stating that if the party wanted to appear on the ballot as the Arizona Independent Party, then they would both have to file as a new party, and achieve the required number voters to appear on the ballot again.[35]

2026 election

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Two candidates filed to run as the party's candidate for Arizona governor in the 2026 primary.[36] Hugh Lytle, a businessman and former quarterback at Arizona State University is endorsed by the party chair.[37][non-primary source needed] Teri Hourihan is challenging his signatures to knock him off the primary ballot.[38][39]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 Vinton, Jeff (October 22, 2025). "No Labels Party now labeled as Arizona Independent Party". KTAR News. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Information about Political Parties | Arizona Secretary of State". Retrieved December 26, 2025.
  3. ↑ "No Labels gets a new label: Meet the Arizona Independent Party". Axios. October 17, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Arizona's political landscape shifts with launch of new Independent Party". October 27, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Duda, Jeremy (July 31, 2025). "No Labels Party reboots in Arizona for 2026 run". Axios. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Schutsky, Wayne (August 4, 2025). "The No Labels Party in Arizona plans to change its name. Critics say it can't do that". KJZZ. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  7. ↑ Riley, Kiera (August 1, 2025). "No Labels party transforms to support independent candidates in state elections". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  8. ↑ Sanchez, Camryn (December 3, 2025). "Lawsuit against Fontes seeks to reverse Arizona Independent Party name change". KJZZ. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ Schutzky, Wayne (December 9, 2025). "State Democratic Party files lawsuit over Arizona Independent Party name change". KJZZ. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  10. ↑ Reagan, Kevin (December 18, 2025). "Arizona Republicans challenging name change of 'Independent Party'".
  11. ↑ Priest, Reagan (March 25, 2026). "Fontes lacked authority to approve Arizona Independent Party name change, judge rules". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  12. ↑ https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2026/03/25/judge-voids-arizona-independent-party-name-change
  13. ↑ "Arizona Independent Party partners with Andrew Yang's Forward Party to field candidates". KJZZ. November 6, 2025.
  14. ↑ "'No Labels' short on Republicans". Politico. December 13, 2010.
  15. ↑ Voght, Kara (November 7, 2023). "Joe Lieberman will not leave his fellow Democrats alone". The Washington Post.
  16. ↑ Epstein, Reid J.; Broadwater, Luke (February 16, 2024). "Manchin says he won't run for president, ending speculation about an independent bid". The New York Times.
  17. 1 2 3 "No Labels now an officially recognized political party in Maine". NBC News Center Maine. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  18. ↑ Hall, Madison (January 18, 2024). "'No Labels' has now officially become a political party in Kansas, paving the way for a third-party candidate". Business Insider. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  19. ↑ "No Labels hits signature threshold to become political party in Maryland". AP News. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  20. ↑ Girten, Nicole (February 19, 2024). "Montana certifies No Labels party for 2024 election". Daily Montanan. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Delaware Election Commission Website Shows No Labels Is Now a Qualified Party |". 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  22. ↑ "'No Labels' political party in Nebraska officially recognized by state". SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. 2024-04-16. Archived from the original on 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  23. ↑ "No Labels Party receives ballot access in North Dakota • North Dakota Monitor". North Dakota Monitor. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  24. ↑ "Wisconsin Elections Commission Removes No Labels Party from Qualified Status |". 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  25. ↑ Walsh, Kelsey (April 2, 2024). "No Labels has no candidate yet: What's next for group trying to launch third-party 2024 bid?". ABC News.
  26. ↑ Mueller, Julian; Trudo, Hanna (April 4, 2024). "No Labels abandons 2024 presidential effort". The Hill. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  27. 1 2 "In Arizona, No Labels Is Attracting Potential Candidates It Doesn't Want". The New Yorker. October 25, 2023.
  28. ↑ "No Labels sues to block Arizona Democrats from using ballot line". The Hill. October 20, 2023.
  29. ↑ Timotija, Filip (January 17, 2024). "No Labels can block candidates from running for most offices in Arizona, judge rules". The Hill. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Voter Registration Statistics". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  31. ↑ "2025 Special Primary Election Candidate Listing". Arizona Secretary of State. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  32. ↑ Winger, Richard (July 11, 2025). "Ninth Circuit Says No Labels Can't Keep Individual Party Members from Filing to Run in its Primary for Office Other than President". Ballot Access News. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  33. ↑ Schutzky, Wayne (August 1, 2025). "Write-in candidate wins No Labels primary election with just 1 vote". KJZZ. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  34. ↑ Evans, Jordan Willow. "No Labels Party of Arizona Rebrands as Arizona Independent Party". Independent Political Report. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  35. 1 2 Evans, Jordan Willow. "Arizona Court Blocks Arizona Independent Party Name Change". Independent Political Report. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  36. ↑ Fischer, Howard (February 2, 2026). "Arizona Independent Party chairman pushes favored candidate, asks rival to drop out". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  37. ↑ "Independent Candidate For Arizona Governor Demands Katie Hobbs Stop Violating Voters' Rights, Files Nominating Petitions March 20". arizonaindependentparty.com. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  38. ↑ https://www.kjzz.org/elections/2026-04-03/3rd-party-arizona-governor-candidate-challenges-primary-opponent-over-signatures
  39. ↑ https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/no-labels-candidate-challenging-signatures-from-competitors-in-arizona-governors-race,676241
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