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You're listening to The Political Scene, a show about current events and the political forces driving them.

I'm Tyler Foggett and I'm a senior editor at The New Yorker.

Last week, Kirsten Cinema announced that she would be leaving the Democratic Party and registering

as an independent. It's not an unheard-of thing to do. Bernie Sanders has been an independent

since the 70s, and he still caucuses with the Democrats.

But Cinema's decision seems especially dramatic, given that Democrats already have such a slim

majority in the Senate. As independent becomes a more popular label, with about 40% of the

electorate not identifying as either Republican or Democrat, cinema's move raises a question.

What role could third parties play in a highly partisan time?

Amy Davidson-Sorkin is a staff writer and a regular contributor to the comment section,

and she's a person I always turn to when I'm thinking about questions like this.

Hey, Amy.

Hi, Tyler. How are you doing?

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