Sick of Democrats & Republicans? There's another option.
It's Been a Minute
NPR
4.7 • 9.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's no secret that Americans are politically divided, as faith in political parties erodes. In the past, so-called "independent" voters were likely shifting between Democrats and Republicans. But now, especially Gen-Z, are pushing in new directions, far from the center. In this episode, we explore how "independent" became a rallying cry for change on the left and the right.
Danielle Kurtzleben guest hosts with Elena Moore, a political reporter for NPR, and Dr. Omar Ali, a professor of African American political history at UNC & author of In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third Party Movements in the United States.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, |
| 0:05.4 | investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish. |
| 0:11.1 | More information is available at Hewlett.org. |
| 0:15.2 | We see it in the news. We hear it from our friends and neighbors, so I got to know. |
| 0:20.4 | Why are more American voters identifying as independent? |
| 0:25.5 | It's a logical response to become more independent |
| 0:28.6 | in light of the fact that the two major parties are failing the American people. |
| 0:33.0 | They're driven to vote off of issues, not, you know, if there's a D or an R next to the candidate's name. |
| 0:41.3 | Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. |
| 1:01.6 | If our two major parties aren't cutting it, what is? |
| 1:05.6 | And what's bringing voters beyond our mainstream political binary? |
| 1:07.6 | I'm Danielle Kurtzleben. |
| 1:11.0 | I'm a White House correspondent at NPR filling in for Brittany Looves. |
| 1:15.9 | I've been covering politics for a long time, and here's a statistic that caught my eye. |
| 1:23.5 | According to a recent Gallup poll, 45% of American voters identify as political independence. |
| 1:29.0 | And since Gallup started polling in 1988, this is the highest percentage of self-identifying independent voters our country has ever seen. |
| 1:33.0 | Now, I can't say I'm totally surprised. |
| 1:35.5 | For a while now, voters have understandably been frustrated about having to choose between |
| 1:40.5 | the lesser of two evils when Democrats and Republicans square off in an election. |
| 1:46.0 | And candidates from current President Donald Trump to current New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani |
| 1:50.9 | got voters excited about independent thinking and politicians who are anything but business as usual. |
| 1:58.0 | So today on the show, to talk about independent voters, we are joined by Dr. Omar Ali. |
... |
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