Headliners Newsmaker with Alaska Gov. Walker and Iowa and Maine Officeholders to Discuss Movement to Elect More Independents to Public Office in 2018 and Beyond

WASHINGTON – On July 12, at 10 a.m., the National Press Club will feature a Newsmaker news conference with Alaska’s Governor Bill Walker and elected officials from Alaska, Iowa and Maine, who, like Walker, were elected as independent candidates without the support of a political party. Across the nation, 40 percent of the electorate identify as independent voters. Will a movement to elect more independent candidates break partisan gridlock or only add to the problems of dysfunction in statehouses and in the federal government?

Joining Gov. Walker will be State Senator David Johnson (I-Iowa), State Representative Jason Grenn (I-Alaska), and State Representative Owen Casas (I-Maine), with other panelists will likely be added.

In Alaska, two independent state representatives helped flip control of the state house from the GOP to a new “bipartisan governing majority” –– comprised of several moderate Republicans and the House Democratic Caucus.

In Maine, since two independent state representatives were elected in 2016, three incumbent state representatives –– one Republican and two Democrats –– dropped their party affiliation, now neither party controls an outright majority in the statehouse.

In Iowa, State Senator David Johnson became the first serving independent legislator in 45 years after he left the Republican Party in June of 2016, during his fourth term, as an objection to Donald Trump’s campaign.

In France, a new centrist, independent movement (“La République En Marche”) recently propelled a first-time candidate to the presidency and a near super-majority of parliamentary candidates into office. Could a similar movement take hold in the United States?

This Newsmaker event is open to credentialed media and Club members free of charge but advance registration is required.