{"id":5818,"date":"2025-11-26T21:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T21:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/382-paul-rieckhoff-part-one-the-2025-iva-winners-circle-town-hall-independent-veteran-candidates-share-their-victories-and-challenges-open-primaries-and-ranked-choice-vs-a-stacked-deck-how-an-in\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T21:38:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T21:38:00","slug":"382-paul-rieckhoff-part-one-the-2025-iva-winners-circle-town-hall-independent-veteran-candidates-share-their-victories-and-challenges-open-primaries-and-ranked-choice-vs-a-stacked-deck-how-an-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/382-paul-rieckhoff-part-one-the-2025-iva-winners-circle-town-hall-independent-veteran-candidates-share-their-victories-and-challenges-open-primaries-and-ranked-choice-vs-a-stacked-deck-how-an-in\/","title":{"rendered":"382. Paul Rieckhoff. Part One: The 2025 IVA Winners Circle Town Hall. Independent Veteran Candidates Share Their Victories and Challenges. Open Primaries and Ranked Choice vs A Stacked Deck. How an Independent Fulcrum Can Be the Leverage to Fix Our Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=ANA7680256564\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As we head into Thanksgiving we&#8217;ve got a special Veterans Day \u201cWinners Circle\u201d town hall that brings together <a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><u>Independent Veterans of America (IVA)<\/u><\/a> candidates who are changing American politics from the ground up. Independent Americans host and IVA founder Paul Rieckhoff moderates a powerful, unfiltered conversation with two newly\u2011elected independent veterans\u2014Mike Procuk (Frederick County, VA School Board) and Toby Proctor (North Granby, CT Board of Finance)\u2014and IVA candidates Todd Achilles (Idaho), Donna Charles (Virginia) and Brian Bengs (South Dakota).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They break down how independents are actually winning, why veterans are some of the last public figures people still trust, and how corrupt, money\u2011soaked party politics is failing regular Americans. From school boards and local finance boards to U.S. Senate races across red states, these veterans share ground\u2011truth stories from the trail, the brutal ballot\u2011access obstacles they face, and the insider strategies that prove independents are not spoilers\u2014they\u2019re the future.<\/p>\n<p>Because every episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the most important news stories&#8211;and offers light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It\u2019s independent content for independent Americans. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans is your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope. The podcast that helps you stay ahead of the curve&#8211;and stay vigilant.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/XTncvG6ZJxg\"><u>WATCH video of this episode on YouTube now.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p>-Learn more about Paul\u2019s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with <a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><u>Independent Veterans of America<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><u>Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/u><\/a> of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Check the hashtag <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%23LookForTheHelpers&amp;src=typed_query\"><u>#LookForTheHelpers<\/u><\/a>. And share yours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Find us on social media or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independentamericans.us\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IndependentAmericans.us\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.IndependentAmericans.us<\/a><\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\"><u>And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch<\/u><\/a> now in time for the holidays.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Check out other Righteous podcasts like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefirefighters.us\/\"><u>The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra<\/u><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/unclemontel.us\/\"><u>Uncle Montel &#8211; The OG of Weed<\/u><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bdorm.us\/\"><u>B Dorm<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\"><u>Righteous Media<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\"><strong>Spotify<\/strong><\/a> \u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\"><strong>Apple Podcasts<\/strong><\/a><strong> \u2022 <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/49a684c3-68e1-4a85-8d93-d95027a8ec64\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\"><strong>Amazon Podcasts<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ways to watch:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\"><strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/a><strong> \u2022 <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><strong>Instagram<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\"><strong>X\/Twitter<\/strong><\/a> \u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\"><strong>BlueSky<\/strong><\/a> \u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ways to listen:Social channels:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/megaphone.fm\/adchoices\">megaphone.fm\/adchoices<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we head into Thanksgiving we&#8217;ve got a special Veterans Day \u201cWinners Circle\u201d town hall that brings together Independent Veterans of America (IVA) candidates who are changing American politics from the ground up. Independent Americans host and IVA founder Paul Rieckhoff moderates a powerful, unfiltered conversation with two newly\u2011elected independent veterans\u2014Mike Procuk (Frederick County, VA&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/382-paul-rieckhoff-part-one-the-2025-iva-winners-circle-town-hall-independent-veteran-candidates-share-their-victories-and-challenges-open-primaries-and-ranked-choice-vs-a-stacked-deck-how-an-in\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">382. Paul Rieckhoff. Part One: The 2025 IVA Winners Circle Town Hall. Independent Veteran Candidates Share Their Victories and Challenges. Open Primaries and Ranked Choice vs A Stacked Deck. How an Independent Fulcrum Can Be the Leverage to Fix Our Future<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episodes","entry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f.jpg",800,800,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f.jpg",800,800,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f.jpg",800,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f.jpg",750,750,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f.jpg",800,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f.jpg",800,800,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e7a7211ca149e364151718761f33810f.jpg",800,800,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/category\/episodes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Episodes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"As we head into Thanksgiving we&#8217;ve got a special Veterans Day \u201cWinners Circle\u201d town hall that brings together Independent Veterans of America (IVA) candidates who are changing American politics from the ground up. Independent Americans host and IVA founder Paul Rieckhoff moderates a powerful, unfiltered conversation with two newly\u2011elected independent veterans\u2014Mike Procuk (Frederick County, VA&hellip;&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}