{"id":5972,"date":"2026-02-16T20:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T20:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/gallup-independent-voters-hit-45-so-why-does-the-political-establishment-keep-pretending-they-dont-matter\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T20:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T20:26:00","slug":"gallup-independent-voters-hit-45-so-why-does-the-political-establishment-keep-pretending-they-dont-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/gallup-independent-voters-hit-45-so-why-does-the-political-establishment-keep-pretending-they-dont-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Gallup: Independent Voters Hit 45% \u2013 So Why Does the Political Establishment Keep Pretending They Don\u2019t Matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span>In this special episode, Paul Rieckhoff reads an op-ed he co-authored with John Opdycke that challenges the narrative that independent voters don&#8217;t matter. Despite new Gallup polling showing independents now represent 45% of all American voters\u2014the highest number recorded in modern history\u2014the political establishment continues to dismiss them as &#8220;leaners&#8221; who are really just partisans in disguise, or &#8220;spoilers&#8221; who siphon votes from legitimate candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Paul unpacks why this dismissive narrative persists and traces it back to Ross Perot&#8217;s explosive 1992 presidential campaign, when 20 million Americans went off-script and forced both parties to pay attention. The Perot movement produced a balanced budget, the Contract with America, and Clintonian triangulation\u2014and terrified the DC establishment in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Today, 10,000 Americans switch their registration from Democrat or Republican to Independent every single week. Five independents are running for U.S. Senate this fall, with over 100 independent candidates expected across all levels of government. A majority of Americans now support open primaries that allow non-party voters to participate in publicly funded elections. The independent movement isn&#8217;t just growing\u2014it&#8217;s ready to lead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Connect with Independent Americans:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Subscribe on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\"><span>YouTube<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\"><span>Spotify<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\"><span>Apple Podcasts<\/span><\/a><span>, and all podcast platforms<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Read more at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.substack.com\"> <span>Substack<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>Support ad-free episodes at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\"> <span>Patreon<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Connect: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0 \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\"><span>X\/Twitter<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\"><span>BlueSky<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PaulRieckhoff\"><span>X<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/paulrieckhoff\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@paulrieckhoff\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/rieckhoff.bsky.social\"><span>Bluesky<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>-WATCH <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/v7edwqe_NC0\"><span>video of this episode on our YouTube channel<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Read <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/johnopdycke.substack.com\/p\/gallup-independent-voters-hit-45\"><span>the entire Oped here<\/span><\/a><span> and share this episode with someone that needs to hear it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about Paul\u2019s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>Independent Veterans of America<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><span>Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/span><\/a><span> 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<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\"><span>And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch<\/span><\/a><span> now in time for the new year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\"><span>Righteous Media<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now part of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bleav.com\/shows\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/\"><span>the BLEAV network<\/span><\/a><span>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href=\"https:\/\/pcm.adswizz.com\">pcm.adswizz.com<\/a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this special episode, Paul Rieckhoff reads an op-ed he co-authored with John Opdycke that challenges the narrative that independent voters don&#8217;t matter. Despite new Gallup polling showing independents now represent 45% of all American voters\u2014the highest number recorded in modern history\u2014the political establishment continues to dismiss them as &#8220;leaners&#8221; who are really just partisans in disguise, or &#8220;spoilers&#8221; who siphon votes from legitimate candidates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5972","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\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442.jpg",1400,1400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442.jpg",1400,1400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442.jpg",1400,1400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442-1024x1024.jpg",750,750,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442.jpg",1400,1400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442.jpg",1400,1400,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ia-promo-square-ep442.jpg",1400,1400,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":"In this special episode, Paul Rieckhoff reads an op-ed he co-authored with John Opdycke that challenges the narrative that independent voters don't matter. Despite new Gallup polling showing independents now represent 45% of all American voters\u2014the highest number recorded in modern history\u2014the political establishment continues to dismiss them as \"leaners\" who are really just partisans&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5972","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=5972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}