A national group whose mission is to elect independents to political office and bridge the partisan divide has decided to focus on Colorado for the 2018 legislative elections.
The Centrist Project's Nick Troiano, who ran unsuccessfully as an independent for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania in 2014, told Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that the Centennial State's near-even split between Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters was one motivation for its decision to focus on Colorado.
Troiano says another was Colorado's long history of both parties working together to get things done, which means the state is already prime territory for a more collaborative form of government.
The Centrist Project, which had previously focused on electing independents nationwide to the U.S. Senate, moved its headquarters to Colorado this summer to expand its efforts to Colorado's legislative candidates.
The group, which plans to target five legislative districts in Colorado that are still to be determined, says polls that indicate high voter dissatisfaction demonstrate that the political climate in Colorado and the nation is ripe for this kind of change.
Troiano says "The Centrist Project" is in the process of recruiting legislative candidates it believes are willing to work with others to find common ground. The group also aims for candidates who are pro-growth, socially moderate and environmentally conscious.
