OCT 31, 2024 | NEWS | By Sydney McGarr
Over half of the registered voters in El Paso County, Colo., are independents.
In the words of KOAA-TV investigative reporter Alasyn Zimmerman, Colorado Springs is experiencing an “unaffiliated renaissance.”
One of the major indicators of the change: Mayor Yemi Mobolade.
Mobolade made history as the first non-Republican Mayor of Colorado Springs when he was elected in 2023. He ran and won as an independent.
As recently as five years ago, Mobolade’s victory would have been unthinkable. In a city known in the past as the “evangelical Vatican,” Republicans have long had undeniable control in the political realm.
As a newcomer to politics, Mobolade ran his campaign on unity in a time of extreme political polarization throughout the country. One of Mobolade’s most popular initiatives is his “1000 Neighborhood Gatherings Initiative,” which encourages neighborhoods throughout the city to host social events that promote community bonding.
Mobolade’s victory revealed that for the first time in its history, Colorado Springs was looking for a change in its political sphere.
“We are all hungry for a better way of doing politics,” Mobolade said in an introductory speech last week, “We will show the world what democracy looks like.”
He was met by a wave of applause from the audience at the Greenberg Center for Learning and Tolerance Panel, titled “Bridging the Political Divide.”
The panel included community and local leaders, who discussed finding constructive, non-partisan strategies to solve municipal problems.
It featured Politico reporter David Siders, who profiled Colorado Springs in the broader context of the shift to independent voting majorities in The United States earlier this year. He cited the city as an explicit example of the pattern of United States voters leaving both parties.
To some, the rise of independent voters is an easy out of partisan political game. However, Siders quickly noted that this trend does not necessarily mean that unaffiliated voters are completely non-partisan in their voting habits.
“[Independent voting] doesn’t even mean less polarization because most, except for a very tiny sliver of the unaffiliated vote, will vote reliably in partisan ways. And we see that in Colorado elections recently,” Siders said.
He notes that while Colorado has a massive number of unaffiliated voters, many Colorado elections still come down to a small point margin. This implies that unaffiliated voters typically stick to one political party when voting.
According to The Pew Research Center, 81% of independents “lean” towards either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. However, independents tend to be less politically engaged than those affiliated with the two-party system.
It is also worth noting that the state of Colorado automatically registers voters as independent when they receive a driver’s license. They then receive the option to affiliate with a specific party. This likely accounts for a portion of the spike.
Regardless of the possible drawbacks, this rise in independent voters is not unnoticed by Coloradans. Many leaders believe the state is setting a precedent for a political shift occurring in the rest of the country.
“The President of the United States told me that what is happening in our city is a trend that they are paying attention to nationally,” says Mayor Mobolade.
Nearly half of Americans now identify as independent voters. Two decades ago, that number was less than one-third.
This reflects a general disillusionment with the two-party system and the current state of politics. According to Pew Research Center, only 4% of American voters claimed the current political system worked exceptionally well.
While Colorado’s pattern of “leaning” applies as a nationwide trend as well, the rise of independent voters could indicate that young people are less focused on the platforms of specific political parties and more focused on specific issues.
So, what does this trend mean for the 2024 Presidential Election? The short answer: it remains to be seen.
Data shows that voters aged 18 to 24 are more likely to “lean” politically rather than strongly identify with one party.
This trend signifies uncertainty regarding the effect of new voters on the upcoming presidential election. A 2023 Gallup Survey shows that more independent voters lean Republican rather than Democrat. The numbers were close.
Both Trump and Harris have spent a significant amount of campaign energy targeting young voters this election season, likely because of an awareness of this potential swing. The Harris campaign has specifically put millions of dollars of funding into college students. Trump’s funding for young people falls shortly behind, mostly targeting young men.
As for Mobolade, he remains hopeful about the shockwaves that young, independent voters could send through the American political system in the coming years.
“I do think Colorado’s increase in independent voters is indicative of a nationwide trend, as long as the two-party system continues to operate as status quo,” he said in an interview last week. “The mass unaffiliated from the parties is voters saying loud and clear that they don’t feel seen or heard.”