A 27-year Army officer with three deployments looked at Congress and decided the problem wasn't which party was winning - it was that both of them were. So Jason Faler is running in Oregon's 6th with no letter behind his name.

Jason walks us through the road from four-generation Oregonian to combat tours in Baghdad and the Horn of Africa to healthcare administrator and professor - and the "frog in the boiling water" moment that finally pushed him to run. He lays out the number almost nobody in Oregon knows: unaffiliated voters went from 22% of the electorate in 2012 to roughly 40% today, which means the largest voting bloc in his district belongs to no party at all. We get into why so many veterans end up in nonpartisan reform, why he won't just run in a primary and take the easy path, and what it actually costs to get on a ballot when your two opponents ran unopposed. 

The Independent Voter Podcast now has its own YouTube channel! If you enjoy these conversations, subscribe to our dedicated channel for full episodes, interviews, and future content: https://youtube.com/@IndependentVoterPodcast

Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at:

https://ivn.us

https://independentvoterproject.org

Follow and subscribe on audio platforms:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1VnqtqjZh9EbmDtVxvHF3R

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/independent-voter-podcast/id1680559155

Chapters:

00:00:00 – The Parties Are the Problem

00:00:37 – Meet Jason Faler

00:03:17 – What Pulled Him Into Politics

00:07:04 – Independent by Conviction, Not by Default

00:08:28 – From Iraq to Oregon – Why He's Running

00:11:55 – Veterans, the Military & Political Independence

00:15:03 – The Barriers to Running as an Independent

00:19:03 – Clipboard Democracy in the Digital Age

00:24:29 – When Elections Become Auctions

00:27:15 – The Largest Voting Bloc Nobody Knows About

A 27-year Army officer with three deployments looked at Congress and decided the problem wasn't which party was winning - it was that both of them were. So Jason Faler is running in Oregon's 6th with no letter behind his name. Jason walks us through the road from four-generation Oregonian to combat tours in Baghdad and the Horn of Africa to healthcare administrator and professor - and the "frog in the boiling water" moment that finally pushed him to run. He lays out the number almost nobody in Oregon knows: unaffiliated voters went from 22% of the electorate in 2012 to roughly 40% today, which means the largest voting bloc in his district belongs to no party at all. We get into why so many veterans end up in nonpartisan reform, why he won't just run in a primary and take the easy path, and what it actually costs to get on a ballot when your two opponents ran unopposed.&nbsp;
The Independent Voter Podcast now has its own YouTube channel! If you enjoy these conversations, subscribe to our dedicated channel for full episodes, interviews, and future content: <a href="https://youtube.com/@IndependentVoterPodcast">https://youtube.com/@IndependentVoterPodcast</a>
Listen to more episodes and read in-depth coverage at:
https://ivn.us
<a href="https://independentvoterproject.org">https://independentvoterproject.org</a>
Follow and subscribe on audio platforms:
<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1VnqtqjZh9EbmDtVxvHF3R">https://open.spotify.com/show/1VnqtqjZh9EbmDtVxvHF3R</a>
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/independent-voter-podcast/id1680559155">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/independent-voter-podcast/id1680559155</a>
Chapters:
00:00:00 &ndash; The Parties Are the Problem
00:00:37 &ndash; Meet Jason Faler
00:03:17 &ndash; What Pulled Him Into Politics
00:07:04 &ndash; Independent by Conviction, Not by Default
00:08:28 &ndash; From Iraq to Oregon &ndash; Why He's Running
00:11:55 &ndash; Veterans, the Military &amp; Political Independence
00:15:03 &ndash; The Barriers to Running as an Independent
00:19:03 &ndash; Clipboard Democracy in the Digital Age
00:24:29 &ndash; When Elections Become Auctions
00:27:15 &ndash; The Largest Voting Bloc Nobody Knows About

Tired of being told what to think by partisan gatekeepers? So are we.
The Independent Voter Podcast brings you conversations that challenge the two-party echo chamber and reject the false binaries dominating today’s political narratives. We focus on two things:
 (1) Election reforms that increase real competition and voter choice, and
 (2) Policy issues that defy the black-and-white frameworks set by national party agendas.

We’ve been called everything: liberals, undercover Republicans, progressives, socialists, libertarians—even anarchists. And depending on the article, they’re all true.
We are open to any voice that follows our simple etiquette. If you believe political independence is a mindset, not a middle ground, you’re in the right place.
This the Independent Voter Podcast..

Tired of being told what to think by partisan gatekeepers? So are we. The Independent Voter Podcast brings you conversations that challenge the two-party echo chamber and reject the false binaries dominating today&rsquo;s political narratives. We focus on two things: &nbsp;(1)&nbsp;Election reforms that increase real competition and voter choice, and &nbsp;(2)&nbsp;Policy issues that defy the black-and-white frameworks set by national party agendas.
We&rsquo;ve been called everything: liberals, undercover Republicans, progressives, socialists, libertarians&mdash;even anarchists. And depending on the article, they&rsquo;re all true. We are open to any voice that follows our simple etiquette. If you believe political independence is a mindset, not a middle ground, you&rsquo;re in the right place. This the Independent Voter Podcast..

Independent Voter Podcast

Tired of being told what to think by partisan gatekeepers? So are we.
The Independent Voter Podcast brings you conversations that challenge the two-party echo chamber and reject the false binaries dominating today’s political narratives. We focus on two things:
 (1) Election reforms that increase real competition and voter choice, and
 (2) Policy issues that defy the black-and-white frameworks set by national party agendas.

We’ve been called everything: liberals, undercover Republicans, progressives, socialists, libertarians—even anarchists. And depending on the article, they’re all true.
We are open to any voice that follows our simple etiquette. If you believe political independence is a mindset, not a middle ground, you’re in the right place.
This the Independent Voter Podcast.

Tired of being told what to think by partisan gatekeepers? So are we. The Independent Voter Podcast brings you conversations that challenge the two-party echo chamber and reject the false binaries dominating today&rsquo;s political narratives. We focus on two things: &nbsp;(1)&nbsp;Election reforms that increase real competition and voter choice, and &nbsp;(2)&nbsp;Policy issues that defy the black-and-white frameworks set by national party agendas.
We&rsquo;ve been called everything: liberals, undercover Republicans, progressives, socialists, libertarians&mdash;even anarchists. And depending on the article, they&rsquo;re all true. We are open to any voice that follows our simple etiquette. If you believe political independence is a mindset, not a middle ground, you&rsquo;re in the right place. This the Independent Voter Podcast.