Moving forward from the Democratic Party.
Former two-term Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak, who twice ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate and launched a brief bid for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020, recently joined the newly formed “Forward Party” and will now have a formal title with the organization.
On Thursday, the Forward Party announced in a release that Sestak was selected to be a founding member of the “Forward Leadership Circle,” which is “an advisory body to the organization.”
In a recent interview with The Michael Steele podcast, Sestak detailed his belief that a third party is needed in the United States.
“Having been a sailor in the Navy for 30-plus years, I felt right at home representing a Republican congressional district, as an independent who happened to be a Democrat. The problem today is: ‘party over nation,’ and when it becomes ‘us against them,’ nearly everything is able to be justified,” Sestak said, according to a release from the Forward Party.
“Some compare today’s divisive political times to the 1850s, when a coalition emerged on just one issue of gravity — slavery — and the Republican Party was born, with a leader that kept the Union from dividing,” Sestak said. “For me, today’s divisive issue is the constant erosion of trust that’s imposing ever greater costs on America. Trust is our nation’s biggest deficit, and that’s why I’m supporting the birth of the Forward Party: trying times spawn new forces, hopefully, again, to bring our nation together.”
Forward Co-CEO Miles Taylor expressed his optimism about Sestak taking on this role.
“We are honored to have the Admiral’s leadership,” Taylor said. “Recent attacks by political figures against our nation’s institutions — including our Justice Department and law-enforcement agencies — are yet another reminder of an uncivil war that threatens our democracy. Forward is uniting leaders across the political spectrum to counter political extremism and support candidates and elected leaders who are focused on common-sense solutions — on doing, not dividing — and moving America forward.”
The Forward Party has been described by national outlets as a “centrist” party.
According to the Forward Party’s platform page, they say that the party stands for “doing, not dividing” while adding “that means rejecting the far Left and far Right and pursuing common ground.”
Although the Forward Party says they reject the “rigid, top-down, one-size-fits-all platforms of the outdated political parties,” their platform page details their support for ranked-choice voting, nonpartisan primaries, and independent redistricting commissions.
According to the release, Sestak will work on The Forward Leadership Circle with “former U.S. presidential candidates, members of Congress, governors, cabinet officials, entrepreneurs, and grassroots leaders.”