The Centrist Project changed its focus to state level politics, expanding its master plan to boost independent candidates. The article, “Centrist Project in 2018 Will Concentrate on Electing Independent Candidates to Colorado Legislature”, was recently posted on Ballot Access News by Richard Winger. Take a look:

The Centrist Project, which has been organized for four years, will concentrate its efforts in 2018 on electing some independent candidates to the Colorado legislature. In the past the Centrist Project has only said it planned to elect independent candidates to Congress, particularly U.S. Senate. That goal is not being abandoned but according to this story, the biggest effort will relate to the Colorado legislature. Colorado has lenient ballot access laws for independent candidates.

Here is some more from the plan thanks to the Colorado Independent article:

In Colorado, the group is looking to target at least five specific House and Senate districts. Staffers have been doing research here since last November’s legislative elections. Working out of a co-working space in downtown Denver, the Centrist Project staff of about a dozen has already reached out to hundreds of potential candidates across the state so far, Troiano told The Colorado Independent. He says the project’s largest donors come from its leadership team, and it accepts individual contributions.

The plan is to recruit, endorse, help fund, and offer campaign support to unaffiliated candidates, and then run them as a slate. While centrist efforts have popped up nationally before— think Unity08 or No Labels— 2018 will be the first time a national group makes a concerted effort to draft unaffiliated candidates into the Colorado legislature. Those candidates, Troiano says, will agree to seek common ground, follow the facts where they lead when voting on legislation, be pro-growth while fiscally and environmentally responsible, and socially tolerant.

Here is an overview of the Centrist Project:

The Centrist Project aims to reshape and reform our political system – not as a traditional third party, but as America’s first Unparty. We are a 21st Century grassroots organization dedicated to organizing Centrist Americans, supporting Centrist policies and encouraging more independent candidates to run for public office to put our country ahead of any political faction in order to solve problems.

We want independent candidates to run for office unaffiliated with any political party. Our Centrist Election Engine provides prospective candidates with access to the tools, training, and talent they need to run competitive campaigns without traditional party support. We seek candidates of great personal integrity who are aligned with the Centrist Principles and approach to governance.

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