Joe Manchin Launches Independent Candidate Effort, Challenging Two-Party System

Joe Manchin launched an effort to elect independent candidates to federal office, partnering with former FreedomWorks president Brandon Kiley. Capitalizing on record 45% independent identification, this could reshape competitive races. Kevin Kiley (CA independent) is a concrete example: the only independent in the House, running in a gerrymandered district, testing whether an independent can beat the map drawn to defeat him. Open question: can independents win without party infrastructure?