In northern Michigan, some third-party candidates seek to break the mold

Nov. 4—TRAVERSE CITY — At a recent campaign stop for Democratic candidates, President Joe Biden called Tuesday's election "a choice between two vastly different visions for America," the Washington Post reported.

In many cases, that two-party model is exactly what voters will face when filling out their ballots — a series of matchups between pairs of recognizable Republican and Democratic options. But, in some races, third-party candidates say they want to break through that binary.

That includes several running for northern Michigan seats.

The major party candidates in the running for Michigan's First Congressional District in Washington D.C. will have third-party competition from both sides. That race, which has Republican incumbent Rep. Jack Bergman running against Democrat Bob Lorinser, also includes Libertarian challenger Andrew Gale, and Working Class Party Candidate Liz Hakola.

"I don't see a big difference between the two primary parties right now," Gale said. "They both seem to be hungry for power and able to spend tax money like there's no tomorrow."

Gale, 56, lives in Cedar, in Leelanau County. Hakola, 71, lives in Pelkie, Baraga County.

"The current current system that we live under purposely pits working class people against one another as groups, and does a lot of things to divide people — and we are not in favor of that," Hakola said.

The Libertarian party is the third-largest political party in America, and was founded in 1972. Comparatively, the Working Class Party, based in Michigan, is much newer. In its current form, it emerged in 2016.

The Libertarian party positions itself against most forms of government interference into "personal, family, and business decisions," according to its website. That means, on various issues, Libertarians may be simultaneously "more conservative than the Republicans," and "more liberal than the Democrats," Gale said.

Such stances have the potential to appeal to a high majority of the voting population, as the left and right wings have "eroded" faith in democracy, Gale said. But he said many people don't have a great idea of what the Libertarian party label means.

"People are individuals, they need to like be able to identify with what they believe in," Gale said.

There ought to be a party that can bring together those whose views fall outside of the current model, he said.

"That's what I see that Libertarian Party doing."

Nevertheless, Gale, who was a Republican up until a few years ago, said he's seeking to appeal primarily to conservatives in this election, in the hopes of convincing them another option is out there.

Courtney Evans, a Libertarian candidate for the 103rd state House of Representatives, said she's running because she and others are sick of the "duopoly" both major parties have. She sees the Libertarian party as standing for freedom, and combining the best traits of both Republican and Democratic parties.

Evans, 34, of Traverse City, said she thinks both major parties have strayed from their original intent, and are too focused on casting blame on the other rather than seek solutions.

"Lots of things could be better, and I feel like what we've had recently hasn't really been with the people in mind, unfortunately," she said.

She's running her first campaign because she wants to fix northern Michigan's affordable housing issues, bring back high school education in topics like welding, home economics and more, and focus on inclusivity and uniting people.

Overall, Evans said she wants to listen to the people whose voices have been overlooked. She'll face Democrat Betsy Coffia and Republican Rep. Jack O'Malley, R-Lake Ann.

Zachary Dean, of Grawn, is running as a Libertarian for the 37th state Senate district. Messages left for Dean weren't returned.

Hakola, formerly a Democrat, declined to ascribe any particular political labels to her campaign or place herself anywhere on the traditional political spectrum. But, when asked, she agreed that the Wikipedia page for her party was accurate in placing its ideology under the categories of "progressivism" and "socialism."

But she said labels can often lead to misconceptions for voters. The issues she and others on her slate focus on are those that "are important to working class people," she said, adding that all the candidate's on the party's ticket also belong to the working class.

When she describes to voters what the party stands for — access to education, investment in public services, and fair compensation to workers who have suffered under inflation — the response is "overwhelmingly positive," she said.

She said working people create the wealth in the country, and should have more power to make decisions about who's in charge of the economy. In its current configuration, the system is "inequitable," she said.

"We need a party of our own that represents our own interests ... and up until having a Working Class Party, no other party has represented working class interests," she said.

Susan Odgers is the Green Party's candidate for one of two seats on Wayne State University's Board of Governors. She's running because she wants to lead on the board with the party's grassroots democracy, climate, environment, nonviolence and social justice values.

That includes college affordability, said Odgers. The 65-year-old Traverse City resident said her teaching experience at Northwestern Michigan College gave her a better understanding of the struggles students face today. Even if they pay no tuition, climbing costs like childcare and gasoline can put college out of reach.

Having attended Wayne State University for her master's degree, Odgers said she loved the experience of learning in an urban environment. She believes few north of Grand Rapids feel connected to the university in the heart of Detroit and wants to change that.

Odgers said she also wants to have a say in hiring Wayne State's next president, as its current one is expected to retire in 2023.

She's currently seeking cancer treatment and expects to finish by mid-December, Odgers said, adding it shouldn't impact her position on the university board if elected.

Other candidates for the two seats are Danielle Atkinson and incumbent Marilyn Kelly, both Democrats; Republicans Christa Murphy and Craig Wilsher; Libertarian Bruce Jaquays; and Marc Joseph Sosnowski for the U.S. Taxpayers Party.

Odgers' husband, Tom Mair, is a Green Party candidate as well, this time for the Grand Traverse Board of Commissioners' Third District, as previously reported. The frequent political candidate spoke to the Record-Eagle in October about his run for the board.

For many of the third-party candidates, the measure of success will not be that of immediate victory in the polls. Rather, several candidates said they'll be looking for signs of long-term momentum.

Gale said he'd be pleased to get 10-15 percent of the vote in this election, but he believes there are likely to be more Libertarians in elected office in the future.

"The people are getting fed up with the way things are going ... and I believe that the third-party system is what we need to do to fix it," he said.

Hakola said her chances of getting elected are "slim to none," but that the party has the potential to build a movement in the long-term. Workers make the economy go, and have the capacity to wield more power than they currently do, she said.

"Every campaign builds on the next one," she said. "So there's a lot of optimism, a lot of hope, and a lot of conviction that it's the right thing to do. We will keep doing it, and I don't see it stopping."

Report for America corps member and data journalist William T. Perkins' reporting is made possible by a partnership between the Record-Eagle and Report for America, a journalism service project founded by the nonprofit Ground Truth Project. Generous community support helps fund a local share of the Record-Eagle/RFA partnership. To support RFA reporters in Traverse City, go to www.record-eagle.com/rfa.