Former State Senate President Rick Bennett represented Mainers for decades as a Republican, but in June he announced he’s leaving the GOP and running for Governor as an Independent: “I’m running as an independent because Maine’s next chapter can’t be dictated by party bosses in Washington or by the special interests pouring dark money into our elections. Too many politicians today are more focused on partisan point-scoring than problem-solving. The system thrives on conflict, not resolution, and the issues that matter most – housing, our economy, our schools – get lost in the noise.”

Is this an anomaly, a trend, or who knows? What does it mean for the independent reform movement when successful politicians like Bennett declare their independence from the binary status quo?

On Tuesday November 18th at 3pm ET Open Primaries President John Opdycke sat down with Bennett for a conversation where he asked the simple but big question: Can Two Party Politics Meet the Needs of the People?