The Centrist Project is getting closer to becoming a political party, although the officers of the group would not characterize it that way. Here is a platform, of sorts, that all Unite America candidates (who run as independent candidates) adhere to. Although it is thin on policy, there is some substance, notable in the sentence calling for both fiscal responsibility and environmental responsibility.

Independent candidates endorsed by Unite America, so far, include three gubernatorial candidates and two U.S. Senate candidates. The gubernatorial candidates are Greg Orman in Kansas, incumbent Bill Walker in Alaska, and Terry Hayes in Maine. The Senate candidates are Craig O’Dear in Missouri and Neal Simon in Maryland. The two U.S. Senate candidates each need 10,000 signatures, due in late July or early August.

On February 26, South Dakota HB 1012 passed the Senate State Affairs Committee unanimously. It says that a party only needs to pass the vote test every four years, instead of every two years. The bill had already passed the House.

On February 20, the Democratic National Committee filed its brief in the Eleventh Circuit in Wilding v Democratic National Committee Services, 17-14194. The brief says this case “is an improper attempt to forge the federal courts into a political weapon to be used by individuals who are unhappy with how a political party selected its candidate in a presidentia campaign.

The case had been filed in 2016 by Democrats who had contributed to the Democratic Party, and who are or were supporters of Bernie Sanders. They charged that the party broke its own rules and tilted the presidential nomination contest toward Hillary Clinton.