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JUST ANNOUNCED: Our next Primary Buzz Discussion: Independents are Surging…and Independent Veterans are Spoiling for a Fight will feature two Independent veteran candidates running for US Senate: Ty Pinkins (Mississippi) & Todd Achilles (Idaho). 

Ty Pinkinsis a decorated U.S. Army veteran, attorney, and community advocate running as an Independent for United States Senate in 2026 because he believes Mississippi’s working families deserve more than politics as usual.

Todd Achilles served as an Idaho State Representative and minority caucus chair. He teaches innovation, strategy, antimonopoly, and policy analysis at GSPP, and technology policy at Boise State University’s School of Public Service. Todd served in the U.S. Army as a tank commander and then spent his civilian career in the tech, media and telecom sectors, holding executive roles at T-Mobile, Hewlett-Packard, and a few start-ups. 

Open Primaries Founder and President John Opdycke will host the conversation featuring Paul Rieckhoff—America’s leading veterans advocate and Founder and former CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)—who has launched Independent Veterans of America to support Veterans who want to run for elected office as independents. 

Paul is opinionated, patriotic, fiercely independent and is both a regular on CNN and MSNBC and hosts the popular podcast Independent Americans.

While the DC ecosphere downplay the rise of independent voters across the country, a new generation of serious, viable independent candidates is working to give voice to the growing number of voters who are out of sorts with the status quo. It’s hard!  American politics is not designed for voters and candidates who don’t fit neatly into the two-party playbook. Independents get called “ spoilers” by journalists, partisans…even reformers!  

But America’s veterans still command much credibility across divides. Can independent veterans help lead the way to something new?

Join us next Tuesday February 3rd at 3:00PM ET

2026 is the year of the Independent.

Join the conversation—and be part of what comes next.

<[link removed]>RSVP <[link removed]>See you on the 3rd! 

The Open Primaries Team

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