AUGUSTA, Maine — Elon Musk helped elect President Donald Trump. Now they are feuding, and the Tesla and SpaceX founder is floating a new “America Party” aiming to break the two-party system.
He is far from the first to try this. Maine’s status as a relative stronghold for political independents and smaller parties may serve as both fertile ground for any new party’s growth and a cautionary tale for how far any such effort can go in an era of deep polarization.
Mainers have a long history of supporting third parties. The state has had two independent governors. In the 1992 presidential election, Ross Perot finished second after Bill Clinton and before George H.W. Bush. When Trump first ran in 2016, more than 5 percent of voters cast ballots for Libertarian Gary Johnson, and nearly 2 percent voted for Green Jill Stein.
“We just have that kind of independent, you-can’t-buy-me kind of attitude,” said Lisa Savage, who ran as an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020 after ballot access rules made it difficult to run as a Green and got 5 percent of votes.
Those figures make Maine more friendly to third parties than almost all other states. The Greens still have more members here than in any other state. But they have not fielded a statewide candidate here since 2006. The country’s first Green state lawmaker, John Eder, is now serving in the Maine House of Representatives as a Republican representing Waterboro.
The Greens, who have historically run to the left of Democrats on economic and environmental issues, likely have little in common with Musk’s proposed party, which is beginning by focusing on congressional races. His focus on reducing the deficit could appeal to former libertarian voters and independent-minded conservatives in Maine and elsewhere.
It remains unclear whether Musk plans to organize the party formally. For the America Party to make Maine’s ballot, Musk and allies would need to register at least 5,000 voters. In 2024, the No Labels Party, an offshoot of a centrist group, gained party status here after fighting with Secretary of State Shenna Bellows over ballot access rules.
As the wealthiest person in the world, he would have a crucial asset that small parties have generally lacked: money. His estimated net worth, which is now over $400 billion, would allow Musk to easily break through to voters, said Jason Call, who was Green presidential candidate Jill Stein’s campaign manager in 2024.
While money may make a difference, Maine’s low-key spirit is not compatible with Musk’s manner, Savage said. He famously wielded a chainsaw that was meant to symbolize his work with Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” at a conservative event in February. He got that position after putting $290 million into helping Trump and Republicans win in 2024.
His new effort is already leading to a debate about whether his money and time would be better spent working within the political system. Former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon Falls, a lobbyist and potential gubernatorial candidate, said Musk’s money would make a third party easy to set up but doubted he would actually follow through.
“There’s so many good things to focus on that he can have an influence on with his money inside the Republican Party that I think would be more beneficial,” Mason said.
Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural politics for the Bangor Daily News and the Maine Monitor. Additional support for this reporting is provided by BDN readers.
