Moderate Party

The Moderate Party is a minor third party in New Jersey founded by centrist former members of the Republican Party, on the grounds that the party has shifted too far right following the election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the storming of the Capitol on January 6. The party also seeks to attract moderate Democrats who are unsatisfied with the party's shift to the left. Foundation The party was founded in the summer of 2022 in preparation for the election of that year. The party was co-founded by Rick Wolfe, former Republican mayor of East Amwell Township and Michelle Garay, former Republican mayor of Alexandria Township with Wolfe going on to be the party's spokesman and Garay the chairwoman. After the foundation of the party, Wolfe stated in interviews that the intention of the party was "to reach out to New Jersey's 'exhausted majority'," to offer a home to voters who dislike how far the Republicans have moved to the right and Democrats to the left and to "be the vehicle that brings these candidates to the center." Wolfe claims that New Jerseyites want candidates who will support their communities and values and not participate in a larger nationwide culture war. New Jersey is historically inhospitable to third parties, and is the only state in the nation that has not had a qualified minor party in more than one hundred years. Electoral fusion