As of today, Oregon has its first new officially designated political party in 13 years.

It’s label? No Labels.

Backers of the new party had to submit 29,294 valid signatures. And they managed to do so, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office announced Friday.

No Labels was launched as a national concept in 2010, and it’s been increasingly active since 2018, including forming a “Problem Solvers Caucus” in the U.S. House. It aims to foster cooperation and problem-solving across party lines.

It is already recognized in some other states, including Colorado and Arizona.

The petition to qualify No Labels as a party in Oregon was submitted by Nick Connors of New Canaan, Connecticut, according to official documents on the secretary of state’s website. Connors did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday. He ran for the the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut in 2022 but his name did not appear on the ballot and he lost to Leora Levy.

Oregonians can switch their party registration to the No Labels Party at oregonvotes.gov or can register as a new voter with No Labels there.

The last time a new minor party received ballot access was the Americans Elect party in 2012.

— Betsy Hammond

©2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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