While many Republicans — including President Donald Trump — say Elon Musk’s proposed “America Party” won’t hurt them, some senators weren’t as quick to dismiss the threat.
“I think you should always take competition serious,” Sen. Mike Rounds said. “And if it’s competition for Republicans, you should never ignore it. You always take it serious. That’s the way you win elections, is you don’t ignore anybody out there.”
Musk announced plans to start the “America Party” after his falling out with Trump over the reconciliation bill. He accused Trump and other Republicans of worsening America’s fiscal situation and stated, based on polls from his platform X, that there’s an appetite for a third party.
Third parties often achieve little more than spoiling the chances of one majority party in favor of the other.
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Rather than trying to compete at the presidential level, Musk has suggested strategically peeling off Congressional seats. In doing so, he could create a middle ground with enormous sway despite small numbers. A new party might not be able to take control, but it could still be a problem for Republicans, some said.
“It’s not that he will overtake either the Republicans or the Democrats,” Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis told NOTUS. “But if he positions this ‘America Party’ in a way that resonates with those who are concerned about the debt and the deficit, I think he could be effective. I think it’s legit, it’s real. It just depends on what issues he chooses to emphasize.”
If he addresses issues like Social Security and Medicare insolvency, Lummis said, he could be “very effective.”
Sen. Ron Johnson also said he thinks fiscal policy could create a rift within conservatives over which party to support, to Democrats’ benefit.
“Well, unfortunately, if he does it, it’s going to split fiscal conservatives and elect Democrats who have no fiscal control or any desire to reduce the deficit,” he said. “So it’ll unfortunately be counterproductive.”
The federal budget deficit is increasingly a point of concern for Americans. The government consistently spends more than the revenue it generates and is trillions of dollars in debt, with no real solution in sight. Musk has said his party would prioritize addressing spending and the national debt.
The two-party system is tough to crack. As Republican Rep. Thomas Massie remarked in an interview with Theo Von, “there’s two of everything” in Congress, from cloakrooms to back rooms to sandwich machines.
“It’s not just tradition, it’s built into marble and oak: there can only be two parties. That’s how strong they can put it in,” he said.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin said since Musk isn’t a politician, he isn’t concerned about the “America Party” hurting Republicans. Sen. Rick Scott, former chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he doesn’t know enough about it to speak definitively yet.
“I appreciate the fact that he cares about our country,” Scott said. “I appreciate what he did with the DOGE effort, but I don’t know much about the party.”
The “America Party” has garnered little public support beyond social media attention from a handful in the political sphere, like Anthony Scaramucci and Mark Cuban, though Cuban told NOTUS he hasn’t spoken to anyone about it. He said via email that the Center for Competitive Democracy, which he supports philanthropically, “will help anyone get on a ballot if we believe they are being unfairly denied.”
The party is sure to face problems getting onto ballots. In some states, including Texas and New York, Musk’s party will need thousands of signatures just to appear on the ballot.
“I think there’s going to be a huge appetite among disaffected Republicans who might want to support a new party,” said Oliver Hall, founder of the Center for Competitive Democracy. “Same for independents, of course. And maybe Democrats as well.”
If Musk’s party takes off, Hall — who has worked with third-party candidates including Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — said he would expect “huge” resistance. In his experience, both parties will go to great lengths to make it difficult for third parties to have a presence.
For now, though, Trump has indicated he’s unbothered.
“I think it will help us,” Trump said on Tuesday of Musk’s party. “It will probably help. Third parties have always been good for me. I don’t know about Republicans, but for me.”
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