A self-described social democratic third party has announced plans to compete in Connecticut’s local, state and federal elections with a message that doesn’t shy away from talk of secession.
The Yankee National Party, which calls itself social-democratic and center-left, is petitioning for the right to endorse candidates in 11 towns and on the state and federal level this fall.
The Yankee National Party filed a petition that would allow them to compete in Bristol, East Lyme, Groton, Ledyard, Marlborough, Middlebury, Montville, New London, Stonington, Waterford and West Hartford.
The party’s acting chair, Joshua Steele Kelly, said that while not all members support secession from the United States, and made clear that the party has not endorsed the New England Independence Campaign, it was time to debate ideas ranging from increased autonomy to full independence.
“People in the United States are too afraid to talk about that after the Civil War,” Kelly told CT Examiner. “Let’s actually talk about it.”
Kelly said the party could still file another petition to expand into more towns, and the party is targeting all six states comprising New England as well as New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Kelly’s message self-consciously echoes a variety of European separatists movements — Catalans, Basques and Scots — that have been campaigning for decades for independence.
Kelly called out what he said were violations of citizen rights by the federal government, corruption, and the region’s net export of taxes, as reasons for independence.
“When you’re in an abusive relationship, you have to talk about leaving at some point,” Kelly said.
30 years old and a member of the Board of Finance in Waterford, a town of almost 20,000 people on the shoreline, Kelly doesn’t shy away from words like independence, separation and socialism.
And to explain what he has in mind, Kelly suggested the Scottish Parliament, which was restored in 1998 after three centuries of absence since the Acts of Union merging Scotland with England, but which failed to satisfy supporters of Scottish independence, who held an unsuccessful vote in 2014 to opt for independence.
The Yankee National Party proposes creating a regional parliament to handle some issues.
The Yankee National Party also prides itself on being the only party in the United States that requires its members and candidates to abide by a code of ethics. That code embraces four core values: independence, democracy, empathy and sustainability.
The last decades, Kelly said, have been marked by a declining quality of life for ordinary citizens.
“When you talk about the average American and their quality of life, it’s really decreasing. We’ve seen a huge increase in the output of this country, like GDP or productivity, but not for wages,” Kelly said. “The average American is worse off today financially than they were in the early 50s at the tail end of World War II, and that’s painful.”
Although he attributed that failure to both Republicans and Democrats, he said he saw a worsening under what he called Donald Trump’s regime.
“People are being picked up off the streets here in New London and in other surrounding towns, and there isn’t necessarily due process,” Kelly said. “We have a question of women’s rights that’s on the table nationally and a variety of other things that have arisen under the Trump presidency.”
‘Not a dirty word’
Kelly, said that he was cheered by the news of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the recent Democratic mayoral primary in New York City, describing the Yankee National Party as akin to the Democratic Socialists of America, which counts Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among its members.
“Socialism, from my perspective, is not a dirty word. Socialism is really economic democracy,” Kelly said. “It’s about people being equal and an economic system being designed to be equitable for all. And yes, that means there are going to be some people who pay more in taxes and it means that there are going to be other people who may receive a little bit more.”
Connecticut, Kelly said, should do more to address the situation of the 10% of people in the state who live in poverty.
The Yankee National Party has proposed that Connecticut adopt a ranked-choice voting system, like in New York City, that would allow second and third choices to be counted toward vote totals if competing candidates failed to attract a majority of votes.
“We haven’t innovated our democracy in a long time and if you’re not innovating, then we’re certainly not in a healthy place,” Kelley said. “It shouldn’t just be Democrats versus Republicans. It really should be a multi-voice array of thoughts that are shared.”
Kelley said the party has been growing since it was founded in late 2024, with chapters formed in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine, as well as a regional chapter for New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the party has not yet attracted enough members to form individual state parties.
He said there was a core team of organizers, but that the party had not yet held a national-level election for its leadership.
This year, Steel Kelley said, their goal was to get people on the ballot, draw attention to their ideas, and maybe win a few races.
“We need people in office to show that we’re more capable,” he said. “Because I believe the people we’re endorsing and the people who are coming forward wanting to be in office as members are really well suited to those positions and can govern better than the people who have been in power for a long time.”
Kelly said he was actively involved in the Waterford Democratic Party and sought cross-party support. He said he would be running for re-election to the Board of Finance this year.
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This story has been updated, including population figures for Waterford, and clarifying meetings held so far on a national level.