Secessionist? Maybe. Anti-Trump? Absolutely - Yankee National Party Seeks To Make Headway Into Connecticut

Mathew Biadun | News-Editor

2/17/2026 - Apart from just Republicans and Democrats, Connecticut has a number of minor parties which compete in the state. The Independent Party, Green Party & Working-Families Party frequently make endorsements, either by endorsing their own candidates, or by cross-endorsing those of the main party. Now a new party, the Yankee National Party, seeks to enter the state, as it has in most other New England states.

The Yankee National Party, as it describes itself on its website, "is a center-left, social democratic political party that seeks to protect residents of the northeast from the failures of Washington and promote northeastern values of Self-Determination, Integrity, Democracy, Empathy, and Sustainability." Proclaiming itself to be anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian, its vision is of a force independent from the two-party system, pushing progressive change for the region and country.

Thatcher Richard is one of the people who've become interested in the party. Twenty three years old, he became interested in the party about six months ago, when he went to a listening event in Groton, and liked what they had to say. "I think, like a lot of young people, I feel very disenfranchised with the two-party system, so this was not only another party that was an option alongside Democratic and Republican..."

One of the big parts of the party he liked was the community aspect. He and other members of the party have hosted community library events and done community service, such as handing out winter coats. "Few of us were over at Fitch High School over with the kids who did that walk out...making sure those kids stayed safe. What drew me to the party was that; that it was community oriented."

Richard now serves as the Vice Chair of the party's CT branch and accepted an interview with the Campus Lantern yesterday to answer questions about his party. One of which is what exactly a 'Yankee Nation' is. The party's website calls for 'Sovereignty & Nationhood' for New England. Does that mean secession, and independence? The party, Richard says, is undecided.

"It's a little vague. We're not explicitly a secessionist party, for a few reasons. Not everyone in our party is for secession, some of us just want more autonomy for New England, some of us just want New England, as a region of the United States, to stay more safe. And then some of us do want secession, do want to start taking steps in the direction of making New England a sovereign nation, or a semi-sovereign nation."

Two of the parties he labelled as the party's inspiration is the Scottish National Party of the United Kingdom, and the Bloc Quebecois in Canada. In those countries, Scotland and Quebec are not independent, but have special privileges and autonomy as well.

What all of them can agree on, he says, is preserving the culture of New England. What is that culture? "It's whatever sets us apart," he said, like the culture of being 'nice but not kind', or being sports oriented. It is not, he clarified, the traditional Anglo-Protestant culture which 'yankee' often refers to.

The YNP filed to become a party in Connecticut last July. It endorsed one candidate in the local elections, Josh Kelly of Waterford, a former chair of the Green Party, and current chair of the YNP. He ran for the Board of Finance of that town, and came in last place. The party wasn't discouraged by that result, however. They are seeking candidates for the upcoming election, including candidates for the state legislature, and Secretary of the State, which some members of the party have already shown interest in running for.

The YNP is certainly no fan of President Trump. "Would you call the current administration a dictatorship?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," Richard responded.

Opposing the Trump administration has been one of the party's biggest priorities. Recently, the party put out a post commenting on Rep. DeLauro's recent meeting with faith leaders, where she opposed abolishing ICE. The party's Facebook labelled DeLauro a 'fascist' in response.

"We use the word 'fascist' pretty liberally these days," Richard admitted. "That being said, ICE is a fascist organization, and any politician who seeks to support ICE is supporting a fascist organization, and people can make whatever conclusions they'd like from that."

Richard was less clear on what would be a better alternative to ICE. "Border security down south is not something really that the Yankee National Party is concerned with. We are more concerned with getting ICE out of New England and keeping them out of New England. And if our region requires different forms of police, that's something we can look into."

What about the undocumented immigrants already in New England?

"I'm not sure that New England has a problem with violent or aggressive illegal immigrants at this time, I haven't seen any, neither have my party members. If people want to come to New England to seek refuge, if they are citizens or not, that frankly is not a ton of our business at this point in time. The Yankee National Party is interested in helping people, and if New England can be a refuge or help either immigrants, or trans people, or people of color, or women, or anybody who needs our help, they are more than happy to come here, and we will help them."

The party strives to pursue traditional progressive policies, ranging from social issues like trans-rights, along with economic issues such as a Single-Payer Healthcare System. Like most minor parties, they also support Ranked-Choice Voting, in order to avoid the risk of splitting the vote. They are also open to making cross-endorsements.

Some may see comparisons to the Working-Families Party, which tends to try and push the Democratic Party further left, usually by cross-endorsing progressive Democrats. The difference, Richard said, is that the YNP is exclusive to New England.

The party is hosting a listening event at Willimantic Public Library at 5PM on Thursday, February 19th. Other upcoming listening events are at Milford Public Library (5:30PM, 2/25), Little Red Barn Brewery (12:00PM, 3/7), Killingworth Public Library (5:30PM, 3/10), and Waterford Public Library (5:30PM, 3/23). Students from Eastern, as well as any other community members, are welcome to join.