Unaffiliated Voters Surge; Arizona Party Renamed

A court-approved name change from Arizona’s No Labels Party to the Arizona Independent Party is expected to create voter confusion, extra work for county election offices and could complicate who qualifies for key 2026 primaries. In North Carolina, unaffiliated voters have grown into the largest bloc at about 38.7% (nearing 3 million), while Democratic and Republican registrations sit nearly even — Democrats ahead by roughly 0.08% — underscoring the state's battleground status. National polling suggests Donald Trump’s unpopularity is bolstering Democratic prospects for the 2026 midterms even as many voters express low favorability toward the Democratic Party itself. In Australia, support for the Coalition has slumped to multi-decade lows while populist One Nation has surged into double-digit primary support, and the Coalition faces internal infighting with opposition leader Peter Dutton’s successor, Bridgette Ley, registering very low approval ratings. Taken together, these trends point to rising voter disillusionment with major parties, growth in independents and populists, and increased administrative and electoral uncertainty ahead of the 2026 cycle and other upcoming contests.