Inside Terry Crandall’s Independent Campaign for U.S. House

Terry Crandall is one of 10 candidates currently running for office to represent California’s 47th Congressional District, which includes Huntington Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach. 

A California native and a resident of Irvine for the past 10 years, Crandall hopes to bring independent options to Orange County voters at the ballot box on March 5, 2024. Crandall is running as an independent, GoodParty.org Certified candidate because he believes in addressing the corruption and hyperpartisanship of the current political system.

Terry Crandall first decided to launch his 2024 campaign after connecting with GoodParty.org at the American Democracy Summit in Los Angeles. After meeting members of the team, he enrolled in Good Party Academy, GoodParty.org’s free online course for people interested in exploring a run for office. 

During the course, Crandall got the chance to share stories and motivation with like-minded individuals. He also began experimenting with GoodParty.org’s free tools for independent candidates.

“I haven't held public office before, and I know the odds are stacked against me in those respects. I wouldn't have jumped in the race if it hadn't been for GoodParty.org,” Crandall said. “It's nice to have people with experience in the space helping me get my feet under me. The truth is, I'm jumping into a race that, as an independent, is very difficult to win.”

Crandall is an economics professor at Santa Ana College, and has worked as an entrepreneur since 2018. He has formed two companies, VotingSmarter and Shoppyist — both tools designed to use the private sector to resolve the systemic problems in our political system.

“I'm an economist by trade, and I built a voter education nonprofit with some of my students during the 2020 election and subsequently built a business matching shoppers to brands based on where those brands donate politically and where the shopper stands on the political issues,” Crandall said, referring to VotingSmarter and Shoppyist.

“Through that discovery process and servicing our users, what I've learned about money and politics and what it controls has me really dismayed. It's why I'm running as an independent and why I'm running now. It's why I'm running for the House of Representatives. At the local level, I wouldn't be able to impact that problem as directly as I think it needs to be impacted. So I'm going to where the fight has to be had or trying to, because I'm like a dog with a bone on campaign finance reform.”

Crandall said he has received positive feedback on his campaign from his community, especially from Generation Z voters.

“The way I relate to people specifically about running as an independent is that I generally ask them, ‘What's the most important issue to you?’ And invariably, whatever that issue is, it's fixable. It's been fixable for a long time,” Crandall said. “Both parties have had at least one swing at it in a unitary government. They've had multiple swings at compromise on it, and they've missed on every account. You can draw that pattern out and you can see that at some point, it has to be either blatant incompetence or intentional. So usually I let them come to their own conclusion that the two-party system is broken. That's why I can't run as one of the two parties.”

Crandall has a long campaign trail ahead of him, with California’s nonpartisan primary election coming up on March 5, 2024 and the general election to come on November 5, 2024. All the while, at the core of his campaign is his “why,” the reason he decided to run for office and make a difference in the first place.

“Finding the ‘why’ is really the most important thing, because once I had it crystallized, it was no longer, ‘Should I run?’ It was, ‘I have to run.’ The ‘why’ was so big,” Crandall said.

To support Terry Crandall in his run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, visit his campaign website and explore ways to get involved. You can also join the movement to support independent candidates across the United States by signing up to volunteer with GoodParty.org.