Today, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in a page A5 article by Alex DeMarban titled "US Senate and House races set, with over 30 candidates and the batlle of the Dan Sullivans," the Anchorage Daily News mentions that Richard Grayson, a member of the Green Party, is running for the U.S. Senate in Alaska's August 18, 2026 primary.
Gary Swing's letter highlights Green Party values – but Democrats share those values, too. The real question is electoral consequence.
In the entire history of the State of Arizona, no candidate not a Republican or Democrat has ever won a contested partisan election, and there is no reason to believe this year will be different.
With Arizona's governor, Secretary of State, and 6th Congressional District races all potential tossups, Green candidates can tip outcomes towards the Republicans. The Green Party establishment dismisses both major parties as a "uniparty" or "corporate duopoly," but that framing ignores real differences. Bernie Sanders, Zohran Mamdani, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are not Andy Biggs, JD Vance, or Kari Lake. Those differences matter enormously under an administration many Arizona Green Party members find authoritarian and corrupt.
The CD6 race between Republican Juan Ciscomani and Democrat JoAnna Mendoza could help determine control of the U.S. House. A spoiler candidacy by Mr. Swing there isn't a protest – it's a risk. The vast majority of voters, Democrat and Republican alike, will reject the Green Party's refusal to reckon with political reality no matter who their candidates are.
Richard Grayson
Apache Junction
I agree with the letter writer who argued that if the Alaska Division of Elections is going to examine and judge the motives of one candidate for the U.S. Senate and purport to remove him from the ballot -- something I believe is unconstitutional -- then all candidates' motives for running need to likewise be judged. As a Senate candidate, my Arizona address provoked a question about my motives, so I will answer it now: The average high temperature each day in Apache Junction in August is between 104 and 114 degrees Fahrenheit. Just as our town is filled with seasonal residents from Alaska and other Northern climes, I now have a good excuse to visit my snowbird neighbors and mooch off them for a while. That great politician Harry S. Truman may have said, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen," but at age 75, I prefer to spend time in Alaska.
IRANIC: There's nothing funny about the situation in Iran, but that hasn't stopped a Rockaway Park author, Richard Grayson, from putting together a paperback of puns, published this week, called "The Iran Joke Book." Samples: "How do Iranians phone each other?" "Persian to Persian." "How do Iranian clergymen make a decision?" "They mullah it over.".
Octagon has predicted that Richard Grayson, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senator from Alaska, will not win the 2026 election.
Today, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the Phoenix Independent published an article by Richard Grayson, "Green Party must work harder to gain equal ballot access it covets."
Today, April 26, 2026, the Tucson Sentinel published an article by Richard Grayson, "Why Risa Lombardo may be least harmful choice in Az’s Green Party primary."
Today, Thursday, March 26, 2026, an article in NOTUS (News of the United States) by Dave Levinthal, "Mary Peltola's House Campaign Spent on Airfare, Hotels and Meals as She Eyed a Senate Run," mentions Richard Grayson's Green Party candidacy in the election for U.S. Senator from Alaska in its last paragraph:
Alaska’s Senate primary — a ranked-choice voting affair where the top two vote-getters advance — is scheduled for August 18, with a Green Party candidate, Richard Grayson, and another Republican candidate, Dustin Darden, also declared. The general election is on November 3.
Today, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, the Phoenix Independent has published a column, "What Dr. Rick gets wrong about 'becoming your parents'" by Richard Grayson:
The popular Progressive insurance commercials featuring "Dr. Rick" are built around a clever premise: young homeowners gradually "turn into their parents," adopting the supposedly embarrassing habits of older generations.
The ads work because they tap into recognizable quirks—chatting with strangers, offering unsolicited advice, worrying about trash bins. As viewers say, "it's funny because it's true."
Yet the campaign's central joke raises an interesting question in light of current research on Gen Z loneliness. Ironically, many of the habits Dr. Rick discourages may be precisely the everyday social behaviors that psychologists believe younger adults need more of.
A growing body of research suggests that casual interaction with strangers—what sociologists call "weak ties"—plays an important role in well-being. Studies find that people who engage brief conversations with strangers report higher happiness and belonging than those who remain isolated. Small exchanges—talking at a gas pump, commenting on the weather—are not trivial. They weave together a social fabric.
Meanwhile, surveys consistently find that Gen Z reports higher levels of loneliness than older generations, despite living in a world saturated with digital communication. People are constantly connected online but feel disconnected in real life.
Seen from this perspective, the behaviors Dr. Rick tries to "treat" represent a lost repertoire of everyday sociability. When he tells his patients not to talk to strangers, he is advising them to behave the way many socially anxious people already do: keep their heads down and stay in their own lane.
The parent who chats with someone at the hardware store may seem mildly embarrassing—but that interaction builds trust and community. Many of us older residents of Apache Junction and Gold Canyon have known this all along.
In an era of widespread loneliness, "becoming your parents" might not be a problem. It might be part of the solution.
Today, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, the Arizona Republic published a letter by Richard Grayson, "No Labels or Arizona Independent Party − it’s all branding":
Senate Bill 1609 would require the Arizona Independent Party to revert to its previous name, the No Labels Party — the name under which thousands of Arizonans signed a 2023 petition to establish it. That is the practical effect of this bill.The measure does not remove the party from the ballot. It does not raise signature requirements. It does not prevent anyone from registering with the party or running under its banner. Candidates affiliated with it will still face far lower signature thresholds than candidates who run as true independents and bypass party primaries altogether. An unopposed write-in candidate can still win a party nomination with only a plurality of votes.
As a candidate who ran under the No Labels banner, I can attest that the party's ballot access advantages existed before the name change and will remain after it.
Renaming the party “Independent” did not create independence, and restoring the original name will not diminish it. What changes here is branding — not democracy.
Richard Grayson, Apache Junction
