In the U.S. , politicians have generally been identified with a party . Many local elections in the U.S. ( as for mayor ) are " nonpartisan . " A candidate may have a party affiliation but it is not listed on the ballot . Independents occasionally appear in major contests but rarely win . At the presidential level the best vote getters were Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996 , and John B. Anderson in 1980 . In 2016 Bernie Sanders , an independent Senator from Vermont who caucused with the Democratic Party for years , entered the Democratic Party primaries and made a strong second-place finish , and left the party after the 2016 Democratic National Convention
2016 Democratic National Convention
2016 Democratic National Convention
Partisan (politics)