Title: Centrist Definition: What is a Centrist? What does the Center Believe?
Headings: Centrist Definition Introduction: What is a Centrist?
Centrist Definition Introduction: What is a Centrist?
A centrist is someone whose views result in them standing in the center range of a political spectrum.
Selfish Reasons Politicians Twist the Definition of Centrist
Where Centrists Stand on the American Political Spectrum
What is a Centrist Party, Organization or Candidate You Can Point me to that Represents the Center Well?
Trailblazing Centrist Independent US Senator from Maine – Angus King
No Labels & the Problem Solvers Caucus – The Leading Centrist Political Organization
Three Centrist Parties Leading the Way in Minnesota, Oregon and South Carolina
The Independence Party of Minnesota
The Independent Party of Oregon
The American Party of South Carolina
Frequently Asked Questions about Centrists
Q: Why don’t centrists join the Democratic/Republican Party / isn’t the Dem/GOP a centrist party?
Q: What is a centrist stance on healthcare, and how does it differ from Dem & Republican plans?
Q: Do centrists just want incremental change, or is that another false partisan stereotype?
What Does ‘Centrism’ Mean? Is there a Centrist Ideology?
Busting Myths & False StereoTypes – What *Doesn’t* Define Centrists?
You Literally Cannot be a Centrist without Taking Stances
Centrist is a Range on a Spectrum, Not a Point
Being a Centrist Has Nothing to do with Personality
Compromising Doesn’t Make You Any More or Less of a Centrist
Centrism is a bit of a Misnomer – There is No ‘Centrist Ideology’

Content: Centrist Definition: someone with political opinions placing them in the center range of the political spectrum, between liberal and progressive factions on the left and far left, and conservative factions on the right and far right. Where Centrists Stand on the American Political Spectrum
For a moment we’ll just work with the one-dimensional left-to-right spectrum that is most often used in political discourse (that one-dimensional spectrum is deeply flawed, but we’ll discuss that issue elsewhere). We can disagree on where exactly the line is drawn between the different areas of the spectrum, but if you’re going to have a spectrum that you split up into three zones – left, center and right – then you’re naturally going to split them up so no single segment is far larger than the others, population wise. Here is one of the most well respected maps, developed by a team of top political scientists at VoteView, using a model originally developed by Keith T. Poole and Howard Rosenthal at Carnegie-Mellon. Note: elements marking out the centrist range, and three sections under it (center-left, center and center-right) are our additions: a map of the ideological spectrum make-up of Congress between 2014 and 2016, showing how drastically under-represented centrists and moderates are
Personally, I’d make the centrist segment wider, but I was trying to be generous. Regardless of whether you want to spread the centrist section out a bit, or shrink it, the problem here is clear – centrists and moderates are dramatically under-represented in Washington. Here is another graphic – this one from Pew Research – showing the same issue: