Editor's note: This column is part of Changing Minds, a USA TODAY Opinion series. Ahead of the November midterm elections, we talked with people who changed their political beliefs after years of seeing things a certain way. We'll publish their stories over the next few days.

Don't look now, but the 2026 midterms are weeks away. Weeks. Two years of President Donald Trump's second term have sped by, and there has been so much news and partisan warfare that one group is easy to ignore.

So we decided to include you, wonderful people, in a series of columns dedicated to the idea that people can, and sometimes do, change their minds. We visited a Texas border community, heard from a mother wrestling with her idea of what marriage is, and even spoke with somebody who took part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Check back here for those pieces.)

Here, though, we're showcasing a second round of responses we got in our Opinion Forum from asking independent voters how they feel.

Want to share your perspective? Weigh in at usatoday.com/forum or drop us a note at forum@usatoday.com.

I changed my mind on the president, but not the two-party system

I'm now an independent. I was a Republican until the bailout of 2008 or whenever. Although I'm an independent, I voted for President Donald Trump. I now think he should be impeached. But that doesn't mean I'm a Democrat. The Democratic Party is just as bad or worse in some ways than the Republican Party. It's sad that we say we have freedom and a choice. We don't. Rich, power-hungry person A or rich, power-hungry person B. I'm so sick of it. Every single congressman should be voted out.

Do Republicans and Democrats represent Americans? Well, they manipulate and divide their followers. They represent a minority of Americans but yet have all the power. I do believe a third party system is possible and desperately needed.

— Kevin........

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