The Reform Party of the United States, a political organization that has regrettably spent much of the 21st century falling from past glory, has endorsed independent congressional candidate Sarah Zabel in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District. The endorsement, announced Aug. 13, is the party’s first for a U.S. House candidate in the 2026 election cycle and offers fresh evidence that the Reform Party continues to exist, organize and occasionally endorse people, after gaining an injection of cash by participating in RFK Jr.’s run for president.

Party officials said they expect to support between 15 and 20 candidates before the November election. The organization previously announced several endorsements in March, including independent candidates seeking statewide office and candidates running in local contests. Zabel, a retired U.S. Air Force major general, is running as an independent against Republican Rep. Russ Fulcher.

She spent more than three decades on active duty after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy, working primarily in communications, computer systems, cyber operations and cybersecurity. Her assignments included command positions, teaching computer science at the Air Force Academy and serving as vice director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. Zabel retired from military service in 2018 and later settled in Bayview, Idaho. She subsequently worked as an adjunct with the RAND Corporation before leaving the organization at the end of 2025 to pursue her congressional campaign. Her campaign has emphasized dissatisfaction with the partisan structure in Washington, arguing that members of Congress should answer primarily to voters rather than party organizations.

This position has now earned her the endorsement of a party organization. The Reform Party is the first political party to formally support Zabel, per Independent Political Report, although several advocacy groups have already backed her campaign. Independent Veterans of America endorsed Zabel in June and described her as the highest-ranking former military officer among the candidates it has supported this year. She has also received endorsements from Veterans for Idaho Voters and University of Idaho AFT Local 3215.

The Reform Party has operated well outside the country’s two-party political mainstream for a long time. Its endorsement of Zabel does not change that circumstance, though it does provide the party with something political parties traditionally seek, which is a candidate to endorse. Zabel will appear on the November ballot as an independent alongside Fulcher, Democratic nominee Kaylee Peterson and Constitution Party candidate Brendan Gomez – Peterson and Gomez have both previously run against Fulcher. The Reform Party, meanwhile, says more endorsements are coming.