DIRECTORY OF U.S. POLITICAL PARTIES

THE TWO MAJOR PARTIES:

DEMOCRATIC PARTY (DNC) - The Democrats won the White House in 2008 and 2012, won some key governorships ( PA, NY, MO, MN, and CA ) -- but then lost control of the US House in 2010, lost the US Senate in 2014, and lost the White House in 2016 (while still carrying a plurality of the national popular vote by a margin of over 2.5 million votes). 2018 proved a good "blue wave" Democratic year, recapturing the House and several key governorships (MI, WI, IL, others). Democrats run the wide gamut from the near Euro-style democratic-socialist left (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Dems) and traditional liberals (Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, Nancy Pelosi) , to the pragmatic "centrist" moderate-to-liberal style (Andrew Cuomo, Mark Warner), to the Dem center-right (John Hickenlooper and the New Democratic Coalition), to the dwindling GOP-style "Blue Dog" center-conservative right (Joe Manchin and the Blue Dog Democrats). The 2016 presidential nomination contest saw a competitive race between the traditional Democratic establishment (Clinton) and the progressive wing (Sanders), in which the establishment prevailed. That fight will continue in 2020, but through a much wider field of contenders. Official affiliated national Democratic sites include:

REPUBLICAN PARTY (RNC) - Republicans recaptured the Presidency in 2016, following strong off-year elections in 2010 (recapturing majority status in the US House) and 2014 (recapturing US Senate control) -- but then lost the US House in the 2018 wave election. The GOP also holds several key Governorships (including TX, OH, FL, GA, MO, MA and MD), but again suffered some setbacks in 2018. Pre-Trump, the Republicans could generally be classified into several different sub-sets: traditional establishment conservatives (Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy and the Club for Growth), the "Religious Right" (Mike Pence and the Family Research Council), libertarians (Rand Paul and the Campaign for Liberty), the "paleo-conservative" wing that backs strict anti-immigration controls (Steve King), the dwindling "centrist" or "moderate" wing (Larry Hogan and Charlie Baker), and the firebrand Tea Party movement conservatives (Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan and the House Freedom Caucus). President Donald Trump, however, is a political nationalist and economic populist who does not fit neatly into any of these traditional GOP factions, and in fact handily vanquished 2016 nomination rivals from each of the various other wings of the party. Official, affiliated national GOP sites include:

THE THIRD PARTIES:

THE "BIG THREE" THIRD PARTIES:

(Based upon vote performance over past two election cycles and ballot access)

CONSTITUTION PARTY - The Constitution Party is strongly pro-life, anti-gun control, anti-tax, anti-immigration, trade protectionist, "anti-New World Order," anti-United Nations, anti-gay rights, anti-welfare, and pro-school prayer. Former Nixon Administration official and one-time Conservative Coalition chair Howard Phillips founded the party, originally named the US Taxpayers Party (USTP), in 1992. The USTP renamed itself the Constitution Party in 1999. The party has fielded presidential tickets since 1992 and congressional and state candidates since 1994 (but only in a small number of states). The party received a brief boost in the media when conservative US Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire -- an announced GOP Presidential hopeful -- bolted from the Republican Party to seek the Constitution Party nomination in 2000 (but the erratic Smith quit the Constitution Party race a few weeks later and rejoined the GOP). At the 1999 national convention, the party narrowly adopted a controversial change to the platform's preamble which declared "that the foundation of our political position and moving principle of our political activity is our full submission and unshakable faith in our Savior and Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ" -- although the party officially invites "all citizens of all faiths" to become active in the party. Any national candidate seeking the party's nomination is explicitly required to tell the convention of any areas of disagreement with the party's platform. In 2012, former GOP Congressman Virgil Goode was the party's Presidential nominee (5th place - 0.09% - 122,000 votes). Longtime party activist and attorney Darrell Castle was the CP's 2016 Presidential nominee (6th place - 0.15% - 203,000 votes). Controversial coal mining magnate Don Blankenship - a former GOP US Senate candidate in West Virginia - is the party's 2020 presidential nominee.

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES - The Green Party -- the informal US-affiliate of the leftist, environmentalist European Greens movement -- is one of the two largest third parties in the nation. The Greens support strict environmental protection laws, stronger labor rights, expanded social programs, and higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations. The party regularly fields candidates for local, state and federal offices in many states, and has established active state affiliate parties in nearly all states. The Greens scored a major political points when it convinced prominent consumer advocate Ralph Nader to run as their first Presidential nominee in 1996. Spending just over $5,000, Nader was on the ballot in 22 states and carried over 700,000 votes (4th place - 0.8%). In 2000, Nader raised millions of dollars, mobilized leftist activists and grabbed national headlines with his anti-corporate campaign message. Nader ignored pleas from liberal Democrats that he abandon the race because he was siphoning essential votes away from Al Gore's campaign. In the end, Nader was on the ballot in 44 states and finished third with 2,878,000 votes (2.7%). Until 2001, the Greens were largely a collection of fairly autonomous state/local based political entities with only a weak (and sometimes splintered) national leadership structure that largely served to coordinate electoral activities. In 2001, the party officially converted into a formal, unified national party organization. Physician and progressive activist Jill Stein was the Green presidential nominee in 2012 (4th place - 0.4% - 470,000 votes) and 2016 (4th place - 1.1% - 1,456,500 votes). Official Green Party links include: Global Green Network, GPUS Black Caucus, Lavender Green Caucus, Latinx Caucus, and Young Ecosocialists.

LIBERTARIAN PARTY - The LP, founded in 1971, bills itself as "America's largest third party" (and, along with the Greens, are definitely among the two largest third parties in the nation). The Libertarians are neither left nor right: they believe in total individual liberty (pro-drug legalization, pro-gay marriage, pro-home schooling, pro-gun rights, generally pro-choice, etc.) and total economic freedom (anti-welfare, anti-government regulation of business, anti-minimum wage, anti-income tax, pro-free trade). The LP espouses a classical laissez faire ideology which, they argue, means "more freedom, less government and lower taxes." Over 400 LP members currently hold various -- though fairly low level -- government offices (including lots of minor appointed officials like "School District Facilities Task Force Member" and "Town Recycling Committee Member"). In 2020, outgoing GOP Congressman Justin Amash (MI) changed his registration to Libertarian, making him the LP's first member to officially sit in the US House. The LP's biggest problem: former Congressmen Ron Paul and Paul Broun, humorist/journalist PJ O'Rourke, the Republican Liberty Caucus and others in the GOP who attract ideological libertarians into the political arena by arguing they can bring about libertarian change more easily under the Republican label. In 2012, former GOP New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson was the LP Presidential nominee, had ballot status in 48 states (3rd place - 1% - 1,276,000 votes). The party's 2016 ticket featured again Gary Johnson, joined this time by former GOP Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld as his VP runningmate. Johnson-Weld produce the best finish in the history of the party (3rd place - 3.3% - 4,487,700 votes). Johnson, however, proved to be an unfocused and undisciplined candidate, and he seemingly squandered an opportunity to perform significantly better. The LP has active affiliate parties in every state. The party has been divided for years between two fighting factions: a more purist/hardcore libertarian group and a more moderate "reform" faction. The hardcore group are uncompromising anarchistic-libertarians in the Ayn Rand mold. By contrast, the moderates (like Gary Johnson) are interested in focusing on only a handful of more popular issues (drug decriminalization, gun rights, tax cuts, etc.) in exchange for attracting a larger number of voters. Allies of the hardcore faction firmly held control of the party from the late-1980s until the moderates seized control at the 2006 national convention and somewhat softened the party's platform. Other related LP sites include the LP News, Campus Libertarians and LPedia.

SMALLER THIRD PARTIES:

ALLIANCE PARTY - The Alliance Party launched in 2018, formed by fiscally conservative/socially moderate centrists who had been Democrats, Republicans, independents, and third party members (the Modern Whig Party, American Moderates Party and the South Carolina American Party folded into it) who were upset with the dysfucntion caused by status quo political gridlock and the toxic national political divide. They explained: "Americans need not be adversaries or combatants. In reality, we are all pursuing a personal American Dream, and we are allies in our collective pursuit of a more perfect Union." The party supports free trade, reducing the national debt, a strong military, affordable health care, initiatives to combat climate change, gay equality, immigration, gun rights (with limited, constitutionally reasonable regulation), better care for veterans an emphasis on renewable energy, and term-limits. While still very small, the party has active affiliates in many states and fielded candidates in 2020. Frequent candidate Rocky de la Fuente - who has run over the years under many different party banners - is Alliance's 2020 presidential nominee.

AMERICAN FREEDOM PARTY - The American Freedom Party (originally named American Third Position or A3P) is a white supremacist political party - they prefer to call themselves "White Nationalists" - founded in 2010. In various policy statements, the AFP state its mission is "to represent White Americans before the political arena." This racist party espouses a non-interventionist foreign policy, calls for strict controls on non-white immigration to the US, and touts the slogan "Diversity is a Codeword for White Genocide." The party began fielding candidates on the ballot in 2011. The AFP nominated white supremacist activist Merlin Miller for President in 2012, and he achieved ballot status in three states (19th place - 2,714 votes). The party's 2016 nominee, elderly white supremacist Bob Whitaker, failed to achieve any ballot status and captured too few write-in votes to even be tallied by states. The party embraces the Neo-Nazi "Alt-Right" label.

AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY - Governor George Wallace (D-AL) founded the AIP and ran as the its first Presidential nominee in 1968. Running on a fiery populist, right-wing, anti-Washington, anti-racial integration, anti-communist platform, Wallace carried nearly 10 million votes (14%) and won five Southern states. Although Wallace returned to the Democratic Party by 1970, the AIP continued to live on -- but moved even further to the right. The 1972 AIP nominee, John Birch Society leader and Congressman John G. Schmitz (R-CA), carried nearly 1.1 million votes (1.4%). The 1976 AIP Presidential nominee was former Governor Lester Maddox (D-GA), an unrepentant segregationist -- but he fell far below Schmitz's vote total. The AIP last fielded its own national Presidential candidate in 1980: white supremacist former Congressman John Rarick (D-LA), who carried 41,000 votes. Since the mid-1980s, the AIP has only operated and fielded candidates in California. From 1992-2007, the AIP was a state affiliate party of the national Constitution Party, but it is entirely independent today of any national parties. The party fielded a few write-in candidates in 2014; and endorsed Donald Trump in 2016 in lieu of fielding a candidate.

AMERICAN SOLIDARITY PARTY - The American Solidarity Party is founded upon Catholic social teaching. The party is pro-life, anti-death penalty, pro-welfare, anti-gay marriage, pro-universal health care, pro-environmental protection, and anti-military Selective Service/draft. The ASP also wants to cut income taxes on earned wages, while increasing taxes on investment income and corporations. The ASP supports increased banking regulation, wants to end energy and agricultural subsidies, supports clean energy, backs tougher environmental protections, opposes military intervenionism, opposes US arms sales to foreign governments, is anti-pornography, supports a focus on rehabilitation versus arrests for narcotics, and is pro-labor unions. The ASP's 2016 presidential nominee, Mike Maturen, achieved ballot status in one state and write-in status in several others (16th place - 4,655 votes). Retired teacher Brian Carroll is the ASP's 2020 presidential nominee. The ASP is now trying to establish a few state affiliates, and has a Facebook page.

AMERICA'S PARTY - Former Ambassador and frequent GOP Presidential candidate Alan Keyes created this party in 2008, after he quit the Republican race for President and failed to win the Constitution Party's nomination. Originally named America's Independent Party, they shortened their name to America's Party in 2011. The party espouses a social Christian conservative platform: pro-life (no exceptions), anti-gay rights, pro-gun rights, pro-strong military ("peace through strength"), pro-Iraq War, anti-tax (supports total repeal of federal income taxes), and opposes federal spending on any programs not explicitly authorized by the US Constitution. In 2008, Keyes was on the ballot in three states as the party's Presidential nominee and captured a total of 47,768 votes (7th place - 0.04%). In a directly related coup, this party wrested control of the American Independent Party of California away from the Constitution Party, thus capturing ballot status in the state for the 2008/2010 elections. Interestingly, the party does not accept any financial donations. Party national chair Tom Hoefling was the party's 2016 Presidential nominee (17th place - 4,577 votes). The party does not intend to field their own presidential nominee for 2020.

CITIZENS PARTY - Not to be confused with the progressive party by the same name in the 1980s, this new Citizens Party was launched in 2004 as the New American Independent Party. In 2011, the party changed its name to Citizens Party. The CP vows to become a national entity. The CP describe their ideology as a "pragmatic ... mixture of what might appear to be liberal, moderate and conservative views." The party supports fair trade (reciprocity), and opposed free trade policies, NAFTA, CAFTA and the WTO; supports gun ownership rights; supports gay marriage and is pro-choice; wants tougher animal cruelty laws; supports legalizing medically assisted suicide; wants to create tax incentives to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US and protect US family farms; opposed the Wall Street bailout; and opposes a "neo-conservative foreign policy." To date the party has only ballot qualified one candidate under its name: a Pennsylvania state legislative candidate in 2006.

COMMUNIST PARTY USA - The CPUSA -- once the slavish propaganda tool and spy network for the Soviet Central Committee -- experienced a forced transformation in recent years. Highly classified Soviet Politburo records, made public after the fall of Soviet communism in the 1990s, revealed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) illegally funneled millions of dollars to the CPUSA to finance its activities from the 1920s to the 1980s. The flow of Soviet dollars to the CPUSA came to an abrupt halt when the Soviet communists were ousted from power in 1991 -- ultimately causing a total overhaul of CPUSA activities. Founded in 1924, the CPUSA reached its peak vote total in 1932 with nominee William Z. Foster (102,000 votes - 4th place). The last national CPUSA ticket -- headed by Stalinist Gus Hall and 60s radical activist Angela Davis -- was fielded in 1984 (36,000 votes - 8th place). While the party has not directly run any candidates since the late 1980s, the CPUSA sometimes backs some candidates in various local elections (often in Northeastern industrial communities) and engages in grassroots political and labor union organizing. As for issues, the CPUSA calls for free universal health care, elimination of the federal income tax on people earning under $60,000 a year, free college education, drastic cuts in military spending, "massive" public works programs, the outlawing of "scabs and union busting," abolition of corporate monopolies, public ownership of energy and basic industries, huge tax hikes for corporations and the wealthy, and various other programs designed to "beat the power of the capitalist class ... [and promote] anti-imperialist freedom struggles around the world." The CPUSA's underlying Marxist ideology remains strong. However, it has evolved now -- after the death of Hall in 2000 -- into a Gorbachev-style "democratic reform communist" movement headed by activist Sam Webb. Under Webb's leadership, the CPUSA now touts a platform of true democratic socialism and trade unionism, and frequently encourages votes for the Democratic presidential nominees as a pragmatic electoral tactic to defeat conservatives. Official CPUSA websites include the People's World party newspaper and Political Affairs monthly party magazine.

FREEDOM SOCIALIST PARTY - The FSP was formed in 1966 by a splinter group of dissident feminist Trotskyists who broke away from the Socialist Workers Party to create a new party in the "tradition of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky." The FSP has always emphasized "black liberation and social feminsm" -- thus the reason Radical Women is an official alternate name used by the FSP. The FSP describe themselves as a "revolutionary, socialist feminist organization, dedicated to the replacement of capitalist rule by a genuine workers' democracy that will guarantee full economic, social, political, and legal equality to women, people of color, gays, and all who are exploited, oppressed, and repelled by the profit system and its offshoot -- imperialism." The FSP has party organizations in the US, Canada and Australia, and today remains staunchly Trotskyist in ideology. The FSP occasionally fields a handful of local candidates in Washington, California and New York (often in non-partisan elections). The FSP also fielded their first Presidential candidate in 2012: socialist activist Stephen Durham, who ran as a write-in when he failed to achieve ballot status in any state. No candidates in 2016. Official FSP links include the Freedom Socialist newspaper and Red Letter Press (book publishers).

THE INDEPENDENT PARTY - This small, centrist party was founded in 1976, although they showed no political footprint before 2010. The TIP claim to be affinity descendents of the small Toleration Party of the early 1800s. Their stances are largely platitudes. Example: "We work and advocate for progress on political and social issues, have adopted policies and the platform that effect positive change, insist on free, open, and equal access to the ballot, media, and vote, equal representation by our elected officials, demand fiscal responsibility, and transparency by our SERVANTS of the people!" TIP's party platform is short but rather incomprehensible. The party fielded roughly a dozen federal and state candidates in six states in 2018, and is running Terry Wheelock for President in 2020.

INDEPENDENT AMERICAN PARTY - The small Independent American Party has existed for years in several Western states, with an ideology grounded in conservative Mormon political beliefs. In fact, the party's name is derived from an 1844 Mormon prophesy by Mosiah Hancock. Converting the unaffiliated IAP state party organizations -- united by a common Religious Right ideology (similar to the Constitution Party) -- into a national IAP organization was an effort started in 1998 by members of Utah IAP. The Idaho IAP and Nevada IAP subsequently affiliated with the fledgling US-IAP in 1998. Since then, the party has established small chapters in some other states, but shows no real signs of any real growth. The bulk of the IAP activities remain concentrated in Utah, Nevada and Oregon. The various IAP state parties endorsed Constitution Party nominee Howard Phillips for President in 1996 and 2000. In December 2000, the IAP's national chairman issued a statement noting third parties in general registered a "dismal" performance in the Presidential election -- and questioned the IAP's future participation in Presidential campaigns. Instead, he suggested that the IAP limit itself to congressional, state and local races in the future. The party routinely fields numerous candidates each election year in Utah and Nevada. Army veteran and frequent candidate Kyle Koptike was the IAP presidential nominee in 2016 (24th place - 1,096 votes).

LIFE AND LIBERTY PARTY - Founded in 2019 by dissident leaders from the Constitution Party, the Life and Liberty Party is "a coalition of parties across the nation ... centered on the Constitution of the United States of America, and upholding the rule of law." The party is uncompromisingly pro-life and anti-euthanasia, supports environmental protection laws, and is otherwise somewhat libertarian-consevative on other issues. Currently, the Alaska and South Dakota Constitution Parties disaffiliated from the national CP and now affiliate with the L&L Party. The party also has an active affiliate in Arkansas. Party co-founder J.R. Myers is the L&L presidential nominee in 2020 and has already secured ballot status in at least one state.

NATIONAL PROGRESSIVE PARTY - The Vermont Progressive Party - which has existed since 1982 and successfully elected candidates to statewide office - launched this national entity in 2020 right after the end of US Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. As in Vermont, the NPP is a democratic socialist party closely aligned with the politics of Sanders. In fact, Sanders was first elected Burlington Mayor in the 1980s as a candidate of the Progressive Party. "Not Bernie, us. We're planting the seeds of a winning new party, taking no corporate money, and championing economic, social, and environmental justice," is how the party described themselves in 2020 after Sanders' presidential run ended. Not yet clear what their national strategy is or when then expect to expand into other states.

PARTY FOR SOCIALISM AND LIBERATION - The Party of Socialism & Liberation (PSL) is alternatately called "a revolutionary Marxist party" created "to be a vehicle for the multinational working class in the struggle for socialism ... Only a multinational party can create the unity necessary to defeat the most powerful capitalist class the world has ever seen ... We aim for revolution in the United States ... We want a revolution; and, we work hard to make it happen." Additionally, the PSL explains that "the most crucial requirement for [PSL] membership is the dedication to undertake this most important and most necessary of all tasks: building a new revolutionary workers party in the heart of world imperialism." The PSL was founded in 2006 by a breakaway faction of the communist revolutionary wing of the Workers World Party. The PSL espouses a pro-Cuba/pro-China view, and the iconic Che Guevarra's call for continual world revolution against capitalism. The PSL fielded its first candidates in 2008: a Presidential ticket and Congressional candidates. Longtime Marxist revolutionary activist Gloria LaRiva was again the PSL presidential nominee in 2016, marking her 7th time on a presidential ticket (18th place - 4,250 votes) - and is again the PSL presidential nominee for 2020. The PSL also sponsors and/or directs numerous popular front groups including People's Power Assemblies, International Action Center, Congress of Resistance, and many others. The party's offiical newspaper is Liberation and the PSL's campaign website is VotePSL.org.

PEACE AND FREEDOM PARTY - Founded in the 1960s as a left-wing party opposed to the Vietnam War, the party reached its peak of support in 1968 when it nominated Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver for President. Although a convicted felon, Cleaver captured nearly 37,000 votes (ironically, Cleaver ultimately became a Reagan Republican in the early 1980s, and was later a crack cocaine addict in the late 1980s, before emerging as an environmental activist in the late 1990s). Famed "baby doctor" Benjamin Spock -- a socialist, pacifist and staunch opponent of the Vietnam War -- was the PFP Presidential nominee in 1972. Since then, the small party has largely been dominated by battling factions of Marxist-Leninists (aligned with the communist Workers World Party (WWP), which later split into the militant revolutionary Party of Socialism & Liberation (PSL)), Trotskyists, and true democratic socialists. The PFP today is small is a self-described "feminist socialist party" with activities centered only in California. In 1996, the PFP successfully blocked an attempt by the WWP to capture the PFP's Presidential nomination for their party's nominee. In a sign of the party's serious decline in support, the PFP's poor showing in the 1998 statewide elections caused the party to lose its California ballot status. The PFP finally regained California ballot status in 2003 -- and immediately fielded a sizable slate of candidates. In 2008, the party let consumer activist Ralph Nader use their California ballot line in support of his Independent run for President. In 2009, the party announced plans to try expanding into "a nationwide electoral party dedicated to socialism, feminism, democracy, environmentalism, and racial equality." The communist PSL's candidates captured several key PFP statewide candidate nominations in California in 2010, but then lost control again in 2012 when the PFP nominated comic actress Rosanne Barr for President. Barr was on the ballot in 3 states (6th place - 67,500 votes - 0.05%). The PFP did not field their own ticket in 2016, and instead endorsed the nominee of the PSL.

PIRATE PARTY - The US Pirate Party is the US affiliate of the European-based Pirate Parties International umbrella group, a global movement founded in 2006 with affiliates active in nearly 70 nations. The USPP was founded the same year. The various Pirate parties support reform of copyright laws to reflect open source and free culture values, government transparency, protection of privacy and civil liberties, rolling back corporate personhood and corporate welfare, evidence-based policy, and egalitarianism and meritocracy based on the hacker ethic. "We support the legalization of sharing movies, music and other art online, so our opponents would call us the Pirate Party anyway. We feel it’s better to reclaim that name. Historically, pirate ships had a tradition of egalitarian radical democracy, and provided a refuge for social outcasts and escaped slaves from a society unfriendly to them. We’re anti-establishment, so pirates declaring mutiny seems like a good metaphor for us. We believe politics and activism can have a sense of humor while still being dead serious," they playfully explain. The USPP began fielding political candidates in 2012. The USPP has active chapters in a few states.

PROHIBITION PARTY - "If you are a reform-minded conservative and a non-drinker, the Prohibition Party wants you," exclaimed an official party message in 2002. The Prohibition Party -- founded in 1869 and billing themselves as "America's Oldest Third Party" -- espouses a generally ultra-conservative Christian social agenda mixed with anti-drug and international anti-communist views. The party's strongest showing was in 1892, when former Congressman John Bidwell received nearly 273,000 votes (2.3% - 4th place). The late, long-time Prohibition Party's leader Earl Dodge, the party's six-time presidential nominee, scored the all-time low for the party (140 votes in 2004). Party newsletter editor Jim Hedges, a former Pennsylvania town tax assessor, was the party's 2016 presidential nominee (15th place - 5,617 votes). The party nominated neo-Confederate activist Bill Bayes of Mississippi - the party's 2016 VP nominee - for President in 2020. Bayes's Confederate belief there is no single, legitimate United States but rather that each US state is a separate sovereign nation proved too internally controversial. Within a few months, Bayes's nomination caused such an internal rift that he quit as the nominee, claiming he was being sabotaged. The party then nominated one of their traditional religious right-style candidates - party activist C.L. "Connie" Gammon - as their 2020 replacement nominee. The Prohibition Party also fields one or two local candidates from time to time. Additional party-related web sites are the Partisan Prohibition Historical Society and Facebook: Prohibition Party.

REFORM PARTY - Once a rapidly growing and populist third party, the Reform Party first shifted far to the right during 1999-2002, before imploding into insignificance due to factional in-fighting. After the shift, it quickly experienced massive waves of conservative defections away into the Constitution Party and the America First Party in 2002, before withering into an insignificant shadow of its former glory years. First, some history: after running as an Independent in 1992, billionaire Texas businessman Ross Perot founded the Reform Party in 1995 as his vehicle for converting his independent movement into a permanent political party. In 1996, Perot ran as the Reform Party's presidential nominee (8,085,000 votes - 8%). The party originally reflected Perot's center-conservative fiscal policies and anti-GATT/NAFTA views -- while avoiding taking any official positions on social issues. The RP was plagued by a lengthy period of nasty ideological battles in 1998-2000 involving three main rival groups: the "Old Guard" Perot faction, the more libertarian Jesse Ventura faction, and the social conservative Pat Buchanan faction. After several nasty and public battles, the Ventura faction quit the RP in 2000 and the old Perot faction lost control of the party in court to the Buchanan faction later in 2000. That gave the Buchanan faction control of the party's $12.6 million in federal matching funds. Along with Buchanan's rise to power in the party, the party made a hard ideological shift to the right -- an ideological realignment that continues to dominate the tiny RP today. In the aftermath of the 2000 elections, it was clear that Buchanan failed in his efforts to establish a viable, conservative third party organization. Buchanan was on the ballot in 49 states, captured 449,000 votes (4th place - 0.4%), and later told reporters his foray into third party politics was likely a mistake. In 2002, the party splintered further, losing most of its conservative activists to other right-wing third parties. The RP was just about bankrupt by late 2004, having less than $50 remaining in its bank account. Businessman Rocky de la Fuente, who also ran as an Independent candidate in some states, was the party's 2016 nominee (8th place - 33,097 votes). A few isolated state party affiliates remain active, fielding candidates from time to time.

SOCIAL DEMOCRATS, USA - The SD-USA has only fielded candidates for local office, and has been only nominally active since the 1980s. The SD-USA is a small group more ideologically centrist, staunchly anti-communist leftists who were more directly aligned with the Democratic Party in the 1970s-1980s than the more traditionally leftist Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). In fact, the views of the SPUSA in 1972 caused the DSA (then named the DSOC) to splinter away in a ideological rift. The SD-USA refused to support George McGovern for President that year because of his opposition to the Vietnam War -- versus the DSOC, which supported McGovern and an immediate end to the war. SD-USA also disputes the claims of DSA and SPUSA to be the true heirs to the legacy of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas, claiming instead that the SD-USA "is the only legitimate successor" to the party of Debs and Thomas. However, by 2010, SD-USA eventually ceded all rights to the name "Socialist Party USA" to the SPUSA (and, interestingly, retired SPUSA national chair and two-time Presidential nominee David McReynolds now writes columns for the SD-USA's website). The Socialist International stripped SD-USA of full member status in 2007, deeming SD-USA to be a defunct organization. The SD-USA remnant which still functioned was a mere shell of what it once was several decades ago. SD-USA began a reorganizing process in 2009, with a new leadership team. SD-USA held a nation convention in 2012 and is currently focused on rebuilding the group.

SOCIALIST PARTY USA - The SPUSA are true democratic socialists -- advocating left-wing electoral change versus militant revolutionary change. Many of the SP members could easily be members of the left-wing faction of the Democratic Party. Unlike most of the other political parties on this page with "Socialist" in their names, the SP has always been staunchly anti-communist. The original Socialist Party USA was founded by labor union leader, ex-Democratic elected official and pacifist Eugene V. Debs in 1900, the SP was once a mighty national third party. Debs himself was the SP nominee for president five times between 1900 and 1920. Debs received over 900,000 votes (6%) in 1912 -- the SP's best showing ever. Former minister and journalist Norman Thomas was the SP Presidential nominee 6 times between 1928 and 1948 -- his best showing being 883,000 votes (2.2%) in 1932. The SP also elected congressmen, mayors and other officials throughout the 20th Century (largely during the 1910s through 1950s). The party withered and splintered so much that, by the last 1972, it barely existed. The Democratic Socialists of American and the Social Democrats USA -- both linked above -- are the other splinter groups from the original Debs/Thomas SP entity. Activists from the old SP reconstituted the party in 1976 and began to again field SPUSA national tickets for the first time in over two decades. SPUSA activist Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik was the party's presidential nominee in 2016 (22nd place - 2,683 votes). The party's youth wing -- the Young People's Socialist League -- has been in existence since the early 1900s. Other SPUSA sites: Socialist National Committee / VoteSocialist.org (campaigns/candidates) and The Socialist.

SOCIALIST ACTION - Socialist Action is a Trotskyist political party of "revolutionary socialists" originally founded in 1983 by expelled members of the Socialist Workers Party. While the SA shares the SWP's pro-Cuba views, the SA still tries to retain its Trotskyist ideological roots (versus the SWP, which has drifted away from Trotskyism towards a Soviet authoritarian communist ideology). The SA states that they "oppose the Democrats and Republicans, all capitalist political parties, and all capitalist governments and their representatives everywhere ... [and] Stalinist and neo-Stalinist regimes from the ex-Soviet Union to China." This communist party has fielded some local political candidates in the San Francisco Bay area over the years, and ran its first congressional candidate in 2010 (in Connecticut). The party fielded SA National Secretary Jeff Mackler as the 2016 presidential nominee, but he was just a write-in hopeful as he failed to qualify for the ballot in any state. Mackler is again the party's presidential nominee for 2020. Other official sites: Youth for Socialist Action and VoteSocialistAction.

SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE PARTY - Socialist Alternative, founded in 1986 and originally named the Labor Militant, split from the Labor Party in the 1990s in order to pursue a more radical leftist and anti-globalization party. The party is the US member of the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI), an international association of Trotskyist political paries from nearly 50 nations. SocAlt is not as radical as some Marxist parties, as they espouse democratic socialism and have formed alliances of convenience with non-socialists for political advantage. for example, the party backed Ralph Nader (Green) for President in each of his four runs because they thought his candidacy would help "accelerate the trend of disintigration of the two-party system." The party wants to build a socialist mass workers movement, and is critical of the Leninist-Stalinist historical dictatorships as a perversion of true Marxism. The party supports a $15 national minimum wage, universal free health care, a guaranteed $500/week minimum income for all, public ownership of major banks, forcing bankrupt companies into public ownership, free college education, and slashing the military budget. In a major upset in 2013, Kshama Sawant became the first party member to win an election when she won a seat on the Seattle City Council -- and another candidate nearly won a seat on the Minneapolis City Council on the same day. The party currently has chapters in a dozen states.

SOCIALIST EQUALITY PARTY - The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) was originally named the Workers League (WL). The WL was founded in 1966 as a Trotskyist communist group closely associated with the electoral campaigns of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). The goal of these Trotskyist groups was a build a working-class labor party in the US affiliated with the International Committee of the Fourth International (the global Trotskyist umbrella network). They believe that "the egalitarian and internationalist legacy of the Russian Revolution" could have succeeded, but was "betrayed by Stalinism" and its progeny. When the SWP drifted away from Trotskyism in the early 1980s, the WL broke with the SWP and began fielding its own candidates. The WL fielded its first Presidential ticket in 1984. The WL later renamed itself as the Socialist Equality Party in 1994. The Michigan-based SEP regularly fields Congressional and local candidates, mainly in Michigan and Ohio. The SEP is very realistic about its candidates, acknowledging a campaign is an opportunity to "present a socialist alternative to the demagogy and lies of the establishment parties and the mass media." Frequent SEP Presidential nominee Jerry White was again the party's nominee in 2016 (29th place - 475 votes). The SEP's news site -- the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) -- is updated daily with articles, analysis, history, etc., written with a hardcore internationalist, Trotskyist perspective.

SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTY - Originally a pro-Trotsky faction within the Communist Party, the SWP was formed in 1938 after the Communist Party -- acting on orders from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin -- expelled the American Trotskyites. The SWP was for many years the leading voice of Trotskyism in the USA. Since the 1980s, the SWP rapidly shifted away from Trotskyism and embraced the brand of authoritarian communist politics espoused by the old Soviet Union and former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro (the SWP site described communist Cuba "a shining example for all workers"). During that ideological shift, the SWP expelled their Trotskyist faction in 1983 (which lead to the founding of the rival Socialist Action party). The SWP has run candidates for President in every election since 1948 -- plus many federal, state and local candidates nationwide. The SWP's best electoral showing was in 1976, when presidential nominee Peter Camejo captured 90,000 votes (note: Camejo was expelled from the the SWP in 1980 for embracing democratic socialism). Communist political organizer Alyson Kennedy was the SWP's candidate in 2016 (11th place - 12,465 votes). An interesting quirk is that the SWP requires all members to be "proletarians" by having them take factory jobs in order to advocate for a worker-based communist class struggle. The party's weekly newspaper The Militant, which was launched in 1928 and pre-dates the SWP, is the party's only online presence. The SWP also owns a book publishing house: Pathfinder Press.

UNITED STATES PACIFIST PARTY - This tiny political party fielded party founder Bradford Lyttle as a write-in candidate for President in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2012 (and ran a US Senate candidate in Colorado in 1998). In 2008, for the first time, Lyttle achieved ballot status in one state (110 votes), a feat he again matched in 2016 (382 votes). The USPP opposes military actions in all circumstances and wants to transform the US military into "a non-violent defense and humanitarian service corps." The USPP platform advocates generally left-wing political stances and slashing the military budget to "zero."

UNITY PARTY OF AMERICA - This small centrist political party was founded after the 2004 elections. For the first decade the party was only active in Colorado, and began fielding candidates there starting in 2006. In 2016, the party began expanding, launching small affiiates in some states and vowing to field a presidential ticket in 2020. The party supports a balanced budget constitutional amendment, federal term limits, replacing the federal income tax with other reveue sources, development of clean alternative energy sources, and ending gerrymandering by having all election districts drawn by nonpartisan panels of judges.

WORKERS WORLD PARTY - The WWP was formed in 1959 by a pro-Chinese communist faction that split from the Socialist Workers Party. Although the WWP theoretically supports worker revolutions, the WWP supported the Soviet actions that crushed worker uprisings in Hungary in the 1950s, Czechoslovakia in the 1960s and Poland in the early 1980s. The WWP was largely an issue-oriented revolutionary party until they fielded their first candidate for president in 1980. The militant WWP believes that "capitalist democracy produces nothing but hot air" and that "the power of the workers and the oppressed is in the streets, not in Washington." FBI Director Louis Freeh attacked the WWP in his May 2001 remarks before a US Senate committee: "Anarchists and extremist socialist groups -- many of which, such as the Workers World Party -- have an international presence and, at times, also represent a potential threat in the United States" of rioting and street violence. The more revoltionary wing of the WWP broke away in 2006 to form the Party of Socialism & Liberation (PSL). After the WWP-PSL split, the WWP failed to field a Presidential ticket in 2008 and 2012. In 2016, the party nominated longtime party activist Monica Moorhead for President (18th place - 4,250 votes). Moorhead was previously the WWP presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000. Official news site: Workers World.

WORKING CLASS PARTY - The WCP was founded in 2016 as a socialist, anti-capitalist, anti-racist party which asserts "working people need our own party, a party of our whole class, built around the conviction that the working class and the employing class have nothing in common." The party looks at the late socialist Eugene Debs as a hero of their movement. The WCP wants to have both militant unions to fight "the bosses" and capitalism, and have the WCP act as the political entity to carry on the fight in the electoral venue. The WCP has active chapters and fields candidates in Michigan and Maryland.

WORKING FAMILIES PARTY - The WFP, founded in 1998 by a coalition of labor unions, was for many years a one-state party which operated only in New York. During 2006-08, the WFP expanded by launching new chapters in a few other states. By 2008, the WFP obtained ballot access and nominated congressional candidates in New York, Connecticut and Oregon. The WFP essentially operates as a "fusion" party which co-nominates candidates of established parties. This fusion move allows WFP candidates -- who are almost exclusively Democrats -- to appear on a second ballot line in the same election. Fusion "gives voters a way to 'vote their values' without spoiling an election," explain the WFP's website. The WFP exists to advance a pro-labor union political agenda focused almost entirely on liberal economic and employment issues. The WFP endorsed Bernie Sanders for President in 2016, and endorsed Elizabeth Warren in 2020.

OTHER PARTIES

(Parties that have yet to field any candidates for office)

AMERICAN PATRIOT PARTY OF THE INDEPENDENT AND UNITED STATES - The APP, established in 2003, was "founded on the basic principals set forth by our founding fathers, that the federal government should only have the powers set forth in the framework of the Constitution and all other power to be delegated back to the states. Although everyone has thier own opinions on all issues, we believe it is up to the states to decide what should and should not be mandated, banned or regulated." The APP supports a crackdown on illegal immigration, making English fluency a requirement of US citizenship, abolishing the IRS and repealing the federal income tax, imposing steeper taxes and tariffs on imported goods ... oh, and they want every county in the US to become a separate state. They endorsed Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) for President in 2008, but did not nominate any candidates on their own to date.

CANARY PARTY - Founded in 2011, this unusual party is entirely focused upon the issue of health care -- particularly as relates to autism. According to the party's official history, they were founded by "a group of parents of children who were suffering from neurological and autoimmune disorders, and who had been active for years in their efforts to get mainstream medicine to address the causes of, and find treatments for, their children's poor health, faced the realization that while they had been earnest in their engagement of both the private medical industry and government public health officials, the medical establishment was not working in good faith with them." This party believes the pharmaceutical industry -- abetted by government and medical profession silence -- have "launched a massive and uncontrolled experiment on a generation of Americans. In an unprecedented intervention in human immune development, this complex has succeeded in promoting an explosion in medical industry revenues and profits; this explosion has been accompanied, however, by an epidemic of death, disability and chronic disease, much of which can be traced directly to these medical and chemical exposures." This single-issue party wants to address these concerns with federal government action.

CONSERVATIVE PARTY USA - Founded in 2009, this conservative party has yet to field any candidates. The party's mission statement reads as follows: "To re-establish the limits and boundaries of Government as framed in the Constitution." They claim they were formed as a new party because the GOP cannot be trusted ("The Republican Party has consistently failed to uphold conservative principles ... Trying to change the GOP is like drilling holes in water because they donÂt stand for anything except getting elected"). This is how the party describes their agenda: "The primary duty of the President is to protect America from its enemies, both foreign and domestic; Veterans must be honored and supported for their sacrifices; Marriage is between one man and one woman; Life begins at conception; Budget Earmarks must be eliminated and fiscal discipline restored; Illegal immigration must be stopped; Healthcare must include meaningful Tort Reform." Note: This party has no affiliation with the well-established Conservative Party of New York State.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA - The DSA is the official US full member party of the Socialist International (which includes UK's Labour Party, the French Parti Socialiste and nearly 140 other political parties around the globe). Unlike most other members of the Socialist International, the DSA never fields candidates for office. The DSA explains their mission as follows: "building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly socialist presence in American communities and politics." Thus, the DSA is less like a traditional US political party and much more like a political education and grassroots activism organization. Working within the Democratic Party primaries starting around 2010 in local races, and in congresional races since, the DSA fielded and endorsed several Democratic Socialists candidates against more mainstream Democratic incumbents. In 2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) became the first DSA members elected to congress. DSA, Social Democrats USA and the Socialist Party USA each claim to be the one true heir to the ideological legacy of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas (and DSA disputes the Socialist Party-USA's claim to the title arguing it is a modern-era creation that simply appropriated the older name of the defunct party of Debs/Thomasy). The DSA -- then named the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) -- split from the SD-USA in 1972 in a rift over the Vietnam War (SDUSA supported the war and opposed McGovern for President; DSOC supported McGovern and opposed the war). Official DSA affiliates include: Young Democratic Socialists, Democratic Left (magazine) and DSA Labor Network.

PROGRESSIVE LABOR PARTY - The PLP is a New York-based, militant, Stalinist-style communist party dedicated to bringing about a world-wide, armed, communist revolution. The party was formed in 1961 by members of the CPUSA who felt the Soviet Union had betrayed communism and become revisionist and state capitalist. Founders also felt the CPUSA had adopted unforgivable reformist positions such as "peaceful coexistence" with the US, turning to electoral politics, and hiding communist views behind a veneer of reform-oriented front groups. In the 1960s, the PLP heavily infiltrated the radical Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) group. Today, the PLP still abhors democracy, elections, freedom of nearly any sort, capitalism and religion -- and praises dictator Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union as their role model. Because they denounce all elections as "frauds," the PLP vows to never field any candidates for public office (for these guys, its either armed victory or nothing at all). Lots and lots of online ideological articles written in the typical dogmatic communist style ... with titles like "The Hoax of the 1932-33 Ukraine Fasmine," "Fascism Grows In The Auto Industry," "The Road to Revolution." Articles in English, Spanish, Russian, German, etc.

REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST PARTY USA - The RCP is based upon the teachings of the late Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong -- a form of rigid communism derivative of Leninist-Stalinist Marxism. The party strongly denounces capitalism and advocates a "Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Programme" as "a battle plan for destroying the old and creating the new [and] is a kind of road map for how to win the revolution." Even the RCP's logo is consistent with the proletarian revolutionary theme (i.e., note the red flag flying from a rifle bayonet). The RCP clearly advocates change through revolution (and various popular front groups), not elections -- so don't look for any RCP candidates on the ballot. The RCP's most visible activity is running several branches of a store called Revolution Books. RCP Chairman Bob Avakian and his writings also receive extensive coverage on the party's official site, as he has been the party leader since 1979.