Formation | 2016 |
---|---|
Founders | John Kingston III, Joel Searby |
Type | 501c4 |
Legal status | Inactive |
Focus | Ballot Access for 2016 Presidential Election |
Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
Key people | John Kingston III (Chair) Anne MacDonald (Executive Director) Joel Searby (Chief Strategy Officer) |
Website | www |
Better for America (BFA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that was dedicated to getting nationwide ballot access for an independent candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 election. The effort was inspired by the unpopularity of the two major party nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and was seen as part of the Stop Trump movement. [1]
The organization's initial strategy was to gain ballot access in states that do not require a candidate to be named, and then name its candidate after the major party conventions. The candidate was planned to be named by an advisory board rather than through traditional primary elections, or through a crowdsourcing effort like the failed Americans Elect effort in the 2012 election. [2] On August 8, 2016, it was reported that Evan McMullin, an anti-Trump Republican and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official, would be Better for America's nominee. [3] [4] [5] McMullin was officially nominated on August 24. [6]
In July, the organization filed petitions in two states, New Mexico and Arkansas. [7] By early August, Arkansas had accepted the petition, [8] while New Mexico had rejected the petition because it did not have enough valid signatures, [5] although the New Mexico decision was challenged in court. [9] On August 22, the organization announced that it was ceasing further ballot access efforts. [10] On September 8, the New Mexico Secretary of State reversed his decision and placed Better For America on the ballot. [11]
Notable people involved in the organization include conservative donor John Kingston III and former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman. [2] Lawrence Lessig and Randy Barnett expressed their support for the organization in a Time opinion piece. [12]
The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; grassroots democracy; anti-war; anti-racism; libertarian socialism and eco-socialism. On the political spectrum, the party is generally seen as left-wing. As of 2023, it is the fourth-largest political party in the United States by voter registration, behind the Libertarian Party.
The Reform Party of the United States of America (RPUSA), generally known as the Reform Party USA or the Reform Party, is a centrist political party in the United States, founded in 1995 by Ross Perot.
The Green Party of Arkansas is the state party organization for Arkansas of the Green Party of the United States.
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket, businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state and First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton and the junior senator from Virginia, Tim Kaine, in what was considered one of the biggest political upsets in American history.
James Hedges is an American politician who served as the Tax Assessor for Thompson Township, Pennsylvania and as the Prohibition Party's 2016 presidential nominee. He is currently the only member of the Prohibition Party to be elected to public office in the 21st century, and the first since 1959.
Americans Elect was a political organization in the United States known primarily for its efforts to stage a national online primary for the 2012 United States presidential election. Although it was successful in obtaining signatures to get on the ballot in a majority of states, the process set up by the organization did not select a candidate.
This article contains lists of official and potential third party and independent candidates associated with the 2016 United States presidential election.
Jill Stein, a physician from Massachusetts, announced her entry into the 2016 United States presidential election on June 22, 2015. Stein, who had been the Green Party's presidential nominee in 2012, where she received 469,627 votes. In the 2016 election, she once again secured the Green Party nomination and lost in the general election. She received 1.07% of the popular vote and no electoral college delegates.
Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente Guerra is an American businessman and politician. A perennial candidate, De La Fuente was the Reform Party nominee in the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections. He also appeared on his own American Delta Party's presidential ticket in 2016, and on those of the Alliance Party and American Independent Party in 2020.
The Kansas Green Party is an independent political party in Kansas. It is the Kansas state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States. The party meets in Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City.
The 2016 United States presidential election in California was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. California voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her running mate Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. California had 55 electoral votes in the Electoral College, the most of any state.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik, an activist from Los Angeles, California, began with his announcement of candidacy on October 17, 2015. He was formally nominated by the Socialist Party USA for president at their November 2015 convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His running-mate was Angela Nicole Walker, a bus driver and labor organizer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The campaign was on the ballot in two states as well as in the U.S. overseas territory of Guam, which has no electoral votes. It earned 4,061 total votes.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Darrell Castle, lawyer and 2008 Vice Presidential nominee of the Constitution Party began on the eve of the Constitution Party National Convention in April 2016. On April 16, the Constitution Party nominated Castle on the first ballot after he won 184 votes out of the 339.5 cast to win the nomination with 54.19%. His running mate, Scott Bradley, was nominated by voice vote. In his acceptance speech, Castle stated that he wanted to speak to the American public,
in defense of liberty and against tyranny. I speak for the republic and against the fascism that seems to be enveloping us. The general government was created by the sovereign states for a specific purpose; that purpose was to protect our God-given rights. Anything that runs afoul of that purpose is therefore illegal and unconstitutional. And since virtually everything this government does runs afoul of that purpose, virtually everything it does is illegal and unconstitutional.
David Evan McMullin is an American political candidate and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. McMullin ran as an independent in the 2016 United States presidential election and in the 2022 United States Senate election in Utah.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Evan McMullin was launched on August 10, 2016. McMullin ran as an independent presidential candidate, but also received the presidential nominations of Better for America, Independence Party of Minnesota, Independent Party of Florida, and South Carolina Independence Party.
This article lists third-party and independent candidates, also jointly known as minor candidates, associated with the 2020 United States presidential election.
The 2020 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Arkansas voters chose six electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Mike Pence, against Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, United States Senator Kamala Harris of California. Also on the ballot were the nominees for the Libertarian, Green, Constitution, American Solidarity, Life and Liberty, and Socialism and Liberation parties and Independent candidates. Write-in candidates are not allowed to participate in presidential elections.
The 2020 presidential campaign of Howie Hawkins, both the co-founder of the Green Party of the United States and thrice its gubernatorial candidate in New York, was informally launched on April 3, 2019, when Hawkins announced the formation of an exploratory committee and formally announced his campaign on May 28, 2019, to seek the Green Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2020 presidential election and later the Socialist Party USA. On May 5, 2020, Hawkins announced that former Socialist Party USA vice presidential candidate Angela Nicole Walker would be his running mate. Hawkins and Walker were nominated by the Green Party on July 11, 2020.
The Alliance Party is a centrist American political party formed in 2019. It is affiliated with the American Party of South Carolina, Independence Party of Minnesota, Independent Party of Connecticut, and Reform Party of Florida. In 2020, Independence Party of New York affiliated with the Alliance Party, but disaffiliated in 2021.