Citizens Party of the United States

Last updated
Citizens Party of the United States
Chairperson Michael Thompson
FoundedNovember 2, 2004
Headquarters Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ideology Economic nationalism [ citation needed ]
Political position Center-left [1]
ColorsPurple, gray, red, white, and blue
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Seats in the House
0 / 435
Governorships
0 / 50
State Upper House Seats
0 / 1,972
State Lower House Seats
0 / 5,411
Other elected offices
0 / 5,411
Website
http://www.votecitizens.org

The Citizens Party of the United States (Citizens Party) is a political party in the United States. Founded by Michael Thompson in Wayne, Pennsylvania in 2004 as the New American Independent Party (NAIP), the first meeting took place in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on the day of the general election. The New American Independent Party changed its name to the Citizens Party in January 2011. [2] The transition to the name Citizens Party lasted several months. [3]

Contents

Ideology

Member engagement

Citizens can submit questions and vote on questions through social media that all Citizens Party presidential candidates are required to answer before the convention. Members of the public can suggest potential candidates and draft candidates to run as party candidates.[ citation needed ]

Main Street Platform

As can be seen in its 2012 platform, the Citizens Party advocates for an end to US participation in the World Trade Organization, Central American Free Trade Agreement and North American Free Trade Agreement. In addition to eliminating the trade and budget deficits, the party aims to fund and evangelize American manufacturing while introducing financial penalties for companies that outsource it. Part of its plan to invest in American infrastructure includes research and development efforts with an emphasis on renewable energy and natural gas. Specifically, it opposes fracking and hopes to make all drilling operations subject to environmental assessments.[ citation needed ]

The Citizens Party's strategy against corruption includes auditing of the Federal Reserve, bans on various lobbying activities and reviving the Glass–Steagall Act in order to eliminate bailouts based on a "too big to fail" mentality. Groups in need of assistance according to its platform include veterans, family farmers and the long-term unemployed. The platform also mentions health care reform, more affordable education and a simplified tax code. Stricter immigration laws feature prominently in the party's approach, including limits on H1B and L1 visas and deterrents for companies that hire illegal workers. Regarding foreign policy, the Citizens Party claims to have a non-partisan stance on the Israeli / Palestinian conflict. It aims to limit the use of the military to non-interventionist deployments that directly benefit American national security. The party supports same-sex marriage, the second amendment, and Roe v. Wade. It was an early supporter of organic foods and industrial hemp.[ citation needed ]

Candidates

The Citizens Party encourages members to start draft campaigns to convince qualified individuals to run for office as Citizens Party candidates.[ citation needed ]

Citizens Questions

The Citizens Party requires all of its declared presidential candidates to answer a set of "Citizens Questions" at least 60 days before the 2016 Citizens Party National Convention. The "Citizens Questions" are selected from questions submitted by Citizens Party members via the party website or YouTube. The party states that the responses to the "Citizens Questions" will be posted on the internet for the public to view. [4]

Previous candidates (2006–2012)

In 2006, Michael Thompson ran as the party's first candidate when he ran for State Representative in Pennsylvania's 165th Legislative District and received 2.84% of the vote. [5]

In March 2008, the New American Independent Party nominated Frank McEnulty as its first presidential candidate. [6] In July, McEnulty also became the vice-presidential nominee of the Reform Party. [7] He continued his campaign as the NAIP presidential nominee in states where the Reform Party was unable to obtain ballot status. [8] McEnulty received 828 votes (placing 15th of 23 ballot-qualified Presidential tickets nationwide) as the New American Independent Party nominee and 481 votes on the Reform Party ticket (placing 22nd out of 23 ballot-qualified Presidential tickets nationwide). [9]

In October 2009, the NAIP endorsed independent candidate Chris Daggett for Governor of New Jersey.[ citation needed ] Daggett finished third with 6% of the vote.

The Citizens Party did not nominate a presidential ticket in 2012 and ran no candidates nationwide, they have not nominated a presidential ticket since 2009. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 United States presidential election</span> 53rd quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1996 United States presidential election was the 53rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton defeated former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, the Republican nominee, and Ross Perot, the Reform Party nominee and 1992 Independent presidential candidate. This was the first election since 1944 in which the incumbent Democratic president was reelected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution Party (United States)</span> American political party

The Constitution Party, formerly the U.S. Taxpayers' Party until 1999, is a political party in the United States that promotes a religiously conservative interpretation of the principles and intents of the United States Constitution. The party platform is based on originalist interpretations of the Constitution and shaped by principles which it believes were set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1856 United States presidential election</span> 18th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1856 United States presidential election was the 18th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 1856. In a three-way election, Democrat James Buchanan defeated Republican nominee John C. Frémont and Know Nothing nominee Millard Fillmore. The main issue was the expansion of slavery as facilitated by the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854. Buchanan defeated President Franklin Pierce at the 1856 Democratic National Convention for the nomination. Pierce had become widely unpopular in the North because of his support for the pro-slavery faction in the ongoing civil war in territorial Kansas, and Buchanan, a former Secretary of State, had avoided the divisive debates over the Kansas–Nebraska Act by being in Europe as the Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1888 United States presidential election</span> 26th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1888 United States presidential election was the 26th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1888. Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison, a former Senator from Indiana, defeated incumbent Democratic President Grover Cleveland of New York. It was the third of five U.S. presidential elections in which the winner did not win the national popular vote, which would not occur again until the 2000 US presidential election.

Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separately listed on the ballot. The practice of electoral fusion in jurisdictions where it exists allows minor parties to influence election results and policy by offering to endorse or nominate a major party's candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reform Party of the United States of America</span> American political 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Camejo</span> Venezuelan American politician

Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche was a Venezuelan American author, activist, politician and Sailing Olympian. In the 2004 United States presidential election, he was selected by independent candidate Ralph Nader as his vice-presidential running mate on a ticket which had the endorsement of the Reform Party.

The Citizens Party was a political party in the United States. It was founded in Washington, D.C., by Barry Commoner, who aimed to gather under one banner a nationwide political organization of progressive, environmentalist and liberal groups, many of which were unsatisfied with President Jimmy Carter's administration, for the first time since the dissolution of the national Progressive Party in the 1960s. The Citizens Party registered with the Federal Elections Commission at the end of 1979. Commoner, a professor of environmental science at Washington University in St. Louis, was the head of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems in St. Louis, Missouri and editor of Science Illustrated magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Party of Oklahoma</span> Political party in the United States

The Green Party of Oklahoma is a political party in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was formed in 2002 through a gradual coalition of various state green groups and received its accreditation from the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) in May 2005. Its stated aims are a commitment to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice, and grassroots democracy.

This article contains lists of official third party or independent candidates associated with the 2008 United States presidential election.

The 1940 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 24 to June 28, 1940. It nominated Wendell Willkie of New York for president and Senator Charles McNary of Oregon for vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Moore (political activist)</span> American politician (born 1943)

Brian Patrick Moore is an American politician and founder of antiwar organization Nature Coast Coalition for Peace & Justice. A perennial candidate, he was the presidential nominee of the Socialist Party USA for the 2008 United States presidential election; he waged several campaigns for mayor and city council in Washington, D.C., and twice ran for the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 5th congressional district, winning none; he ran for the Democratic Party nomination for Governor of Florida in 2010, but lost in the primary election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Weill</span> American politician

Theodore C. Weill was an American politician who served as the presidential nominee of the Reform Party of the United States of America during the 2008 presidential election.

The Virgil Goode presidential campaign of 2012 began when former U.S. Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia announced his decision to seek the 2012 presidential nomination of the Constitution Party in February 2012. During the nomination campaign, he put forth a four-point plank that included his plans to restrict immigration, balance the federal budget, decrease the size of government, and institute congressional term limits.

This article contains lists of official and potential third party and independent candidates associated with the 2016 United States presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrell Castle 2016 presidential campaign</span> Political campaign for United States presidency

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.

This article lists third-party and independent candidates, also jointly known as minor candidates, associated with the 2020 United States presidential election.

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.

References

  1. Cunningham, Geoff (March 13, 2010). "Rye man wants third party on ballots". Seacoast Media Group.
  2. Admin (March 4, 2011). "Party Changes Name". Ballot Access News.
  3. "Great Progress in Transition to Citizens Party", http://citizensparty.wordpress.com, March 4, 2011
  4. "Citizens Questions" Archived 2011-08-25 at the Wayback Machine , http://www.votecitizens.org
  5. "Pennsylvania Elections - County Results". www.electionreturns.pa.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  6. "The New American Independent Party Nominates Frank McEnulty for President", www.frankforpresident.org, March 12, 2008
  7. "Dallas Reform Party Meeting", www.ballot-access.org, July 7, 2008
  8. Frank McEnulty for President: News update, www.frankforpresident.org
  9. "Updated Presidential Vote Totals", www.ballot-access.org, December 6, 2008
  10. Inc, Gallup (2012-07-06). "Little Support for Third-Party Candidates in 2012 Election". Gallup.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)