History
The Reform Party of New Jersey was independent party founded in 1996 to support Ross Perot's presidential campaign and run in the 1996 United States presidential election. [1] [2] [3]
In 1997, the party fielded two candidates, George Guzdeck and Carmen Zarelli, for the New Jersey General Assembly in 7th legislative district. [4]
In 1998 the party ran Frank C. Falzone, Beverly Kidder, and Richard Rivera for Congress. Kidder's campaign, dubbed "Mrs. Kidder for Congress," challenged Rush Holt and Michael Pappas in New Jersey's 12th congressional district. Kidder described why she ran saying: "I am running because there is a vacuum in the 12th District — and all vacuums are filled." [5] She received 749 votes.
Also in 1998, Daniel Nozza ran as a candidate for councilperson in Elizabeth using the slogan "Reform Party", with the support of a unsanctioned faction of the party. [6]
The party splintered over Pat Buchanan 2000 presidential campaign. Ira Goodman, the party's Chairman, resigned in protest after Pat Buchanan's allies seized control, saying that he "had enough of this nonsense going on with Pat Buchanan." [7] [8] Goodman was, himself, a Reform Party congressional candidate. He earned 1,358 votes. [9]
Goodman had tried to petition Ross Perot to campaign a third time. [10] [11] USA Today reported that Goodman had, initially, been supportive of Reform Party nominee Pat Buchanan, until he spoke with some of Buchanan's supporters. [12] He later said: "Buchanan supporters are extreme social conservatives who want to push their agenda. Only Perot can help get us back on track." [13]
Following Goodman's resignation, Buchanan's supporters did gain control over the party. [14] Local radio host Joe Sansone became the party's new chairman. [15] Sansone made it clear he supported Buchanan's campaign, saying: "I won't pretend to be neutral. My loyalty is to Pat Buchanan. Because his loyalty is to the United States of America." [16] Around this time, the Reform Party of the United States sought an injunction against the New Jersey party, seeking the prevent them from using the "Reform Party" branding.
Pat DiNizio made an unsuccessful run in the 2000 United States Senate election in New Jersey running on the Reform Party ticket. [17] [18] He finished 4th with 19,312 votes (0.64%). The campaign was chronicled in the 2001 documentary film Mr. Smithereen Goes to Washington. His campaign tactics were unique, in that he traveled the state by trolley and often traversed the streets of New Jersey with an acoustic guitar, asking for votes through improvised songs. DiNizio said he supported the Reform Party because: "I like where they are coming from, and yes, that includes Mr. Ventura." [19]
The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a political party in Michigan. It was a national political party in the United States affiliated with the international Natural Law Party. It was founded in 1992. Beginning in 2004, many of its state chapters dissolved. The party's Michigan chapter is still active as of 2022.
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.
The 1992 United States presidential election was the 52nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1992. Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeated incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush and independent businessman Ross Perot of Texas. The election marked the end of a period of Republican dominance in American presidential politics that began in 1968, and also marked the end of 12 years of Republican rule of the White House, as well as the end of the Greatest Generation's 32-year American rule and the beginning of the baby boomers' 28-year dominance until 2020. It was the last time the incumbent president failed to win a second term until 2020, when Donald Trump lost the election to Joe Biden; it was the first such occurrence since 1980.
Henry Ross Perot Sr. was an American business magnate, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an independent campaign in the 1992 U.S. presidential election and a third-party campaign in the 1996 U.S. presidential election as the nominee of the Reform Party, which was formed by grassroots supporters of Perot's 1992 campaign. Although he failed to carry a single state in either election, both campaigns were among the strongest presidential showings by a third party or independent candidate in U.S. history.
Patrick Joseph Buchanan is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He is an influential figure in the modern paleoconservative movement in America.
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.
Third party is a term used in the United States for political parties other than the two major parties.
United We Stand America was the name selected by Texas businessman H. Ross Perot for his citizen action organization after his 1992 independent political campaign for President of the United States. Perot's 19% showing in the 1992 election was sufficient to entitle him to federal matching funds for the 1996 campaign. After the campaign, Perot announced, on January 11, 1993, the formation of a non-profit watchdog organization named United We Stand America.
The Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of New York. The party was founded in 1991 by Gordon Black, Tom Golisano, and Laureen Oliver and acquired ballot status in 1994. They lost their ballot status in 2020 under a change in the New York state election law that required at least 130,000 votes on the party line every two years. Although often associated with Ross Perot, as the party came to prominence in the wake of Perot's 1992 presidential campaign, it was created prior to Perot's run. In 2020, it affiliated with the Alliance Party, but disaffiliated in 2021. It used to have one elected member of the New York State Assembly, Fred Thiele, until Thiele switched his party affiliation to the Democratic Party in 2022. On December 9, 2022, New York governor Kathy Hochul signed S1851A, banning the use of the words "Independent" and "Independence" from use in political party names in New York state.
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia between February 18 to June 9, 1992. These elections were designed to select the 2,277 delegates to send to the national convention in Houston, Texas from August 17 to August 20, 1992, who selected the Republican Party's nominee for president in the 1992 United States presidential election, incumbent president George H. W. Bush. The delegates also approved the party platform and vice-presidential nominee. Bush went on to lose the general election to the Democratic nominee, Governor Bill Clinton.
In 1992, Ross Perot ran unsuccessfully as an independent candidate for President of the United States. Perot was a Texas industrialist who had never served as a public official, but he had experience as the head of several successful corporations and had been involved in public affairs for the previous three decades. Grass-root organizations sprang up in every state to help Perot achieve ballot access following his announcement on the February 20, 1992, edition of Larry King Live. James Stockdale, a retired Navy vice admiral, was Perot's running mate.
Following Ross Perot's impressive showing during the 1996 presidential election, the Reform Party of the United States of America became the country's largest third party. The party's 2000 presidential candidate would be entitled to $12.5 million in matching funds. Several high-profile candidates vied for the nomination, including Donald Trump, Pat Buchanan, and physicist John Hagelin. For a brief time, Congressman John B. Anderson and Congressman Ron Paul were considered potential candidates, but both ultimately declined to seek the nomination.
This is the electoral history of Pat Buchanan. Buchanan served as an advisor to three United States presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He then became a conservative columnist and co-hosted Crossfire, a political program on CNN.
The Independence Party of Minnesota, formerly the Reform Party of Minnesota, is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was the party of former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura when he left the Reform Party.
The 2000 presidential campaign of Pat Buchanan, conservative pundit and adviser to both President Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, was formally launched on March 2, 1999, as Buchanan announced his intention to seek the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2000 presidential election. It marked Buchanan's third primary campaign for the presidency, following his bids in 1992 and 1996. Although he had not attained the nomination either time, he had been regarded as a consequential figure within the party. Early primary surveys found Buchanan polling in the single digits, and following the publication of his book A Republic, Not an Empire, which generally advocated for noninterventionist and "America first" foreign policy, some within the Republican Party condemned Buchanan's foreign policy views. There began to be speculation that Buchanan would leave the Republican Party in favor of the Reform Party, a third party which qualified for matching federal campaign funds.
Russell J. Verney is a political advisor, who served as chairman of the Reform Party of the United States from 1995 to 1999. He worked on the presidential campaigns of Ross Perot and Bob Barr.
The 1992 United States elections elected state governors, the President of the United States, and members of the 103rd United States Congress. The election took place after the Soviet Union crumbled and the Cold War ended, as well as the redistricting that resulted from the 1990 Census. Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeated incumbent President George H. W. Bush and businessman Ross Perot in the presidential election. The Democratic Party maintained their control of both chambers of Congress. This is the first Democratic trifecta since the Republican victory in the 1980 elections and the last one during the 20th century and the last one overall until 2008.
This article contains lists of official and potential third party and independent candidates associated with the 1996 United States presidential election.
The Reform Party of the United States of America (RPUSA) was founded in 1995 by Ross Perot. Because the party had just recently been formed, the traditional system of presidential primaries in use by the Republican and Democratic parties was not considered practical for the Reform Party to use for its presidential primary in 1996. Instead, a national primary was held through the mail in which Reform Party supporters voted for a number of candidates, while ballot efforts were concentrated entirely towards the general election.
New York real estate magnate Donald Trump announced the creation of a presidential exploratory committee on the October 7, 1999, edition of Larry King Live on CNN. Although Trump had never held elected office, he was well known for his frequent comments on public affairs and business exploits as head of The Trump Organization. He had previously considered a presidential run in 1988 as a Republican, but chose not to run. For 2000, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura persuaded Trump to seek the presidential nomination of the Reform Party, which was fracturing despite achieving ballot access and qualifying for matching funds as a result of businessman Ross Perot's 1996 presidential campaign on the party's ticket.
