United Citizens Party

Last updated
United Citizens Party
(Patriot Party of South Carolina)
Founded1969 [lower-alpha 1]
Split from Democratic Party [1]
Ideology Progressivism [2]
Black nationalism [2] [1]
Political position Center-left to Left-wing [2] [1]
National affiliation Reform (1996)
Website
Archived Website

The United Citizens Party (UCP) was first organized in 1969 in the U.S. state of South Carolina by John Roy Harper II and others, in response to the state Democratic Party's opposition to nominating black candidates. The party's objective was to elect blacks to the legislature and local offices in counties with black majority populations. The party ran candidates in 1970 and 1972; as a result in 1970 the first three black candidates were elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives since Reconstruction.

Contents

History

Original formation

The first president was John Roy Harper II, [3] named at the first annual convention on April 13, 1970; he later served as party chairman. [4] Harper stated that he had split from the Democratic Party due to the party's refusal to nominate Black candidates. [1] The party's candidate in 1970 was Thomas Broadwater for Governor. The party's founding document stated that it was creating “a separate party running people who will do what we, the people, want done,” and that, “furthermore, whites have never publicly promised Black folks nothing-we need to divorce.” [4]

In 1972 the party was able to secure a line on the ballot for George McGovern in his campaign against Richard Nixon via fusion voting. [5] The 1972 elections also marked the entry of Black South Carolinian Democrats to the House, largely due to the efforts of the UCP, despite the party electing no stand-alone candidates. [6] In 1974, the political scientists Hanes Walton Jr. and William H. Boone cited the UCP up to that point as an example of a successful sub-national African American political party. [7]

1st Refoundation

Lenora Fulani.jpg
Ross Perot in his office Allan Warren (cropped).jpg
Lenora Fulani (left) ran as the United Citizens candidate for her 1988 and 1992 presidential campaigns; Ross Perot (right) for his 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns.

Since 1972 the party stood no additional candidates, largely going dormant, however, in 1986 new election laws passed in South Carolina requiring a party to run candidates in at least every other general election. [2] In 1988, the New York based New Alliance Party filed the paperwork to run a candidate for the UCP line, Lenora Fulani, for President of the United States. [8] She ran again as a UCP candidate in her 1992 run for president. [9] During this period Fulani changed the name of the party to the Patriot Party (PP) and was also simultaneously working with supporters of Ross Perot to make a national political party for Perot. [2]

For his second bid for president in 1996, Perot's newly formed Reform Party (RP) also secured ballot access in South Carolina, meaning Perot appeared twice, once for the RP, and the other for the PP. [10] The PP would earn Perot 36,913 votes in South Carolina, to the Reform Party's 27,464. [11] The combined 64,386 votes was 5.60% of the electorate. [12] However, with an established state branch of the Reform party, Perot's supporters migrated, leaving the PP dormant. [2]

2nd Refoundation

In 2000, Michael Avey, then a professor of political science at Lander College, with some activist friends, took over the dormant PP and wrote to the Federal Election Commission requesting federal recognition for changing the name back to the United Citizens Party. [13] Ralph Nader ran as the UCP nominee in his 2000 bid for president, earning him 20,279 votes or 1.47% of the electorate. [14] The party's original founder Harper has come out in support of Avey's restored party, applauding his efforts to make a party for Black Americans stating that "The problems and inequities the United Citizens Party identified 30 year ago are still problems today. Sure, there have been a number of black legislators elected, but not enough to make difference without the support of white Democrats, which too rarely happens. The [Democratic] Party gives lip service to the needs of the black community and working people, but it stops there." [2]

In the 2002 election for the Second Congressional District in South Carolina, Mark Whittington received 17,189 votes or 10.03% of the total. [15] Activist and political operative Kevin Alexander Gray was a gubernatorial candidate representing the South Carolina United Citizens’ Party and the South Carolina Green Party. He did not collect the required number of signatures to be on the ballot, and consequently ran as a write-in candidate. [16]

2004 Presidential Elections

In presidential election of 2004, the UCP chose to nominate the Socialist Party candidate Walt Brown for president. Brown received 2,124 votes or about 0.1% of the total 1,617,730.

In 2006, the Party endorsed John "JC" Nelums for State House District 79 (Kershaw, Richland) [17] and did not cross-endorse candidates of any other party.

2008 Presidential Elections

On March 29, 2008, the party endorsed Barack Obama via convention for the 2008 presidential election, [18] but the nomination was not accepted. Obama appeared on the ballot as solely as the candidate of the Democratic Party. [19]

In 2010, the party cross-endorsed former football player Morgan Bruce Reeves for governor, alongside the South Carolina Green Party. Reeves received 0.9% of the vote. On the November 2014 ballot, the party nominated Reeves for Governor and David Edmond for Commissioner of Agriculture. Reeves received 0.5% of the vote.

In 2018 and 2022, Chris Nelums ran as a United Citizens Party candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture. [20] In 2018 Nelums received 118,671 votes, or 8.85% of the vote; in 2022, he received 95,625 votes, or 6.84% of the vote. [21]

2024 Presidential Elections

2024 Presidential Candidate Cornel West.jpg
Melina Abdullah.jpg
2024 Presidential Candidate Cornel West (left) and his running mate Melina Abdullah (right)
Cornel West's ballot access in 2024, appearing in South Carolina as the UCP Candidate West ballot access 2024.svg
Cornel West's ballot access in 2024, appearing in South Carolina as the UCP Candidate

For the 2024 United States presidential election, the UCP chose to nominate Cornel West. [22] Also on the 2024 UCP ticket are Gregg Marcel Dixon [23] running for South Carolina's 6th Congressional District challenging Democratic incumbent Jim Clyburn, and Chris Nelums [24] running for State Senate District 19, challenging Democratic incumbent Tameika Isaac Devine. [25] Neither the UCP's leadership, nor its candidates, responded to requests from The State for an interview to be included in their profile of third-party candidates. [26]

Presidential nominees

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural Law Party (United States)</span> Political party associated with Transcendental Meditation

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 2024.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 United States presidential election</span> 52nd quadrennial U.S. presidential election

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 Donald Trump in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1876 United States presidential election</span> 23rd quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1876 United States presidential election was the 23rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 1876.

Electoral fusion in the United States is an arrangement where two or more U.S. political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, allowing that candidate to receive votes on multiple party lines in the same election.

<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.

Third party, or minor party, is a term used in the United States' two-party system for political parties other than the Republican and Democratic parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenora Fulani</span> American academic and activist

Lenora Branch Fulani is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and political activist. She is best known for her presidential campaigns and development of youth programs serving minority communities in the New York City area. In the 1988 United States presidential election heading the New Alliance Party ticket, she became the first woman and the first African American to achieve ballot access in all fifty states. Fulani's political concerns include racial equality, gay rights, and political reform, specifically to encourage third parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Alliance Party</span> Political party in United States

The New Alliance Party (NAP) was an American political party formed in New York City in 1979. Its immediate precursor was an umbrella organization known as the Labor Community Alliance for Change, whose member groups included the Coalition of Grass Roots Women and the New York City Unemployed and Welfare Council. These groups were all associated with controversial psychologist and political activist Fred Newman, whose radical healthcare collectives, Centers for Change and Marxist International Workers Party, were active in grassroots politics in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence Party of New York</span> Third party in New York, United States

The Independence Party was 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Reform Party presidential primaries</span>

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, who previously ran third party campaigns for President in 1980 and 1988 respectively, were considered potential candidates. Both Anderson and Paul ultimately declined to seek the nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Buchanan 2000 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 2000 presidential campaign of Pat Buchanan, conservative pundit and advisor 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Green Party presidential primaries</span>

The 2016 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of primaries, caucuses and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States at the 2016 Green National Convention. The primaries, held in numerous states on various dates from January to July 2016, featured elections publicly funded and held as an alternative ballot, concurrent with the Democratic and Republican primaries, and elections privately funded by the Green Party, held non-concurrently with the major party primaries. Over 400 delegates to the Green National Convention were elected in these primaries, with a candidate needing a simple majority of these delegates to become the party's nominee for president.

This article lists third party and independent candidates, also jointly known as minor candidates, associated with the 2024 United States presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in California</span>

The 2024 United States presidential election in California is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. California voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. California has 54 electoral votes in the Electoral College, the most in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in North Carolina</span>

The 2024 United States presidential election in North Carolina is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. North Carolina voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of North Carolina has 16 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state gained a seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in Ohio</span>

The 2024 United States presidential election in Ohio is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Ohio voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Ohio has 17 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state lost a seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in Utah</span>

The 2024 United States presidential election in Utah is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Utah voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Utah has six electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state neither gained nor lost a seat.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Edgar, Walter. ""U" is for United Citizens Party". South Carolina Public Radio . Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bursey, Brett. "Is South Carolina ready for a progressive third party?". POINT. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  3. ↑ "John Roy Harper, II at a United Citizens' Party of S.C. meeting". Civil Rights Digital Library. February 12, 1970. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "John Roy Harper II papers". University of South Carolina South Caroliniana Library. 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  5. ↑ "General Election Results 1972" (PDF). Report of the South Carolina Election Commission For the Period Ending June 30, 1973. 1973. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  6. ↑ Fellner, Kevin (June 28, 2016). "United Citizens Party". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  7. ↑ Hanes Walton Jr.; William H. Boone (September 1974). "Black political parties: A demographic analysis". Journal of Black Studies. 5 (1): 86–95. doi:10.1177/002193477400500106. S2CID   149175117.
  8. ↑ "Votes Cast in General Election November 8, 1988" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission Annual Report 1988-1989. 1988. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  9. ↑ "General Election Results 1992" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission Annual Report 1992-1993. 1992. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Ballot Access News -- September 1, 2000". ballot-access.org. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  11. ↑ "Election Returns from Primaries and General Elections (Statewide)". www.scvotes.org. Archived from the original on 31 October 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  12. ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of United States Presidential Election Results – 1996 South Carolina Results
  13. ↑ "Letter to FEC from Michael J. Avey" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. August 20, 2000. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  14. ↑ "2000 Presidential General Election Results — South Carolina". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  15. ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, Nov. 5, 2002.
  16. ↑ O'Cain, Susan (July 16, 2002). "Gray to run as write in candidate". WLTX-TV. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  17. ↑ "General Election Results 2006" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission Annual Report 2005-2006. 2006. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  18. ↑ Winger, Richard (editor). United Citizens Party Nominates Barack Obama for President. Ballot Access News. 2008-04-11
  19. ↑ "SC - Election Results", 2008 General Election Returns, South Carolina State Election Commission, p. 1, 2009-06-01, retrieved 2011-09-06
  20. ↑ Collins, Jeffrey (November 5, 2022). "Democrats in South Carolina trying to win 1st statewide race in 16 years". WFAE 90.7 National Public Radio. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Election Results". South Carolina Election Commission. 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  22. ↑ Wagner, Richard; Fox, Bradley. "United Citizens Party of South Carolina Nominates Cornel West for President". ballot-access.org. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  23. ↑ Blakeney, Barney (June 2, 2024). "Dixon makes his bid". The Post and Courier. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  24. ↑ Jordon, Kei'Yona (May 20, 2024). "Candidates for Senate District 19 and 22 weigh in on heavy topics at political forum". WACH-TV. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Candidate Listing". South Carolina State Election Commission. 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  26. ↑ Wilder, Anna. "6 SC candidates for Congress aren't Democrat or Republican. Here are your third party candidates". The State . Retrieved 10 June 2024.

Notes

  1. ↑ Although the party was never formally disestablished, the original UCP went dormant following the 1972 election, the party would be taken over by supporters of Lenora Filani in 1988, being renamed to the PP in 1994, which too went dormant after the 1996 election, and the formation of a South Carolina branch of the Reform Party. The party would again be taken over in 2000 and changed back into the UCP
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.