The Minor Third Parties Candidates

Party like it's 1776 (even if it's not)

Vote for us! Even though we have a crappy logo!

Reform (our party)

SOCIALISM!!!

killall nukes

You already know about all the major third parties. However, did you know that there are also a bunch of smaller third parties? Most are one plank activists trying to draw attention to an issue (Prohibition Party), extremists (Socialist Party USA), or bloggers (Boston Tea Party).

Boston Tea Party - Jay/Knapp

This libertarian party, founded in 2006, was founded after dislike for the Libertarian Party's direction. The party has only one plank: lower the government power at all levels. They have a handful of candidates for several House, Senate and Governor seats, as well as a Charles Jay/Thomas Knapp (the latter is also a Congressional candidate in Missouri) on the presidential ticket. Jay was a vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party in 2004. When it was obvious he would lose, he became the Personal Choice Party candidate that same year, winning a whopping 946 votes and only getting on one ballot (Utah). Knapp's a blogger and one of the founders of the party.

New American Independent Party - McEnulty/TBA

Talk about a rush job: this party was literally formed on election day in 2004. Sporting both conservative and liberal views and claiming to be the party for the middle class, the party currently has a small group of House candidates. Frank McEnulty, the presidential candidate and the Reform Party vice-presidential candidate (these smaller parties really get confusing), is the CFO of a building company from California. As yet, he has not yet announced his vice presidential candidate.

Party for Socialism and Liberation - La Riva/Puryear

You thought Ron Paul was going to start a revolution? Check out this Marxist party, founded in 2004. It supports Castro, the Chinese revolution, and the Bolivarian revolution. It also has strong ties to many Muslim organizations. The presidential candidate, Gloria La Riva, has been running for third parties since 1992, when she ran with the Workers World Party. Her vice presidential candidate, Eugene Puryear, is an ANSWER member and an active protester against the Jena 6 arrests. Ralph Nader looks tame next to these guys.

Prohibition Party - Amondson/Pletten

Apparently, no one told these guys that we already tried the Prohibition, and it failed dramatically. It's actually the same one that helped pass prohibition laws. Formed in 1869 (making it one of the oldest parties around), the Prohibition Party draws its main support from strong prohibition stances on liquor, tobacco, drugs, porn, and gambling. The current candidate is Gene Amondson, the 2004 candidate who openly admitted that he had no chance.

Reform Party - Weill/McEnulty (also running for NAIP)

The party formed by H. Ross Perot, arguably the most successful third party candidate in history, is still around today, though not in such good shape (the website looks like it hasn't been updated since Perot). The protectionist, balanced budget, and anti-electoral college party has been fraught with infighting ever since Perot left. The current candidate is Ted Weill, whose biggest electoral victory was coming in third for Mississippi Senator with 13,600 votes. His vice-presidential candidate is Frank McEnulty, which is kind of confusing since McEnulty is also the presidential candidate for the New American Independent Party.

Socialist Party USA - Moore/Alexander

A spinoff of Eugene Debs' movement, this 1973 party has about 1700 members and almost no chance of winning anything. It does differ from PSL in that it supports a democratic socialism rather than an authoritarian communism, but that's about where the differences end. The presidential candidate, Brian Moore, was once a Republican (in 1994), but has since switched to a Green and then Socialist.

Socialist Workers Party - Calero/Kennedy

Another old party, founded in the 30s, the SWP was once one of the strongest Trotskyite parties in the United States. Today, however, they're mainly a relic. Róger Calero, the candidate, has an... interesting record. Technically not even eligible to run (he's a green card holder and was born in Central America), Calero was arrested several times, including once for illegal sale of drugs.

United States Pacifist Party - Lyttle/TBA

The Pacifist Party is just that: a strong anti-war party. They want to bring everyone home, eliminate all nukes, destroy SDI, disarm everyone, kill the military budget, and stop all foreign military aid. Here's how small they are. Their candidate actually has his real email (an ISP email, no less) listed on the site. Dude.

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