In the Top Two Primary system in California, there is no party primary, only a Louisiana-style “jungle primary” in which all candidates compete for votes and the top two vote getters move on to the general election, regardless of political affiliation. Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman from California is facing a re-election fight, not against a [...]

The American Independent Party is the largest ballot-qualified party in California according to registration numbers. The party has stated its preference to have a presidential candidate on the ballot in 2012, but it is not at all clear what candidate the convention will choose. The American Independent Party has moved its convention back by two [...]

Over at Green Party Watch, they have published a very detailed report on the final leg of the race for the Green Party presidential nomination. Ronald Hardy clears up some of the numbers and highlights which states will actually be participating and where Barr’s strengths could be. Given that Jill Stein has a 100 delegate [...]

Here is a short video (It’s too long to call a commercial.) of Merlin Miller, the Presidential nominee of the American Third Position Party. It was sent to me in an e-mail.

Public Policy Polling has been diligently including some third parties in their polling recently. In Arizona, Public Policy Polling ran a general election poll and included Libertarian Party nominee and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who received 9%. One thing that could make the race more competitive in Arizona, perhaps more so than other [...]

This article was written for the purpose of publication here at IPR.   The California Libertarian Party’s Executive Committee is currently considering a proposal to move its state office from Los Angeles County to Sacramento. The new location would be on the ninth floor of an executive office suite within two blocks of the state [...]

This article addresses in detail Americans Elect’s troubles specifically, and addresses challenges to third parties generally. Hat tip to Kevin Thompson. The fledgling group’s inability to coalesce around a candidate points to the difficulty of breaking into a system heavily weighted to favor Republican and Democratic politicians — and the struggles of attracting mainstream candidates [...]

The email below is being shared with others at the request of Geoff Neale, Chairman of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC). Here is the relevant background: As a condition for being a scheduled speaker at a national convention, all speakers are required to agree to not seek or accept any position being selected by delegates at [...]

Sorry for being late in posting this, I usually try to do this on the 1st but was without internet the last few days. This is thread to discuss whatever applies to alt parties and independent candidates, and from time to time other stuff, but is not being discussed in a specific thread. News tips, [...]

Virgil Goode was today interviewed by WorldNetDaily radio concerning his presidential candidacy and his thoughts on President Obama. WorldNetDaily is one of the largest conservative news and opinion sites on the Internet. Goode says Obama’s spending is completely out of control but Republican proposals are also not good enough because he says the budget needs [...]

The latest clip on youtube fro Gary Johnson, Libertarian for President, comes with the following description: Republicans are Thelma. The Democrats are Louise. Together they are taking our nation over a cliff. We have a President and a majority in Congress who insist on endless war. But a majority of Americans are insisting on Peace. [...]

Tom Horner was the 2010 gubernatorial candidate of the Minnesota Independence Party, scoring 11.9% in that race. Tim Penny is a former Democratic Congressman and Independence Party candidate for Governor in 2002, when he received 16% of the vote. The two penned an editorial in the Star Tribune, a major newspaper in Minnesota, calling for [...]

Michael Peroutka is one of a number of speakers who is slated to address the Constitution Party of Mississippi’s 2012 convention, which will be held in Tupelo, Mississippi, on June 1st and 2nd. Michael Anthony Peroutka speaks Friday evening and is the Keynote speaker on Saturday afternoon.  Explaining the American view of law and government, [...]

The Progressive Party of Vermont is arguably one of the most successful state-level third parties in the United States, having elected multiple State Senators, State Representatives, etc. Now, the Progressive Party of Vermont is organizing its slate of candidates, especially statewide candidates, for 2012. On the topic of Progressives, party Chairwoman Martha Abbott of Underhill [...]

Michael Farris is the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Fund, Patrick Henry College, and The Madison Project PAC. The Home School Legal Defense Fund is an organization which represents home schooling students and parents in federal and state courts. Patrick Henry College is a liberal arts university in Virginia with 400+ enrolled students [...]

Six conventions or caucuses were held in state Green Parties all over the United States on Saturday, May 19th, 2012. Jill Stein, the leading candidate for the Presidential nomination of the Green Party, won all of the contests except for Hawaii, Roseanne Barr’s homestate, where she tied with Barr. Six state Green parties completed their [...]

The Libertarian Party of Delaware recently had their state convention and passed a resolution praising Republican Presidential candidate and Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, himself a former Libertarian Party candidate. Resolution Recognizing the Achievements of Dr. Ron Paul The Libertarian Party of Delaware wishes to recognize the achievements of Dr Ron Paul in promoting libertarian [...]

The local Democratic Party in Illinois is creating a local third party in order to run another candidate against the Democratic candidate in their local State House District. This post at Ballot Access News explains the situation. On March 13, the federal government charged Illinois Democratic State Representative Derrick Smith with bribery. Nevertheless, on March [...]

Lee Wrights, Libertarian National Committee vice chair, will participate in a Gary Johnson for President Online Town Hall meeting tomorrow from 7-9 p.m. EST. Lee will also be a guest on the “Live and Let Live” radio show Sunday, May 27. He’ll be on from 8-9 p.m. CST, the first hour of the two-hour program. [...]

During his heyday, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey was a major player in national politics. He was a three-term Democratic U.S. Senator, Rhodes Scholar, Olympic gold medal winner, and NBA champion. Now, he is apparently now discussing openly the idea of a minor party which would hope to win twenty or so [...]