North Carolina's Four (Yes, Four) Political Parties
Published for Coates' Canons on May 01, 2012.
UPDATE November 2013: Americans Elect did not prove to be a viable political party and failed to qualify for continued recognition in North Carolina.
No doubt you can name the two biggest political parties officially recognized in North Carolina: just over 2.73 million Tar Heel voters have registered to vote as Democrats and just under 2 million as Republicans. And you may be able to name the third, the Libertarian Party, with its 14,000 members. But what’s that fourth party?
It’s Americans Elect, whose status as a recognized political party was certified by the State Board of Elections on April 13, 2012. Official recognition means that a party’s candidates may appear on the state’s election ballots.
Americans Elect
Americans Elect (“AE”) is a very unusual party. In fact, it does not even describe itself as a political party, saying instead, in the words of its website, that it
- is “a modern reimagining of the presidential nominating process,”
- is “merely an infrastructure for the nominating process,”
- is a “nonprofit and nonpartisan organization,”
- will “not support or advocate for any candidate, candidate committee, ideology, or issue,” and
- “does not give money to nor accept money from any candidate or candidate committee.”
- In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt, running on the Progressive Party ticket, received 28.4% of the vote in North Carolina, finishing ahead of William Howard Taft, the Republican nominee and sitting president. Woodrow Wilson, Democrat, won.
- In 1968, George Wallace, governor of Alabama, running on the American Independent Party ticket, received 31.3%, finishing ahead of Hubert Humphrey, the Democratic nominee and sitting vice president. Richard Nixon, Republican, won.
- In 1948, Strom Thurmond received 8.8% as the candidate of the States Rights Democratic Party.
- In 1992, Ross Perot received 13.7% as the candidate of the Independent Party.
- In 1996, Ross Perot received 6.7% as the candidate of the Reform Party.
Public Officials - Local and State Government Roles
Topics - Local and State Government