View source for American Independent Party

{{Short description|Political party in the United States}}
 
{{distinguish|Independent voter|Independent politician|The American Independent|Independence Party of America|American Party of the United States|United States Independence Party}}
{{Infobox political party
| colorcode        = {{party color|American Independent Party}}
| name             = American Independent Party
| logo             = American Independent Party Logo.png
| flag             = American Independent Party flag.jpg
| leader1_title    = Chairman
| leader1_name     = Victor Marani ([[California|CA]])<ref name=Officers>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aipca.vote/|title=The American Independent Party – The Fastest Growing Political Party In California|website=www.aipca.vote}}</ref>
| leader2_title    = Vice Chairman
| leader2_name     = James Mallamace<ref>{{cite web|title=Resolution to Demand the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Allow Nationwide U.S. Secret Service Protection for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And Nicole Shanahan as the Official Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates Representing the American Independent Party in the 2024 General Election|url=https://www.aipca.vote/_theme/assets/files/statements/AIP-Resolution-USSS-Protection.pdf|access-date=April 30, 2024}}</ref>
| slogan           = "No North, No South, No East, No West – One Great Nation, Heaven Blessed!"
| headquarters     = PO Box 1479.<br />[[Freedom, California]] [[Zip code|95019]]
| founders         = [[Bill Shearer]]<br />Eileen Knowland Shearer
| foundation       = {{Start date and age|1967|7|8}}
| split            = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]<br />[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]
| ideology         = [[American nationalism]]<br />[[Anti-communism]]<br />[[Paleoconservatism]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Would-be independents joining the American Independent Party could blame California's voter registration card | website=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=19 April 2016 | url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-american-independent-party-california-voter-registration-card-20160419-story.html }}</ref><br />[[Ultraconservatism]]<ref name="MyersIndepenents">John Myers, [http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-american-independent-party-california-voter-registration-card-20160419-story.html Would-be independents joining the American Independent Party could blame California's voter registration card], ''Los Angeles Times'' (April 19, 2016).</ref><br />[[Right-wing populism]]<br />'''Formerly, now factions:'''<br />[[Populism]]<br />[[Economic populism]]<br />[[Syncretic politics]]<br />
| position         = [[Far-right politics|Far-right]]<ref>James Aho, ''Far-Right Fantasy: A Sociology of American Religion and Politics'' (Routledge, 2015), p. 15.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=George April|title=Willis Carto and the American Far Right|publisher=University Press of Florida|year=2008|pages=160|isbn=9780813031989}} </ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Martin Durham|title=The Christian Right, the Far Right and the Boundaries of American Conservatism|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=2000|pages=8|url=https://archive.org/details/christianrightfa00durh}}</ref><ref name="npr.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/04/18/474725586/many-american-independent-party-voters-in-california-are-mis-registered|title=Many American Independent Party voters in California are mis-registered|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=April 18, 2016}}</ref>
| national         = American Independent Party<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aipca.org/history.html|title=History of the American Independent Party|publisher=American Independent Party|date=2011|access-date=2015-08-14|archive-date=2018-12-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224224339/http://aipca.org/history.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />'''Historical:'''<br />[[Constitution Party (United States)|Constitution Party]] ''(1992 – 2008)''
| colors           = 
| seats1_title     = [[California State Senate|State Senate]]
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|0|40|hex={{party color|American Independent Party}}}}
| seats2_title     = [[California State Assembly|State House]]
| seats2           = {{Composition bar|0|80|hex={{party color|American Independent Party}}}}
| website          = {{URL|aipca.vote}}
| state            = California
}}
{{conservatism US|parties}}
[[File:1969-AIP-party-card.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Wallace's 1969 AIP party card, showing annual dues of $3.00 for the organization]]
The '''American Independent Party''' ('''AIP''') is an American [[political party]] that was established in 1967. The American Independent Party is best known for its [[nomination]] of Democratic then-former [[List of Governors of Alabama|Governor]] [[George Wallace]] of [[Alabama]], who carried five states in the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]] running against [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Hubert Humphrey]] on a [[populist]], hard-line [[anti-Communist]], [[Law and order (politics)|pro-"law and order"]] platform, appealing to [[working class|working-class]] white voters. Wallace was best known for his staunch [[segregationism|segregationist]] stances. In 1976, the party split into the modern American Independent Party and the [[American Party (1969)|American Party]]. From 1992 until 2008, the party was the California affiliate of the national [[Constitution Party (United States)|Constitution Party]]. Its exit from the Constitution Party led to a leadership dispute during the 2008 election.

==History==
===Wallace campaign and early history===
{{Main|George Wallace 1968 presidential campaign}}

{{See also|Electoral History of the American Independent and American Parties|l1=Electoral History of the American Independent Party}}

In 1967, the AIP was founded by Bill Shearer and his wife, Eileen Knowland Shearer. It nominated George C. Wallace (Democrat) as its presidential candidate and retired [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] General [[Curtis E. LeMay]] (Republican) as the vice-presidential candidate. Wallace ran on every state ballot in the election, though he did not represent the American Independent Party in all fifty states: in [[Connecticut]], for instance, he was listed on the ballot as the nominee of the "George Wallace Party." The Wallace/LeMay ticket received 13.5 percent of the popular vote and 46 electoral votes from the states of [[Arkansas]], [[Louisiana]], [[Mississippi]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and [[Alabama]]. No third-party candidate has won more than one electoral vote since the 1968 election.<ref>Chrostopher D. Rodkey, "Third Parties" in ''Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints and Voices'' (eds. Roger Chapman & James Ciment: 2d ed: Routledge, 2015), p. 665.</ref><ref>""Conservative third parties since the New Deal" in ''The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History'' (Vol. 1) (eds. April Kazin, Rebecca Edwards & Adam Rothman: Princeton University Press, 2010), p. 195.</ref>

In 1969, representatives from forty states established the [[American Party (1969)|American Party]] as the successor to the American Independent Party. In some places, such as Connecticut, the American Party was constituted as the American Conservative Party. (The modern American Conservative Party, founded in 2008, is unrelated to the Wallace-era party.) In March 1969, the party ran a candidate in a [[special election]] in [[Tennessee's 8th congressional district]] in northwestern [[Tennessee]], where Wallace had done well the previous November, to replace Congressman [[Fats Everett|Robert "Fats" Everett]], who had died in office. Their candidate, William J. Davis, out-polled Republican [[Leonard Dunavant]], with 16,375 votes to Dunavant's 15,773; but the race was carried by moderate [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Ed Jones (Tennessee politician)|Ed Jones]], with 33,028 votes (47% of the vote).

The party flag, adopted on August 30, 1970, depicts an [[eagle]] holding a group of arrows in its left talons, over a [[compass rose]], with a banner which reads "The American Independent Party" at the eagle's base.

The American Party had gained [[ballot access]] in Tennessee in 1970 as the result of George Wallace's strong (second-place) showing in the state in 1968, easily crossing the 5 percent threshold required, and held a [[Partisan primary|primary election]] which nominated a slate of candidates including businessman Douglas Heinsohn for governor.  However, neither Heinsohn nor any other candidate running on the American Party line achieved the 5 percent threshold in the 1970 Tennessee election, and it likewise failed to do so in 1972, meaning that the party lost its newfound ballot access, which as of 2025 it has never regained.<ref>''[[Tennessee Blue Book]]'', [[Tennessee Secretary of State]], 1971, 1973 "Elections"</ref>

In 1972, the American Party nominated [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Congressman [[John G. Schmitz]] of California for president and Tennessee author [[Thomas J. Anderson (author)|Thomas Jefferson Anderson]], both members of the [[John Birch Society]], for vice president, winning the party over 1.1 million votes, the highest vote share the party has ever achieved since Wallace's run.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leip |first=Dave |date=2019 |title=1972 Presidential General Election Results |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1972&f=1&off=0&elect=0}}</ref> That year, Hall Lyons, a [[petroleum industry]] executive and former Republican, ran as the AP nominee [[1972 United States Senate election in Louisiana|in Louisiana for the United States Senate]] but finished last in a four-way race dominated by the Democratic nominee, [[J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.]]

===After the 1976 split===
In 1976, the American Independent Party split into the more moderate [[American Party (1969)|American Party]], which included more northern conservatives and Schmitz supporters, and the American Independent Party, which focused on the [[Deep South]]. Both parties have nominated candidates for the presidency and other offices. Neither the American Party nor the American Independent Party has had national success, and the American Party has not achieved ballot status in any state since 1996.

In the early 1980s, Bill Shearer led the American Independent Party into the [[Populist Party (United States, 1984)|Populist Party]]. From 1992 to 2008, the American Independent Party was the California affiliate of the national [[Constitution Party (United States)|Constitution Party]], formerly the U.S. Taxpayers Party, whose founders included the late [[Howard Phillips (activist)|Howard Phillips]].

===2007 leadership dispute===
A split in the American Independent Party occurred during the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential campaign]], with one faction recognizing Jim King as chairman of the AIP with the other recognizing Ed Noonan as chairman. Noonan's faction claims the old AIP main website while the King organization claims the AIP's [[blog]]. King's group met in Los Angeles on June 28–29, elected King to state chair.<ref>Quirk, Cody. "[http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/06/30/aip-holds-its-state-convention-endorses-chuck-baldwin-and-reaffirms-cp-affiliation/ AIP holds its State Convention, endorses Chuck Baldwin and reaffirms CP affiliation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080717031801/http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/06/30/aip-holds-its-state-convention-endorses-chuck-baldwin-and-reaffirms-cp-affiliation/ |date=2008-07-17 }}", ''Third Party Watch'', June 30, 2008.</ref> Ed Noonan's faction, which included 8 of the 17 AIP officers, held a convention in Sacramento on July 5, 2008. Issues in the split were U.S. foreign policy and the influence of Constitution Party founder Howard Phillips on the state party.<ref name="horserace08.freedomblogging.com">Bock, Alan. "[http://horserace08.freedomblogging.com/category/third-party-candidates-and-possibilities/ American-Independent split] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003140652/http://horserace08.freedomblogging.com/category/third-party-candidates-and-possibilities/ |date=October 3, 2008}}". ''[[Orange County Register]] Horserace '08''. Wednesday, July 2, 2008.</ref>

The King group elected to stay in the Constitution Party and supported its presidential candidate, [[Chuck Baldwin]]. It was not listed as the "Qualified Political Party" by the California Secretary of State and Baldwin's name was not printed on the state's ballots.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_f.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080717001002/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_f.htm|url-status=dead|title=California Secretary of State – Elections & Voter Information – Qualified Political Parties|archivedate=July 17, 2008}}</ref> King's group sued for ballot access<ref>Quirk, Cody. "[http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/07/22/statement-from-jim-king-aip-chairman/ Statement from Jim King, AIP Chairman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821172144/http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/07/22/statement-from-jim-king-aip-chairman/ |date=2008-08-21 }}", ''Third Party Watch'', July 22, 2008.</ref> and their case was dismissed without prejudice.<ref name="winger-kw">Winger, Richard. "[http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/08/26/keyes-wins-california-lawsuit-on-procedural-issues/ Keyes Wins California Lawsuit on Procedural Issue]", ''Ballot Access News'', August 26, 2008.</ref>

The Noonan group voted to pull out of the Constitution Party and join a new party called America's Party, put together by [[perennial candidate]] and former [[United Nations]] [[Ambassador]] [[Alan Keyes]] as a vehicle for his own presidential campaign.<ref name="horserace08.freedomblogging.com" /> Since Noonan was on record with the California Secretary of State as (outgoing) party chairman, Keyes was added to the state ballots as the AIP candidate.<ref>Garris, Eric. "[http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/07/22/3589/ California Ballot: Alan Keyes Replaces Chuck Baldwin on American Independent Party Ticket] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213110730/http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/07/22/3589/ |date=2023-02-13 }}", ''Third Party Watch'', July 22, 2008.</ref> This group elected Markham Robinson as its new chair at the convention.

===Presidential tickets===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" style="text-align:center"
|+
! Year
! Presidential<br />nominee<ref>And political party if different from the AIP.</ref>
! Home state
! Previous positions
! Vice presidential<br />nominee
! Home state
! Previous positions
! Votes
! References and notes
|-
| [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]]
| [[File:George C Wallace.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[George Wallace]]'''<br />([[George Wallace presidential campaign, 1968|campaign]])
| {{flag|Alabama}}
| {{small|[[Governor of Alabama]]<br />(1963–1967)}}
| [[File:Curtis LeMay (USAF).jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Curtis LeMay]]'''
| {{flag|California}}
| {{small|[[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Chief of Staff of the Air Force]] (1961–1965)<br />[[Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force]] (1957–1961)<br />[[List of commanders-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command|Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Air Command]] (1948–1957)}}
| 9,906,473 (13.5%)<br />46 EV
| Wallace and LeMay carried five states, receiving 45 electoral votes, plus one from a North Carolina [[faithless elector]]. This ticket remains, as of the [[2024 United States presidential election]], the last third party duo to win at least one state's entire electoral votes.
|-
| [[1972 United States presidential election|1972]]
| [[File:John G. Schmitz.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[John G. Schmitz]]'''
| {{flag|California}}
| {{small|Member of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from [[California's 35th congressional district|California's 35th district]]<br />(1970–1973)}}
| [[File:Thomas J. Anderson.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Thomas J. Anderson (author)|Thomas J. Anderson]]'''
| {{flag|Tennessee}}
| {{small|Magazine publisher}}
| 1,099,482 (1.4%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]
| [[File:Lester Maddox.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Lester Maddox]]'''
| {{flag|Georgia (U.S. state)|name=Georgia|1956}}
| {{small|[[Governor of Georgia]] (1967–1971)<br />[[Lieutenant Governor of Georgia]] (1971–1975)}}
| [[File:William Dyke.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[William Dyke]]'''
| {{flag|Wisconsin}}
| {{small|[[List of mayors of Madison, Wisconsin|Mayor of Madison]] (1969–1973)<br />Candidate for [[Governor of Wisconsin]] ([[Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 1974|1974]])}}
| 170,531 (0.2%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[1980 United States presidential election|1980]]
| [[File:John Rarick.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[John Rarick]]'''
| {{flag|Louisiana}}
| {{small|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from [[Louisiana's 6th congressional district|Louisiana's 6th district]]<br />(1967–1975)}}
| '''[[Eileen Shearer]]'''
| {{flag|California}}
| {{small|Co-founder of the American Independent Party}}
| 41,268 (<0.1%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]]
| [[File:Robert E. Richards.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Bob Richards]]'''<br /><small>([[Populist Party (United States, 1984)|Populist]])</small>
| {{flag|Texas}}
| {{small|Retired Olympic athlete ([[1948 Summer Olympics|1948]]; [[1952 Summer Olympics|1952]]; [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956]])}}
| [[File:Maureen K Salaman.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Maureen Kennedy Salaman|Maureen K. Salaman]]'''
| {{flag|California}}
| {{small|Writer, nutritionist}}
| 66,336 (0.1%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]]
| '''[[James C. Griffin]]'''
| {{flag|Texas}}
| {{small|Nominee for [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from California ([[United States Senate election in California, 1980|1980]])<br />Nominee for [[Governor of California]] ([[California gubernatorial election, 1982|1982]])<br />Nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor of California]] (1986)}}
| '''[[Charles Morsa]]'''
| {{flag|California}}
|
| 27,818 (<0.1%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]]
| [[File:Howard Phillips -v2.JPG|70px]]<br />'''[[Howard Phillips (activist)|Howard Phillips]]'''<br /><small>([[U.S. Taxpayers' Party|U.S. Taxpayers']])</small>
| {{flag|Virginia}}
| {{small|Chairman of [[The Conservative Caucus]]<br />Candidate for [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from Massachusetts ([[United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1978|1978]])}}
| '''[[Albion W. Knight Jr.|Albion W. Knight]]'''
| {{flag|Florida}}
| {{small|Presiding Bishop of the [[United Episcopal Church of North America]]<br />(1989–1992)}}
| 43,369 (<0.1%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]]
| [[File:Howard Phillips -v2.JPG|70px]]<br />'''[[Howard Phillips (activist)|Howard Phillips]]'''<br /><small>([[U.S. Taxpayers' Party|U.S. Taxpayers']])</small>
| {{flag|Virginia}}
| {{small|Chairman of [[The Conservative Caucus]]<br />Candidate for [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from Massachusetts ([[United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1978|1978]]) <br />Nominee for President of the United States (1992)}}
| '''[[Herbert Titus]]'''
| {{flag|Oregon}}
| {{small|Lawyer, writer}}
| 184,656 (0.2%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]]
| [[File:Howard Phillips -v2.JPG|70px]]<br />'''[[Howard Phillips (activist)|Howard Phillips]]'''<br /><small>([[Constitution Party (United States)|Constitution]])</small>
| {{flag|Virginia}}
| {{small|Chairman of [[The Conservative Caucus]]<br />Candidate for [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from Massachusetts ([[United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1978|1978]])<br />Nominee for President of the United States (1992; 1996)}}
| '''Curtis Frazier'''
| {{flag|Missouri}}
| {{small|Candidate for United States Senator from Missouri ([[1998 United States Senate election in Missouri|1998]])}}
| 98,020 (0.1%)<br />0 EV
| <ref>[[Joseph Sobran]] was the original vice presidential nominee, but he withdrew from the ticket and was replaced by Frazier.</ref>
|-
| [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]
| '''[[Michael Peroutka]]'''<br /><small>([[Constitution Party (United States)|Constitution]])</small>
| {{flag|Maryland}}
| {{small|Lawyer<br />Founder of the Institute on the Constitution}}
| [[File:CBaldwin08 (cropped).jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Chuck Baldwin]]'''
| {{flag|Florida}}
| {{small|Pastor, radio host}}
| 143,630 (0.1%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]
| [[File:Alan Keyes speech.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Alan Keyes]]'''<br />([[Alan Keyes 2008 presidential campaign|campaign]])
<small>(America's Independent)</small>
| {{flag|New York}}
| {{small|[[Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs]]<br />(1985–1987)<br />Candidate for United States Senator from Maryland ([[United States Senate election in Maryland, 1988|1988]]; [[United States Senate election in Maryland, 1992|1992]])<br />Candidate for President of the United States (1996; 2000)<br />Candidate for United States Senator from Illinois ([[United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004|2004]])}}
| '''[[Wiley Drake]]'''
| {{flag|California}}
| {{small|Minister, radio host}}
| 47,694 (<0.1%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]]
| <br />'''[[Tom Hoefling]]'''<br /><small>(America's)</small>
| {{flag|Iowa}}
| {{small|Activist}}
| '''[[Robert Ornelas]]'''
| {{flag|California}}
| {{small|Activist}}
| 40,641 (<0.1%)<br />0 EV
|
|-
| [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]]
| [[File:Donald_Trump_official_portrait.jpg|alt=Trump smiling|70px|Donald Trump]]<br />'''[[Donald Trump]]'''<br />([[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|campaign]])
<small>([[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]])</small>
| {{flag|New York}}
|{{small|Businessman<br />Chairman of [[The Trump Organization]] (1971–2017)}}
|[[File:Mike Pence official portrait.jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Mike Pence]]'''
|{{flag|Indiana}}
|{{small|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana<br />(2001–2013)<br />[[Governor of Indiana]] (2013–2017)}}
| 62,984,825 (46.1%)<br />304 EV
| According to CNN, "Trump did not seek the nomination of the American Independent Party and did not have to take any formal steps to accept it. According to Sam Mahood, the press secretary for California Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D), California law permits one party to nominate the presidential candidate of another party and to have that choice reflected on the ballot. California election code does not require a presidential candidate who is already on the ballot to consent to receiving the nomination of another qualified political party."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mejia Davis |first1=Edward |title=Trump is the nominee of George Wallace's American Independent Party in California |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/02/politics/trump-american-independent-party-california/index.html |website=CNN |date=2 November 2016 |access-date=29 October 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]
| [[File:Roque De La Fuente (cropped).jpg|93x93px]]<br />'''[[Rocky De La Fuente]]'''<br /><small>([[Alliance Party (United States)|Alliance]]; [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform]])</small>
| {{flag|California}}
| {{small|Businessman and [[perennial candidate]]}}
| [[File:Kanye West at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival-2 (cropped).jpg|70px]]<br />'''[[Kanye West]]'''
([[Kanye West 2020 presidential campaign|campaign]])<br /><small>([[Independent politician|Independent]]; Birthday)</small>
| {{flag|Wyoming}}
| {{small|Rapper, producer and fashion designer; <br />2020 [[Kanye West 2020 presidential campaign|presidential candidate]]}} 
| 60,160 (0.34%)<br />0 EV
|<ref>{{cite web|date=August 15, 2020|title=American Independent Party Nominates Rocky De La Fuente for President and Kanye West for Vice-President|website=[[Ballot Access News]]|url=http://ballot-access.org/2020/08/15/american-independent-party-nominates-rocky-de-la-fuente-for-president-and-kanye-west-for-vice-president/|last1=Winger|first1=Richard|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200815214422/http://ballot-access.org/2020/08/15/american-independent-party-nominates-rocky-de-la-fuente-for-president-and-kanye-west-for-vice-president/|archive-date=August 15, 2020|access-date=August 15, 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[2024 United States presidential election|2024]]
|[[File:Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. by Gage Skidmore.jpg|93x93px]]<br />'''[[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]]'''<br />([[Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2024 presidential campaign|Independent campaign]])
| {{flag|California}}
| {{small|Environmental lawyer}}
| |[[File:Nicole Shanahan (54233355738) (cropped).jpg|center|thumb|85x85px]]<bR>[[Nicole Shanahan]] 
| {{flag|California}} 
| {{small|Attorney}}
| 681,450 (0.46%)<br />0 EV
|Suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathur-Ashton |first=Aneeta |date=August 23, 2024 |title=RFK Jr. Drops Out and Endorses Trump, Leaving Politicos Confused and Supporters Upset |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-08-23/rfk-jr-drops-out-and-endorses-trump-leaving-politicos-confused-and-supporters-upset }}</ref>
|-
|}

Following the split within the American Independent Party into factions led by Jim King and Ed Noonan, the Noonan faction has maintained control over the party's operations and ballot access in California. The party did not nominate [[Chuck Baldwin]], the 2008 Constitution Party presidential candidate, nor [[Virgil Goode]], the 2012 nominee, and both candidates were unable to secure independent positions on the California presidential ballot.

===California gubernatorial candidates===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Electoral results of American Independent Party candidates in California gubernatorial elections
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
!scope="col"| Year
!scope="col"| Candidate
!scope="col"| # Votes
!scope="col"| % Votes
|-
!scope="col"| [[1970 California gubernatorial election|1970]]
| Bill Shearer
| 65,847
| 1.01
|-
!scope="col"| [[1974 California gubernatorial election|1974]]
| Edmon V. Kaiser
| 83,869
| 1.34
|-
!scope="col"| [[1978 California gubernatorial election|1978]]
| Theresa F. Dietrich
| 67,103
| 0.97
|-
!scope="col"| [[1982 California gubernatorial election|1982]]
| James C. Griffin
| 56,249
| 0.71
|-
!scope="col"| [[1986 California gubernatorial election|1986]]
| Gary V. Miller
| 50,547
| 0.68
|-
!scope="col"| [[1990 California gubernatorial election|1990]]
| Jerome McCready
| 139,661
| 1.81
|-
!scope="col"| [[1994 California gubernatorial election|1994]]
| Jerome McCready
| 133,888
| 1.55
|-
!scope="col"| [[1998 California gubernatorial election|1998]]
| Nathan Johnson
| 37,964
| 0.45
|-
!scope="col"| [[2002 California gubernatorial election|2002]]
| Reinhold Gulke
| 128,035
| 1.71
|-
!scope="col"| [[2003 California recall election|2003]]
| Charles Pineda, Jr.
| 1,104
| 0.01
|-
!scope="col"| [[2003 California recall election|2003]]
| Diane Beall Templin
| 1,067
| 0.01
|-
!scope="col"| [[2006 California gubernatorial election|2006]]
| [[Edward C. Noonan]]
| 61,901
| 0.71
|-
!scope="col"| [[2010 California gubernatorial election|2010]]
| [[Chelene Nightingale]]
| 166,312
| 1.65
|-
!scope="col"| [[2014 California gubernatorial election|2014]]
| No Candidate{{efn|Nominated Republican [[Tim Donnelly (politician)|Tim Donnelly]] for the top two primary for governor, not affiliated with the party}}
| N/A
| N/A
|-
!scope="col"| [[2018 California gubernatorial election|2018]]
| No Candidate{{efn|Nominated Republican [[John H. Cox|John Cox]] for governor, not affiliated with the party}}
| N/A
| N/A
|-
!scope="col"| [[2021 California gubernatorial recall election|2021]]
| No Candidate{{efn|Nominated Republican [[Larry Elder]] for governor, not affiliated with the party}}
| N/A
| N/A
|-

|}

== List of chairs and vice chairs ==

* Bill Shearer: 1967–1999
* Nathan Johnson: 1999–2002
* Jim King:{{who?|date=June 2022}} 2002–2004
* Nancy Spirkoff: 2004–2006
* [[Edward C. Noonan]]/Mark Seidenberg: 2006–2008
* ''Disputed'': Jim King and Markham Robinson claim chairmanship: 2008–2024
* Victor Marani/James Mallamace: 2024–current<ref>{{Cite web |title=Resolution to Request Governor Gavin Newsom Provide California Highway Patrol Protection in the State of California for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan as the Official Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates Representing the American Independent Party in the 2024 General Election |url=https://www.aipca.vote/_theme/assets/files/statements/AIP-Resolution-CHP-Protection.pdf |website=www.aipca.vote}}</ref>

== California membership issues ==
In 2016, approximately 3% of California's 17.2 million voters were [[Voter registration in the United States#Party affiliation|registered]] with the American Independent Party (AIP), ranking it as the third-largest political party in the state by registration, following the [[California Democratic Party|Democratic]] (43%) and [[California Republican Party|Republican]] (28%) parties and those who registered as "no party preference" (24%).<ref name="MyersMai-DudWelsh">John Myers, Christine Mai-Duc & Ben Welsh, [http://static.latimes.com/american-independent-party-california-voters/ Are you an independent voter? You aren't if you checked this box], ''Los Angeles Times'' (April 17, 2016).</ref>

However, it has long been proposed by political analysts that the party, which has received very few votes in recent California elections, maintains its state ballot status because people join the American Independent Party mistakenly believing that they are registering as [[Independent (voter)|"independent" voters]].<ref name="npr.org"/><ref name=independent>''Voting at the Political Fault Line: California's Experiment With the Blanket Primary'' (eds. Bruce E. Cain & Elisabeth R. Gerber, University of California Press, 2002), p. 219. {{ISBN|0-520-22834-0}}.</ref> 

A 2016 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' investigation suggested that a significant number of voters registered with the AIP may have done so under the misconception that they were registering as independent, unaffiliated voters, which is officially designated as "no party preference" in California. A poll of voters registered with the AIP indicated that a majority may not have intended to register with the party. The investigation highlighted potential confusion caused by the party's name.<ref name="MyersIndepenents" /><ref name="MyersMai-DudWelsh" /> 

A 2016 poll conducted of California voters registered with the AIP showed that 73% identify themselves as "no affiliation" and 3% identify themselves as "undecided."<ref name="MyersMai-DudWelsh" /> Upon learning the AIP platform, 50% of registered AIP voters wanted to leave the AIP.<ref name="MyersMai-DudWelsh" /> A ''Times'' review of voting records revealed a wide array of Californians have fallen victim to this error, including celebrities such as [[Sugar Ray Leonard]], [[Demi Moore]], [[Emma Stone]], and [[Kaley Cuoco]].<ref name="MyersMai-DudWelsh" />  Similarly, in 2008, [[Jennifer Siebel]], then-fiancée of [[San Francisco]]'s former Democratic mayor [[Gavin Newsom]], attempted to change her party affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated, but "checked the American Independent box thinking that was what independent voters were supposed to do."<ref name="indep">{{cite web|author=Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BAG510A1VD.DTL |title=Newsom's girlfriend stumbles into wrong party|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 22, 2008}}</ref>

This confusion results in accidentally registered AIP members being unable to vote in presidential [[Partisan primary|primary election]]s and, in prior years, in all partisan primary elections other than those of the AIP.<ref name="npr.org" /><ref name="MyersMai-DudWelsh" /> A number of California registrars of voters had expressed concern over the confusion that the party's name causes.<ref name="MyersMai-DudWelsh" /> Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said that the California voter form was "confusing and somewhat misleading."<ref name="MyersIndepenents" /> However, since the advent of the "top-two" blanket primary in California in 2012, all voters may participate in non-presidential primary elections where nominations for public office are to be made. Presidential nominations and elections of members of party county central committees are still restricted to voters registered in the party where such contests are held, but a party may choose to allow voters with No Party Preference to vote in their presidential primary.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/political-parties/no-party-preference/
|publisher=California Secretary of State
|title=No Party Preference Information
|access-date=July 19, 2019
}}</ref> In addition, voters are able to re-register to the party of their choosing on election day via election day registration, mitigating the issue further.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-01 |title=California's primary vote count could take longer than ever |url=https://apnews.com/article/5515db2b38a26db42b09c5d64451b31e |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref>

To address the confusion, the [[California State Legislature|State Legislature]] passed SB 696 in 2019 to prohibit political parties in California from having the word "independent" within their names. The bill was specifically targeted at the American Independent Party. However, Governor [[Gavin Newsom]] vetoed the bill.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/American-Independent-Party-can-keep-name-14505642.php|title=American Independent Party can keep name — Newsom vetoes bill to force a change| date= October 10, 2019| first= Trapper |last= Byrne| website=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.aipca.org/ American Independent Party of California]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111105121610/http://www.joincalifornia.com/party/American%20Independent American Independent Party at JoinCalifornia]
{{CaliforniaPoliticalParties}}
{{George Wallace}}
{{Historical right-wing third party presidential tickets (U.S.)}}
{{United States state and local political parties}}

[[Category:American Independent Party| ]]
[[Category:1967 establishments in California]]
[[Category:American nationalist parties]]
[[Category:Far-right political parties in the United States]]
[[Category:Paleoconservative parties in the United States]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1967]]
[[Category:Political parties in the United States]]
[[Category:Anti-communist organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:White nationalist parties]]
[[Category:White nationalism in the United States]]