The Movement for a People's Party (MPP), also known simply as the People's Party, is a progressive political organization in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

aimed at "forming a major new political party free of corporate money and influence". Nick Brana formed the party after the 2016 presidential election as "Draft Bernie for a People's Party."

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

declined to be the People's Party's figurehead, instead again seeking the presidential nomination in the

2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Unit ...

History

The organization was founded by Nick Brana, who previously worked with the

Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign In the 2016 presidential campaign, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sought the Democratic Party's nomination in a field of six major candidates and was the runner up with 46% of the pledged delegates behind former Secretary of State Hillary C ...

as the National Political Outreach Coordinator. In 2017, Brana formed the group out of the "Draft Bernie for a People's Party", which failed to gain Sanders's support. The group gathered 50,000 signatures on a petition to present to Sanders and held its first mass gathering, the "Convergence Conference", in Washington, D.C. "The ultimate goal is to replace the Democratic Party, it's not merely to create another party," said Brana in 2017. In 2018, the Movement for a People's Party posted its mission statement to pressure the major parties into adopting a progressive agenda. The organization held a virtual People's Convention on August 30, 2020. The convention was covered live and viewed by 400,000 people on various platforms. Speakers at the convention included former Democratic Party

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

candidate

Marianne Williamson Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, spiritual leader, and political activist. She has written 14 books, including four ''New York Times'' number one bestsellers in the "Advice, How To, and Miscellaneous" cate ...

, former

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

professor and philosopher

Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society and ...

, Sanders 2020 co-chair

Nina Turner Nina Hudson Turner ( Hudson; born December 7, 1967) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a Cleveland City Council member from 2006 to 2008 and a member of the Ohio Senate from 2008 until 2014. Turner was the Democ ...

, former Minnesota governor

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...

, comedian/political commentator/satirist Jimmy Dore, journalist

Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, Presbyterian minister, author, and commentator. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Mon ...

and podcaster Ryan Knight. The convention's ultimate goal was intended to be a vote on forming a new political party to represent the interests of the people. Supporters viewing the convention online approved the measure with a 99% majority. While many of the speakers at the convention expressed frustration and distaste for the candidates for the 2020 presidential election, the organization did not contest the 2020 election and instead plans to form a party in 2021, run in the midterms in 2022 and possibly run a presidential candidate in 2024. On December 1, 2020, the first People's Party state organization was registered in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. According to Michael Sylvester, the party will mainly focus on pushing congressional officials into supporting a floor vote for

Medicare for All Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...

. In September 2021, the People's Party gained ballot access in Florida, the first state where it has done so.

Ballot access

*Virginia *Florida *Missouri

References

External links

* * {{United States political parties 2017 establishments in the United States Aftermath of the 2016 United States presidential election Political parties established in 2017 Democratic socialist parties in the United States Left-wing parties in the United States Progressive parties in the United States Socialist parties in the United States Social democratic parties in the United States

History

Ballot access

See also

References

External links