Tax Cut Now was a short-lived ballot line in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It was established by the

New York Republican Party The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York State affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, Buffalo, and New York City.

in 1994 to take advantage of New York's

electoral fusion Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separat ...

laws, providing Republican gubernatorial nominee

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

a ballot line that the Republican Party felt might attract Democratic voters in the

1994 New York gubernatorial election The 1994 New York gubernatorial election was an election for the state governorship held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican George Pataki in an upset victory. Pat ...

. The Tax Cut Now line gave Pataki a third ballot line, along with the Republican and

Conservative Party of New York The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U ...

lines. Tax Cut Now was run in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

by the state Republican leadership. The ballot line was open only to Republican candidates, and its endorsements were identical to the Republican ballot line. Because the line drew more than 50,000 votes in the election, which Pataki won, it became eligible to run candidates for the next four years. After the election, it was renamed the Freedom Party, which led to a conflict with

Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic ...

, who unsuccessfully attempted to take control of the ballot line after he withdrew his then ongoing

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lawsuit against the group. The ballot line did not nominate a candidate the 1998 gubernatorial election and folded as a result.

References

Defunct state and local conservative parties in the United States {{NewYork-stub