The Socialist Party of California (SPCA) was a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

political party in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Founded in the early 1900s, it had been the state chapter of the

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...

since being re-chartered in 2011. As of July 2020, it was no longer listed as active by the national organization.

Socialist Party of America affiliation

The Socialist Party of California was affiliated with the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

for most of the twentieth century. Author

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

was a four time candidate for office, including the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1920,

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 1922 and Governor of California in 1926 and 1930. In 1972 the

changed its name to "

Social Democrats, USA Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's na ...

" by a vote of 73 to 34 at its December National Convention. Renaming the Party as SDUSA was meant to be "realistic" as the Party had not run a presidential candidate since the 1956 elections.

Socialist Party USA affiliation

The following year, 1973, the

was formed out the core members of the Debs Caucus. The Socialist Party of California was ultimately reorganized under the Socialist Party USA banner. The chapter's membership increased during the presidential election of 2008 under the Vice Presidential nominee and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

nominee

Stewart Alexander Stewart Alexis Alexander (born October 1, 1951) is an American democratic socialist politician, presidential nominee for the Socialist Party USA in the 2012 election, and former SPUSA nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2008 ...

. In June 2011, the Party was re-charted under current State Chair Mimi Soltysik. The Party hosted the October 2011 Socialist Party National Convention, which was held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The Socialist Party of California operated with locals in the counties of

, Ventura, and the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. As of July 2020 the SPCA is removed from the SPUSA register of active state parties and the website is inactive.

Notable members

, 2012 nominee for President by Socialist Party USA *

Job Harriman Job Harriman (January 15, 1861 – October 26, 1925) was an ordained minister who later became an agnostic and a socialist. In 1900, he ran for vice president of the United States along with Eugene Debs on the ticket of the Socialist Party of ...

, 1900 vice-presidential candidate of the SPA forerunner

Social Democratic Party of America The Social Democratic Party of America (SDP) was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1898. The group was formed out of elements of the Social Democracy of America (SDA) and was a predecessor to the Socialist Party of ...

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

, author and SPA member *

Mila Tupper Maynard Mila Tupper Maynard (née Mila Frances Tupper; January 26, 1864 – November 12, 1926) was an American Unitarian minister, writer, social reformer and suffragist. She is thought to have been the first female minister in Nevada. Early years Born ...

, Unitarian minister and SPA member *

, multi-time candidate for office *

Mimi Soltysik Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik ( ; October 30, 1974 – June 28, 2020) was an American socialist political activist for the Socialist Party USA. He was the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election alongside Angela Nicole W ...

, 2016 nominee for President by Socialist Party USA * Thomas W. Williams, State Secretary of the Socialist Party of California

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Shaffer, Ralph E. "A History of the Socialist Party of California", University of California Berkeley, 1955 {{Authority control Political parties established in 1973

Political parties in California

Socialism in California