The Populist Party was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

between 1984 and 1996. It was

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and often

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...

in its ideology. The party was unrelated to the original American Populist Party or other American parties that have used the same name.

Willis Carto Willis Allison Carto (July 17, 1926 – October 26, 2015) was an Far right in the United States, American far-right political activist. He described himself as a Jeffersonian democracy, Jeffersonian and a Right-wing populism, populist, but wa ...

helped found the Populist Party, which eventually served as an electoral vehicle for the former Knights of the Ku Klux Klan leader,

David Duke David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American politician, neo-Nazi, conspiracy theorist, and former grand wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for the ...

. The party was also known as the "America First" party.

1984 presidential election

In the 1984 presidential election, athlete and minister

Bob Richards Robert Eugene Richards (February 20, 1926 – February 26, 2023) was an American athlete, minister, and politician. He made three U.S. Olympic Teams in two events: the 1948, 1952, and 1956 Summer Olympics as a pole vaulter and as a decathlete ...

ran for president of the United States on the newly formed far-right, Populist Party ticket. He and running mate Maureen Salaman earned 62,646 votes.

1988 presidential election

In the 1988 presidential election,

was the Populist Party's nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. In some states, the vice presidential nominee was Floyd Parker, while in other states it was Trenton Stokes. Parker replaced Bo Gritz, who had initially agreed to act as the party's nominee. However, Gritz pulled out when he discovered that the presidential nominee would be Duke rather than

James Traficant James Anthony Traficant Jr. ( ; May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. A staunch economic populist known for his flamboyant pers ...

. (Gritz ran for a

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

seat in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

instead.) The Populist Party ticket garnered 47,047 votes, for 0.04 percent of the national popular vote.

1992 presidential election

In the 1992 presidential election, the Populist Party nominated Bo Gritz for president and Cyril Minett for vice president.Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L Foster (2008). ''The Mormon Quest for the Presidency'' (Ann Arbor, Mich.: John Whitmer Books, ) pp. 208–226. Under the campaign slogan "God, Guns and Gritz" and publishing his political manifesto "The Bill of Gritz" (playing on his last name rhyming with "rights"), he called for staunch opposition to "

global government World government is the concept of a single political authority governing all of Earth and humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. There has ...

" and "The New World Order", ending all foreign aid, and abolishing federal income tax and the

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

. Gritz received 106,152 votes nationwide, or 0.14 per cent of the popular vote. In two states he had a respectable showing for a third party candidate:

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, where he received 3.84 per cent of the vote, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, where he received 2.13 per cent of the vote. In some counties, his support topped 10%, and in

Franklin County, Idaho Franklin County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census the county had a population of 14,194. The county seat and largest city is Preston, Idaho, Preston. The cou ...

, was only a few votes away from pushing

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

into fourth place in the county. The party ran candidates for a few other offices as well that year. Rita Gum got 0.47% in the Utah gubernatorial election, Anita Morrow 2.31% in the Utah Senate election, Harry Tootle 0.89% in the Nevada Senate election, Don Golden 1.05% in the race for

Nevada's 2nd congressional district Nevada's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district that includes the northern third of the state. It includes most of Lyon County, Nevada, Lyon County, a small portion of Lincoln County, Nevada, Lincoln County, all of Churchill Count ...

, and Ki R. Nelson 1.6% in the election for Colorado's 3rd congressional district.

Dissolution

By 1996, the party had collapsed. It did not nominate any candidates for the 1996 presidential election or any other election.

Presidential tickets

Notes

{{Authority control 1984 establishments in the United States 1996 disestablishments in the United States Defunct conservative parties in the United States Defunct far-right political parties in the United States Political parties established in 1984 Political parties disestablished in 1996 Right-wing populism in the United States White nationalism in the United States White nationalist parties Political parties in the United States David Duke Willis Carto