American Independent Party

The American Independent Party is a political party in the United States that was established in California in 1967 by Bill and Eileen Shearer. It gained significant attention during the 1968 US Presidential Election when it nominated George Wallace, the then-governor of Alabama, as its candidate. 

The party is known for giving support to independent candidates, most recently, in 2024, nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the California presidential ballot.

Background information

The party's support base initially included individuals from the Democratic Party (United States) who were opposed to the desegregation policies prevalent at the time, and it achieved notable electoral success in some Southern states.

Over time, the party became closer to the conservative movement and it renounced policy against racial equality. Today, the party still exists but many of its original members have left: most of the earlier members returned to the Democratic Party after the 1969 election and its later members have moved to the Constitution 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 U.S. Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay 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, and Alabama. No third-party candidate has won more than one electoral vote since the 1968 election.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.""Conservative third parties since the New Deal" in The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History (Vol. 1) (eds. Michael Kazin, Rebecca Edwards & Adam Rothman: Princeton University Press, 2010), p. 195.

Presidential tickets
 Year Presidential nomineeAnd political party if different from the AIP. Home state Previous positions Vice presidential nominee Home state Previous positions Votes References 1968 100pxGeorge WallaceDemocratic(campaign)   100pxCurtis LeMay   9,906,473 (13.5%)46 EV Wallace and LeMay carried five states, receiving 45 electoral votes, plus one from a North Carolina faithless elector. 1972 100pxJohn G. Schmitz   100pxThomas J. Anderson   1,099,482 (1.4%)0 EV 1976 100pxLester Maddox   100pxWilliam Dyke   170,531 (0.2%)0 EV 1980 100pxJohn Rarick   Eileen Shearer   41,268 (<0.1%)0 EV 1984 100pxBob Richards(Populist)   100pxMaureen Kennedy Salaman   66,336 (0.1%)0 EV 1988 James C. Griffin   Charles Morsa 27,818 (<0.1%)0 EV 1992 100pxHoward Phillips(U.S. Taxpayers')   Albion W. Knight   43,369 (<0.1%)0 EV 1996 100pxHoward Phillips(U.S. Taxpayers')   Herbert Titus   184,656 (0.2%)0 EV 2000 100pxHoward Phillips(Constitution)   Curtis Frazier   98,020 (0.1%)0 EV Joseph Sobran was the original vice presidential nominee, but he withdrew from the ticket and was replaced by Frazier. 2004 Michael Peroutka(Constitution)   100pxChuck Baldwin   143,630 (0.1%)0 EV 2008 100pxAlan Keyes(America's Independent)   Wiley Drake   47,694 (<0.1%)0 EV 2012 Tom Hoefling(America's)   Robert Ornelas   40,641 (<0.1%)0 EV 2016 alt=Trump smiling|100px|Donald TrumpDonald Trump(Republican) 100pxMike Pence 62,984,825 (46.1%)304 EV  2020 Rocky De La Fuente(Alliance; Reform)  Businessman and perennial candidate 100pxKanye West(Independent; Birthday)   60,160 (0.34%) 0 EV2024Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
(Reform; We The People; Texas Independent; Natural Law; Independent of Delaware)Environmental lawyerNicole ShanahanAttorney TBD

 References 

Category:1967 establishments in California
Category:Political parties in the United States
Category:Constitution Party (United States)