American Independent Party Wanted to List Donald Trump on its Presidential Primary Ballot, but California Secretary of State Denied the Request

Posted on by December 30, 2023

Bob Walters, chair of the American Independent Party of California, wanted to list Donald Trump on his party’s presidential ballot this year, but the Secretary of State denied that request.

The only name that will appear on the party’s presidential primary ballot, James Bradley, considers himself a stand-in for Trump.

It is very likely that the party will nominate Donald Trump for president for the November ballot.  It also nominated him in the 2016 general election ballot, and Trump appeared as the nominee of both the Republican and American Independent Parties in November 2016.

California does not apply its sore loser law to presidential primaries.  If the Republican presidential nominee in 2024 is someone other than Donald Trump, and if Trump wants the AIP nomination in November 2024, he is very likely to receive it.

Comments

American Independent Party Wanted to List Donald Trump on its Presidential Primary Ballot, but California Secretary of State Denied the Request — 28 Comments

  1. Could you explain the reasoning why the CA SOS denied this? Does CA law require permission from the appointment to the ballot?

    Many states don’t require permission from candidates to add their names to presidential preference primaries. Don’t know any states that explicitly require permission.

  2. I’m trying to get a copy of the letter from the Sec of State’s office. I don’t know the answer until I see the letter.

  9. Trump was on the November election ballot as both Republican and AIP in 2016, but he had not been on the AIP ballot in the primaries; others ran in that primary.

    I have wondered if RFK Jr had a chance at theh AIP nomination in 2024; the precedent that the AIP candidate is always far right ended in 2020 with De La Fuente.

  10. Thanks for clearing that up, Skylar Covich.

    I hope and expect AIP to nominate President Trump, but if they don’t, Kennedy would also be my second choice.

    Of course, I’m currently a Florida Republican so it’s really not my call at all. I did use to support AIP back when they were on the ballot in a lot more states. Some of y’all remember back then.

    I don’t think President Trump is far right. I think he’s pretty middle of the road, basically. I’m more right wing then he is, but I wouldn’t call myself far right either.

    I don’t know much about Mr. DeLaFuente or his views. I remember seeing or hearing the name at some point, but not any context. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about him without looking it up.

    I identified as AIP and or American party long time ago, before the first time I went Republican for Reagan. Back then we supported George Wallace, John Schmitz, and then the party split between Tom Anderson from the John Birch Society and Lester Maddox, who used to be Governor of Georgia when I lived there.

    When the party split I supported Lester Maddox for President. I still believe Mr. Maddox was an excellent governor and would have been an excellent President had he won.

    I had the same thoughts on George Wallace during his first stint as Governor and during his runs for President.

    Unfortunately, his views changed after he was shot, and I subsequently found out he had been a liberal basically until he lost his first race for governor as well as the reminder of his life after the assassination attempt, and that the reason a lot of us liked him had basically all been an act, or public performance if you will.

    Lester Maddox was the real deal. A true man of courage and honor and a real life hero of mine to this day.

    Speaking of actors, Reagan was my favorite president of my lifetime until Trump. After Reagan I supported some other third parties for President (Libertarian, then Reform, then Libertarian again), while I voted in Republican primaries that whole time, and split my down ticket votes between parties depending on the candidates.

    I voted Constitutional Party one time for President, for Virgil Goode. I subsequently years later learned AIP ran there President candidates 1992-2004 or 2008, one of the two, but the AIP was not on the ballot anywhere I lived in any of those years.

    I think they ran Rarick in 1980 but I can’t remember if he was on my ballot or not and in any case I voted for Reagan both terms and in the 1976 primary.

    Any way I would have, to look up who they ran in 1984, 1988, or after. I could be wrong but I don’t think they have been on in other states except California since 1984. For sure not anywhere I lived since then.

    Anyways, if they ever stopped being a right wing party that’s news to me. We were always a right wing party when I was involved. A lot of people considered us far right, butt I disagree.

  11. White Man Can Trump On,

    Thank you for remembering the party history.

    It was in 1967 that the AIP was formed in Bakersfield, CA. We are now the third largest registration.

  12. Yo Whitey!

    You were correct about David Duke crony Rarick.

    The following Presidential election, 1984, while you were voting to reelect Bonzo, Bill Shearer, the organizer of that Bakersfield meeting Seidenberg referenced, led the remaining AIP into the Populist aka America First Party to support former Olympic athlete and Christian minister for President.

    In 1988, they went their own route without a national affiliation (I think they were a California only party by then, but someone can correct me if I’m wrong) while the Populist Party ran David Duke.

    In 1992, as you mentioned, the AIP nominated the Constitution Party presidential nominee and continued to do that for the following 3 presidential elections. Meanwhile the Populist Party had its last and best performance for President with Bo Gritz in 1992.

    Since 2008 the AIP has run its own nominees, except 2016 when they nominated Trump. All of those presidential tickets except Trump got under 100,000 votes: Alan Keyes, 48k; someone named Tom Hoelfing I never heard of , 40k; De La Soul, 60k. Meanwhile, their former national partners the Constitution Party were into the 6 figures nationally until 2020, when they also got 60k.

    I think you are correct about they were also right wing historically, except I never heard of their nominees in 1988 (James Griffin, 28k), 2012 (Hoelfing, mentioned earlier), or 2020 (DeLaFuente, also mentioned earlier) so I’ll have to take other people’s opinion about how right wing or not they were.

  13. DJT, the figurative rampaging ox in the political china closet, has unintentionally ripped the mask off ballot access laws to reveal the snarling face of fascism. Mixed metaphors taste good sometimes.

  14. I don’t think you should be so quick to assume,it was unintended. President Trump is a great entertainer who knows how to give people what they want and win, but he’s a lot smarter than a lot of people make the mistake of thinking. Which is not to their benefit.

    Don’t forget that his first run was as a third party candidate, Reform Party 2000 primary. He has addressed libertarian gatherings like Freedom Fest and others to thunderous applause and has said Ron Paul is great except he doesn’t win (at the presidential level).

    This is one more piece of proof that Trump is really an undercover “third party and independent type” guy , despite running as a Republican. But then so did Ron Paul before and after his LP run.

  15. TRUMP IS AS SMART AS HITLER IN EARLY NOV 1942 AT STALINGRAD >>>

    DOOM OF THE GERMAN 6TH ARMY FEB 1943 AND DOOM FOR GERMANY MAY 1945.

  23. JIMMY CRACK CORN,

    California State Law does not allow a State Party to be non affiliated with a national party. Therefore you not correct for the year 1988.

  24. California state law doesn’t allow parties which are not affiliated in other states?

    What other states is the Peace and Freedom party currently organized and on the ballot in, or what national party is it affiliated with?

    AIP?

    What other states was its 1988 ticket on the ballot in, affiliated with which national party?

    Otherwise please explain what you mean.

  25. Thanks Whitey and Jimmy Crack Corn for the interesting history of the AIP and Constitution Party. The last time I voted for a Republican for President was 1976. Since then I have always voted for the Libertarian Party candidates except for 1984 when David Bergland was not on the ballot in Virginia. This year Robert Kennedy and Vivek Ramaswamy are interesting and the Libertarian Party is in disarray. I am not sure what I will do.

  26. You’re welcome.

    I voted Libertarian in 1988 and 2008 for President, and a number of times down ticket. In 1976 I voted for Reagan in the primary, but Lester Maddox in the general, as I mentioned.

  27. 1. If the party wants to put him on its primary ballot, there is no good reason to deny them.
    2. In 2016, only 2 Republican electors accepted the AIP nomination, so any vote for Trump was an overvote. Disaggregated fusion could solve that problem.

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