This article says that Rob Astorino, the Republican nominee for Governor of New York last year, is going ahead with plans to change the name of his puppet party, “Stop Common Core Party”, to “Reform Party.” The story also says the Conservative Party of New York asked him not do this, but to no effect.
Looks like the WFP and the Conservative Party are both being scr*wed by their respective ruling party overlords. Meanwhile the NY Green Party came out of the last election with a large increase in their vote share, and did so independently.
I don’t doubt the Reform Party’s goals are to limit the patronage value of both the Conservative and Independence Party, eventually, cutting into their vote totals in 2018 with the hope of getting them off the ballot. The Conservative Party is very large. I suspect the Independence Party is actually going to suffer more in the long run. Just some idle arm chair speculation. Keep in mind NY i sone of the few “fusion” states.
It’ll be interesting to see where WFP goes relative to whatever the Women’s Equality Party becomes. WFP does have a core base that sticks with it even when widely discredited.
The Conservative Party in New York has about lived out its political life. It only hangs on because they co-nominate the major statewide nominees and get the 50,000 votes necessary to hold on to ballot access.
There basically is no difference between a Conservative and a Republican or a Republican and a Conservative. About the only thing they have is to offer conservatives who don’t want to vote under the GOP label to so under the Conservative Label.
There just are not as many conservatives left in New York – whether they are members of the Conservative Party or of the GOP.
I wish we had a Independent Party here in Alabama which would co-nominate the most “independent” candidate and be able to vote for them under the Independent label.
There is no party registration here in Alabama. However some polls, show as many as 25% claiming to be Independents, but I think if they had a chance to register as Independent, there would be as many as 40%.
This is probably why the GOP dominated Legislature – along with the help of the weak Democratic legislators – will not allow such to ever happen.
Again, this is why I write in the names of the major party candidates that I prefer at the General Election. They are counted, but they may never be reported. Because when I feed my ballot into the vote counter, it has to be accounted for somewhere – especially when the name of the write-in candidate is also the candidate already printed on the ballot.
I don’t see the Independence Party dying out before the Conservative Party does. If the Independence Party had used the name “Independent” rather “Independence” it might have resulted in even more registrants. But if the voters of California think that “American Independent” means “independent” then surely the voter of New York State could think the words “Independence” means “independent.”
Regardless, money is the mother’s milk of politics. No party will survive unless it has money behind the candidates they run or co-nominate.
I also don’t see the word “Reform” having the drawing affects as does the word “Independence.”
Richard, you have any stats yet on how many people are members of the Reform Party in New York State?
I should have read the article before replying. Rob Astorino is smart to change the No Common Core Party to Reform Party. The article says he carried those counties outside of New York City by 2 points, and that most New York City voters are too liberal to bring themselves to vote the GOP or Conservative line. The line Reform is more palatable to these voters, and I have to somewhat agree.
I suppose he knows that he can’t get the Independence Party to co-nominate him, so the 2nd best option is to change the name of the Stop Common Core party. Smart politics, and just might help him win enough New York City votes to win the gubernatorial election in 2018.
The real Reform Party should sue. Or change their name to the Republican Party.
Jed:
There is no national Reform Party any longer that I am aware of. There may be a “letterhead” national party, but that is as far as it goes. The only state party with ballot position that I know of is in Mississippi which is controlled by Shawn O’Hara.
I don’t think Shaw gives a hoot who else in the other states uses the “Reform” name as long as they don’t attempt to take control of it from him.
I love the idea of a Puppet Party.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=richard+grayson+wyoming+congress
If one of these parties splits into two factions, will one of them be named the Party of the First Part?
Judicial nominating convention delegate elections are key in NYS
Only ballot access parties have access to these trial court judicial delegate conventions
Perot used Reform Party ballot name in several states in 1996 but used IPNY in NY.
1994 Tax Cut Now Pataki Party = 2014 Stop Common Core Patty
same patronage party playbook
GP and RTL off 8 years later 2002
GP returned 2010
Vote Cast for Governor and Lieutenant Governor by Party of Candidates New York State by County — November 8, 1994
New York State Total
All Votes Cast……………………. 5,325,323
Cuomo/Lundine – Democrat…………… 2,272,903
Pataki/McCaughey – Republican………. 2,156,057
Pataki/McCaughey – Conservative…….. 328,605
Walsh/Sutton – Right to Life……….. 67,750
Cuomo/Lundine – Liberal……………. 92,001
Pataki/McCaughey – Tax Cut Now……… 54,040
Lane/Bockman – Socialist Workers……. 5,410
Golisano/Fusco – Independence Fusion… 217,490
Schulz/Dworkin – Libertarian……….. 9,506
Blank Void or Scattering…………… 121,561
2014
DEM REP CON WOR IND GRN WEP SAP LBT SCC
Statewide Total
1,811,672 1,234,951 250,634 126,244 77,762 184,419 53,802 4,963 16,967 51,294
The Constitution[al] Party of Mississippi is recognized as a ballot positioned party. However, they have just about fallen apart. Don’t know if they had a candidate in 2014 or not.
There just isn’t any call for a 3rd party in Mississippi right now. Everyone thinks the GOP is God’s gift to them politically. Just as in many southern states, the modern day GOP is nothing more than the Democratic Party of the 1940s and 1950s. The Democratic Party is mostly a Black dominated party in Mississippi and most other southern states. A few liberal whites hang on, but the Blacks make up the balance of power in Democratic primaries in the South.
Actually, there was a challenge to Shawn O’Hara’s control of the Reform Party in Mississippi by representatives of the national Reform Party. I understand they had a meeting in Jackson with state officials, and Shawn O’Hara was able to convince them his “faction” was the legitimate party. State officials agreed and he has controlled the Reform Party there ever since.