Frank MacKay, state chair of the New York Independence Party, has been trying to create a national Independence Party. His first goal has been to bring the handful of other state Independence Parties into a national Independence Party organization. The Minnesota Independence Party will hold a state convention on January 26 and decide whether to become part of that national party. Other ballot-qualified parties that share that name, or a similar name, include parties in Delaware, Oregon and South Carolina.

More recently, MacKay has wooed the Reform Party, specifically the national faction headed by Rodney Martin, which has been on a winning streak in various lawsuits during 2007 to establish itself as “the” Reform Party. That faction of the Reform Party is holding a national conference in Sacramento on December 29-30, and MacKay will speak to the group.

MacKay hopes that Mike Bloomberg will become the presidential nominee of the Independence Party, should Bloomberg decide to run for president.

On December 28, Elaine Brown withdrew from the race for the Green Party presidential nomination. She also said she is no longer a member of the Green Party.

The long-planned ballot access lawsuit against Tennessee’s law for new parties to get on the ballot will be filed during the first week in January 2008. The plaintiffs will be the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties of Tennessee. The most likely date for the filing is January 3.