Constitution Party (United States)

Constitution Party
ChairmanJim Clymer
Founded1990 (1990) (as U.S. Taxpayers' Party)
1999 (1999) (as Constitution Party)
Split fromRepublican Party
Headquarters408 West Chestnut Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603
Membership (2021)Increase 137,367[1]
IdeologyChristian right[2]
Christian reconstructionism[3]
Ultraconservatism[4]
Fiscal conservatism[2]
Paleoconservatism[5][6]
Social conservatism[2]
Political positionFar-right[7][8][9][10][11]
Colors      Red, white and blue (national colors)
  Purple (de facto)
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Seats in the House
0 / 435
Governorships
0 / 50
State Upper House Seats
0 / 1,972
State Lower House Seats
0 / 5,411
Other elected offices24[12]
Website
constitutionparty.com Edit this at Wikidata

The Constitution Party, formerly the U.S. Taxpayers' Party until 1999, is a political party in the United States that promotes a religiously conservative interpretation of the principles and intents of the United States Constitution. The party platform is based on originalist interpretations of the Constitution and shaped by principles which it believes were set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the Bible.

The party was founded by Howard Phillips, a conservative activist, after President George H. W. Bush violated his pledge of "read my lips: no new taxes". During the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections, the party sought to give its presidential nomination to prominent politicians including Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot, but was unsuccessful and instead selected Phillips as its presidential nominee in three successive elections. Michael Peroutka was given the presidential nomination in 2004, followed by Chuck Baldwin in 2008 (although he faced opposition from multiple state affiliates), Virgil Goode in 2012, Darrell Castle in 2016, and Don Blankenship in 2020.

In 2000, Rick Jore became the first member of the party to hold a seat in a state legislature. He was subsequently defeated in the 2000, 2002 and 2004 elections; however, he was later elected to a state legislature in 2006, the first Constitution Party candidate to do so. In 2002, Greg Moeller became the first member of the party to win a partisan election. The Constitution parties of Minnesota and Colorado have both achieved major party status once.

As of November 2022, the Constitution Party has 20 members who have been elected to city council seats and other municipal offices across the United States. In terms of registered members, the party ranks fifth among national parties in the United States.[13]

  1. ^ Winger, Richard (March 28, 2021). "March 2021 Ballot Access News Print Edition". Ballot Access News. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Ideological Third Parties and Splinter Parties". Boundless. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  3. ^ Hudson, Deal (2008). Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States. Simon & Schuster. p. 82. ISBN 9781416565895. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  4. ^ Cox, Vicki (2007). The History of Third Parties. Infobase Publishing. p. 79.
  5. ^ Kleefeld, Eric (July 26, 2010). "Tancredo's New Home In The Constitution Party: A Paleoconservative Group Without Much Electoral Success". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  6. ^ "Constitutionally Contentious". The American Spectator. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  7. ^ Rudin, Ken. "Election 2010 Scorecard". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  8. ^ Joyce, Kathryn (2010). Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement. Beacon Press. pp. 7, 28. ISBN 978-0807010730.
  9. ^ Cohen, Nancy L. (2012). Delirium: The Politics of Sex in America. Counterpoint. p. 321. ISBN 978-1582438016.
  10. ^ Lovell, Jarret S. (2009). Crimes of Dissent: Civil Disobedience, Criminal Justice, and the Politics of Conscience. New York University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0814752272.
  11. ^ Smith, Ben (May 4, 2010). "Goode joins Constitution Party". Politico. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  12. ^ "Current Office Holders". Constitution Party. July 29, 2020. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  13. ^ Winger, Richard (November 21, 2016). "New Voter Registration Nation Totals". ballot-access.org Archived November 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 21, 2016.