American Independent Party
The American Independent Party is a minor socially conservative American Third Party. The party, the heir to George Wallace's political vehicle for the 1968 Presidential Election, has steadily declined in the number of votes it has received since Wallace received 13.53% of the vote in 1968, to 2004, when the party failed to gain ballot access in any states. Many people are beginning to question the current registrations of the party as intentions to register as an independent.
History
In 1967, the California American Independent Party was founded by various Californian conservatives in the city of Bakersfield, California. This state party tried to gain ballot access, and with exhaustive campaign help from Wallace, the party gained enough registered members to qualify as a party under Californian election laws.
Soon after this success, Wallace used this new party as a launching pad for his national presidential ambitions. After announcing was going to run, his platform was unveiled, focusing mainly on an anti-civil rights and pro-states rights platform. Wallace was planning on trying to win most of, if not all, of the south, so if no candidate could receive a majority of electoral votes, he could use his electoral votes as bargaining chips to sway a candidate into supporting some of his positions.
But this plan failed, as Richard Nixon won the election in an electoral landslide, defeating Hubert Humphrey and Wallace.
Soon after the 1968 election, Wallace and the AIP's relations soured, and Wallace tried to distance himself from the party. But soon before Wallace made a primary run for the Democratic Party's nomination in 1972, he and the party reconciled. Wallace was planning on running on the AIP's ticket, but an assassination attempt threw these plans off track.
Soon after an embarrassing result in 1972, the AIP split in half, one half keeping the American Independent Party moniker, the other half becoming the American Party.
Election Results
| Ticket | Election Year | Popular Vote | Percentage of Vote | Electoral Votes |
| Dianne Templin | 2004 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Don Moore | 2000 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Dianne Templin/Van Horn | 1996 | 1,847 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Smith/Feimer | 1992 | 292 | 0.0% | 0 |
| James Griffin/Charles Morsa | 1988 | 27,818 | 0.03% | 0 |
| Delmar Dennis/Traves Brownlee | 1984 | 13,154 | 0.01% | 0 |
| John Rarick/Eileen Shearer | 1980 | 38,738 | 0.04% | 0 |
| Lester Maddox/William Dyke | 1976 | 170,274 | 0.21% | 0 |
| John Schmitz/Thomas Anderson | 1972 | 1,100,868 | 1.42% | 0 |
| George Wallace/Curtis LeMay | 1968 | 9,901,118 | 13.53% | 46 |
As you can see, the party has fallen sharply from its peak. In the past two elections, the AIP has failed to make the ballot in any states in the past two elections.
