Reform Party of Florida

Reform Party of Florida
Chairperson William Dopf
Senate leader none
Assembly leader none
Founded 1997
Headquarters Naples, FL
Ideology Fiscal conservatism
National affiliation Reform Party of the United States of America
Colors Red, White, Blue (unofficial)
Website
Reform Party

The Reform Party of Florida is the state party organization for Florida of the Reform Party of the United States of America.

Registration

Reform Party membership in Florida has decreased since the year 2000.[1]

Year Registered Members
1996 1,557
1998 2,695
2000 4,672
2002 4,616
2004 3,872
2006 3,790
2008 3,093
2010 2,473
2012 1,961[2]
2014 1,717[3]
2016 1,400 [4]

2000 campaign controversy

After a great deal of infighting conservative presidential candidate Pat Buchanan was granted the party's ballot line.[5] Due to confusion over the ballot, many residents miscast their vote for Buchanan, believing they were casting their vote for Al Gore. Thus, Buchanan received an unexpected 3,407 votes in Palm Beach County.[6] Many accused Buchanan of being a "spoiler."

2004 election controversy

In 2004, the party gained national attention when efforts were made by local Democrats to keep Ralph Nader, the Reform Party presidential candidate, off Florida's ballot.[7]

The affair garnered a great deal of media attention, with moderate Senator John McCain publicly condemning the attempts to keep Nader off the ballot.[8]

The courts eventually sided with Nader, and his name appeared on the ballot. Nader's spokesperson, Kevin Zeese, criticized the ordeal, saying: "We hope Democrats engage on issues and stop anti-democratic efforts to prevent voters from having a choice." [9]

Nader received 32,971 votes in Florida.[10]

2006 gubernatorial campaign

Max Linn, a financial planner and President of the "Eight is Enough" term limit campaign[11] ran as the Reform Party nominee in the 2006 Florida Gubernatorial election. His running mate was Tom Macklin[12] former mayor of Avon Park and founder of the American Party.[13] Despite his unorthodox media blitz, Linn gained most of his notoriety among the Florida electorate for an emergency landing he made on an Orlando, Florida highway in October 2006 when a plane he rented had engine difficulties. Linn was not hurt, although he spent a day in the hospital under observation. Linn got 92,595 votes and in total 1.90% of the popular vote.[14]

Florida gubernatorial election, 2006[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Charlie Crist 2,519,845 52.20% -3.81%
Democratic Jim Davis 2,178,289 45.10% +1.94%
Reform Max Linn 92,595 1.90% +1.90%
Independent John Wayne Smith 15,987 0.30%
Independent Richard Paul Dembinsky 11,921 0.20%
Independent Karl C.C. Behm 10,487 0.20%
Write-ins 147 0.00% 0
Majority 341,556 7.10% -5.75%
Turnout 4,829,271
Republican hold Swing

Recent events

In 2008, Jim Brown ran for Polk County, Florida commissioner; his campaign received some press as he was the first Reform candidate ever to run for local office in the state.[16] Brown lost to incumbent Sam Johnson in the general election, garnering 13,453 votes, 6 percent of the total.[17]

The party's presidential candidate, Ted Weill, did not appear on the ballot in 2008. In 2016, the Reform Party nominee Rocky De La Fuente will appear on the Florida ballot.

Statewide and Congressional election results

Year Office Candidate Popular votes Percentage
1998 5th Congressional District Jack Gargan 67,147 33.7%[18]
2000 United States Senate Class 1 Joel Deckard 17,338 0.30%[19]
2000 9th Congressional District John Duffey 46,474 18.1%[20]
2000 15th Congressional District John McGuire 7,556 2.6%[21]
2006 Governor Max Linn 92,595 1.90%[22]
2006 Lieutenant Governor Tom Macklin 92,595 1.90%[23]

Presidential nominee results

Since 1996, the Reform Party has run a candidate for President of the United States. The candidate who has received the most votes in Florida was Ross Perot in 1996. In 2008 and 2012, the party did not secure ballot access in Florida.

Year Nominee Votes
1996 Ross Perot 483,870 (9.12%)
2000 Patrick Buchanan 17,484 (0.29%)
2004 Ralph Nader 32,971 (0.43%)
2008 Ted Weill 0 (0%)
2012 Andre Barnett 0 (0%)
2016 Rocky De La Fuente 9,108 (0.10%)

References

  1. ↑ "Bookclosing Reports - Division of Elections - Florida Department of State". dos.myflorida.com.
  2. ↑ http://dos.myflorida.com/media/693854/gen2012_countyparty.pdf
  3. ↑ http://dos.myflorida.com/media/693898/gen2014_countyparty.pdf
  4. ↑ http://dos.myflorida.com/media/696804/primary2016_countyparty.pdf
  5. ↑ http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100300/met_4240237.html
  6. ↑ http://projecteuclid.org/DPubS?service=UI&version=1.0&verb=Display&handle=euclid.ss/1049993203
  7. ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE4DC1530F933A2575AC0A9629C8B63
  8. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/17/politics/campaign/17nader.html?_r=1
  9. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/09/18/presidential.polls.nader/index.html
  10. ↑ http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?f=0&year=2004&fips=12
  11. ↑ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Max Linn". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  12. ↑ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Tom Macklin". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  13. ↑ "Welcome to the American Party of Florida!". americanpartyofflorida.com.
  14. ↑ https://results.elections.myflorida.com/DetailRpt.Asp?ELECTIONDATE=11/7/2006&RACE=GOV&PARTY=&DIST=&GRP=&DATAMODE=. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "November 7, 2006 General Election, Governor and Lieutenant Governor". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  16. ↑ http://county.blogs.theledger.com/10742/reform-party-goes-local/
  17. ↑ http://www.theledger.com/article/20081104/news/811040235. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ "http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1998election.pdf" (PDF). External link in |title= (help)
  19. ↑ "http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2000election.pdf" (PDF). External link in |title= (help)
  20. ↑ "http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2000election.pdf" (PDF). External link in |title= (help)
  21. ↑ "http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2000election.pdf" (PDF). External link in |title= (help)
  22. ↑ "http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2006election.pdf" (PDF). External link in |title= (help)
  23. ↑ https://results.elections.myflorida.com/DetailRpt.Asp?ELECTIONDATE=11/7/2006&RACE=GOV&PARTY=&DIST=&GRP=&DATAMODE=. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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