Independent American Party of Nevada

(Redirected from Nevada Constitution Party)

The Independent American Party of Nevada (IAPN) is a right-wing American political party and the Nevada affiliate of the Constitution Party. The party was founded in 1967 and affiliated with the Constitution Party after its forming in 1999.[1] It was one of four Constitution state parties that did not change their names to "Constitution Party".[2]

Independent American Party of Nevada
ChairmanJanine Hansen
Founded1967; 57 years ago (1967)
Headquarters186 Ryndon Unit 12,
Elko, Nevada 89801
IdeologyAmerican nationalism
Social conservatism
Paleoconservatism
Political positionFar-right
National affiliationConstitution Party
Colors  Purple (de facto)
Website
http://www.iapn.org

History

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IAPN's high water mark was the 1974 Nevada gubernatorial election where IAPN's candidate, wealthy silver speculator James R. Houston, split the Republican vote and got 15.52% of the electorate, or 26,285 votes.[3][4]

1990s

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The Nevada IAPN achieved some electoral success in the 1990s with the election of Chuck Horne as the mayor of Mesquite in a nonpartisan race.[5]

2010s

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In the 2010 elections, three Independent American Party candidates were elected to local offices and one was re-elected.[6] Several IAPN candidates also performed well in various state and legislative elections, including the election for Nevada State Assembly, District 33, where Janine Hansen won 30.81% of the vote and placed second in a three-way race.[7] The IAP candidate for State Attorney General, Joel Hansen, also secured 7.81% of the vote.

At the close of registration in October 2010, the Independent American Party had a total number of 62,724 registered voters in the Party.[8]

On October 25, 2013, the party membership experienced a small split with some members staying with the Independent American Party of Nevada and others forming a new Constitution Party of Nevada.[9]

The party has a stronghold around Elko where the party often runs a full slate of candidates that see more success then compared with other parts of the state. There, state chairman Janine Hansen ran for the Nevada Senate for District 19.[10] There he got 27% of the vote.[11] Since 2012 the 19th District has been contested solely between the Republican and American Independent Party.

The party gained notoriety when Cliven Bundy, of Bundy standoff fame, came out as a registered member of the party, and spoke at a series of party events in 2018. Namely, Bundy was the keynote speaker of the party's convention on February 23, 2018, in Sparks. Prior to the convention 4.5% of registered voters in Nevada were registered with the Independent American Party.[12] At the convention Bundy was hailed as a hero against federal "corruption and tyranny" by the party's chairman[who?] and spoke at length about his armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management.[13][14]

2020s

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The party also consistently competes for Nevada's 2nd congressional district and in 2020 the election was a three way race with the Republicans, Democrats and the American Independent Party, with Janine Hansen running as the IAPN's candidate and getting 2.7% of the vote.[15]

In the 2022 Reno mayoral election, the IAPN nominated Joaquin Roces, a National Alliance on Mental Illness employee with no prior political experience who ran on a platform of increasing homeless outreach, expanding funding to the fire-department, slashing casino subsidies, and expanding renewable energy in the city.[16] He got 627 votes, or 1.35% of the electorate, in distant 8th place.[17]

Candidates

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Presidential ticket

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Year Nominee Votes
1968 George Wallace 20,432 (13.25%)
1976 Lester Maddox 1,497 (0.74%)
1992 Howard Phillips 677 (0.13%)
1996 Howard Phillips 1,732 (0.37%)
2000 Howard Phillips 621 (0.10%)
2004 Michael Peroutka 1,152 (0.14%)
2008 Chuck Baldwin 3,194 (0.33%)
2012 Virgil Goode 3,240 (0.32%)
2016 Darrell Castle 5,268 (0.46%)
2020 Don Blankenship 3,138 (0.22%)

Gubernatorial

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Year Nominee Votes
1970 Daniel Hansen 5,415 (3.68%)
1974 James Ray Houston 26,285 (15.52%)
1978 Thomas F. Jefferson 3,282 (1.71%)
1994 Daniel Hansen 10,012 (2.64%)
1998 Chuck Horne 7,509 (1.73%)
2002 David Holmgren 7,047 (1.40%)
2006 Christopher Hansen 20,019 (3.44%)
2010 Floyd Fitzgibbons 5,049 (0.70%)
2014 David Lory VanDerBeek 14,536 (2.66%)
2018 Russell Best 10,076 (1.04%)
2022 Ed Bridges 9,918 (0.97%)

Chairmen

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  • Daniel Hansen: 1967–1980
  • Joel Hansen: 2002–2004 and 2016–?
  • Christopher Hansen: 2004–2008
  • Mark Andrews: 2008–2009
  • John Wagner: 2009–2016
  • Janine Hansen: ?-present[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ "Independent American Party". Iapn.org. Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  2. ^ Frequently Asked Questions Archived July 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Malcolm, Andrew H. "Laxalt Hopes for Comeback in Nevada In Attempt to Succeed Bible in Senate". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  4. ^ "1974 General Election Returns". Nevada Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  5. ^ "election". Reviewjournal.com. June 9, 1999. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Nevada Appeal Capitol Bureau (November 4, 2010). "IAP wins local contests". NevadaAppeal.com. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  7. ^ "Elko County". Elkodaily.com. November 3, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  8. ^ "Nevada Secretary of State : Close of Registration Statistics - October 2010 Total". Nvsos.gov. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  9. ^ Vogel, Ed (October 15, 2013). "Northern Nevadans create Constitution Party". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  10. ^ Godwin-Butler, Fallon. "The Independent American Party: Running for the Constitution". Elko Daily. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ "Nevada State Senate District 19". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  12. ^ "Bundy to speak to Independent American Party of Nevada". The Salt Lake Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  13. ^ Spacek, Rachel. "Cliven Bundy hailed as a 'hero' at Independent American Party state convention". The Nevada Independent. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  14. ^ Margiott, Ben. "Cliven Bundy backs Independent American Party in Sparks speech". KRNV-DT. Associated Press. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  15. ^ DeHaven, James. "Amodei looks to fend off two opponents in Northern Nevada's lone congressional district". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  16. ^ Robison, Mark. "Who is Joaquin Roces for Reno mayor?". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Washoe County - 2022 Primary Election Results". Nevada Secretary of State.
  18. ^ "About". Independent American Party of Nevada. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  19. ^ "Organized Political Parties". Nevada Secretary of State. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
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