Characterizing California Parties
Party politics in California follows national trends. In the 1850s, most Californians were against slavery, which helped the Republicans (the GOP or Grand Old Party) organize as a new party. In the postbellum period, Republicans dominated state politics following national trends. In 1910, under the leadership of Governor Hiram Johnson, Progressive Republicans led constitutional reforms to add direct democracy. However, when the country underwent a Democratic realignment during the 1930s, most Californians also registered as Democrats. Nonetheless, because one of the Progressive reforms allowed politicians to register as candidates in more than one party primary (cross-filing), the Republican Party maintained its dominance of state politics.
"Moderation is best. Avoid all extremes." Governor Goodwin Knight's motto (1953-1958) nicely summarized Republican strategy in the 1940s and 1950s (Putnam). Republicans presided over an era of rapid government expansion as the state coped with dramatic postwar population growth. The "neo-progressive" policy approach of pragmatic, moderate, and activist government, reinforced by the cross-filing system allowing a candidate to run in both Republican and Democratic primary races, encouraged candidates to pursue moderate policies to attract more voters.
Republican Governor Ronald Reagan (1967-1975) continued the Party's relatively moderate course and attracted many more voters with his anti-tax and "law and order" rhetoric, echoing Republican President Richard Nixon's relatively mild policy approach at the national level. Most Californians, attracted by a mix of economic and social conservatism, also voted for Reagan for President (1981-1989) and his successor George H.W. Bush.
The popularity of the Republican Party in the state faltered in the 1990s when it shifted more to the right with a solid anti-immigrant push led by Governor Pete Wilson to pass Proposition 187 in 1994. This Republican-sponsored referendum required state officials to report undocumented people to federal authorities and deny all social services to them, including schooling for their children. While this proposition passed with a large majority, in the long term, it alienated the growing number of moderate and liberal voters in the state. Since the late 1990s, California Republican representation in Sacramento and Washington D.C. has dwindled without any statewide victory since Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as governor in the recall election of Democratic Gray Davis in 2003.
The 2020 California Republican Party platform emphasizes economic and social conservatism, including lower taxes, less business regulation, vigorous enforcement of immigration laws, gun rights, and pro-life policies. It opposes strong environmental regulation, affirmative action, and LGBT rights.
Historically, California Democrats trailed Republicans in organization and influence. Divided in their support for the Confederacy during the Civil War, the Party suffered from decades of poor organization. It was not until 1959 that Democratic Governor Pat Brown ushered in a new era of Democratic influence. The two major parties became quite competitive for the rest of the century. By the 1990s, as the Republican Party became more conservative, Democrats gradually gained more seats in the state legislature. By 2018, the Democrats had supermajorities in both houses, meaning they had enough votes to meet the two-thirds majority to raise taxes or potentially override a governor's veto. Additionally, all the elected officers of the state executive branch were Democratic, and most California representatives in Washington were Democratic.
The Democratic Party of California's platform is economically and socially liberal. The Party promotes "economic opportunity" and "economic justice." Democrats pursue expansive government programs to help Californians address many social, economic, educational, and environmental challenges. The platform supports equality and diversity for all residents, extending and enforcing more civil rights.
Minor parties on a ballot are often called "third parties" because one comes in third place. A minor party typically represents a narrow slice of the ideological spectrum. A dedicated activist group of "true believers" receives a tiny fraction of the vote from a loyal following, election after election. The goal of the true believer is to make a statement rather than win. However, if a minor gains more support, a larger party will often adopt some of its messages to "steal" some of its votes. For example, the Republican Party may adopt a strongly anti-government message of a far-right party. The Democratic Party may adopt a left-wing party's environmental or social platform. Thus, a minor party performs a Sisyphean task. As soon as it gains popularity, its supporters are co-opted by a larger party, and it returns to relative obscurity.
In California, the minor parties qualified for the ballot originated in the political struggles of prior decades. The Peace and Freedom Party emerged from the anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the American Independent Party from Southern segregationist George Wallace's backlash against integration in the 1960s, the Libertarians as part of a neoconservative backlash against the Republican Party, and the Green Party from the environmental movement of the 1970s. Let's examine each of these minor parties.
The Peace and Freedom Party
In the late 1960s, the Democratic Party fractured over the issue of the Vietnam War. President Johnson and his heir apparent for the Democratic nomination, Hubert Humphrey, favored continued support of the South Vietnamese government in its struggle against communism. Many more liberal Democrats favored withdrawal. In California, there was enough support for the antiwar position for a new party, the Peace and Freedom Party, to qualify for the ballot in January 1968. The presidential candidate was Eldridge Cleaver, a civil rights activist. However, California did not list his name on the ballot because he would not be 35 by the time of the inauguration. As the campaign of 1968 unfolded, many Democrats broke with the Johnson and Humphrey pro-war position, including Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy. Kennedy was assassinated on the night of the California primary in June, and Humphrey went on to win the nomination. Eldridge Cleaver received .38% of the California vote in November (Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election).
In the 1970s, the PFP could not maintain its status on the ballot in other states due to low popularity. However, the California PFP consistently garnered enough support to stay on the ballot until 1998, when it fell below the 2% threshold. It regained its status in 2003 and remains on the ballot, fielding left-of-center candidates.
The Peace and Freedom Party is "committed to socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism, and racial equality." It commits itself to various socialist positions about state, national, and global positions ("PFP"). In 2020, labor activist Gloria La Riva ran as the PFP nominee. She was also the nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She favored many standard socialist positions promoting economic equality, workers' rights, stopping racism, and respecting treaties with Native Americans. La Riva received .05% of the national vote and .03% of the California vote (Federal Election Commission and "California's Gubernatorial Election").
The American Independent Party
At about the same time the Peace and Freedom Party emerged, Southern segregationist Governor George Wallace of Alabama left the Democratic Party. He established his independent candidacy to run for President. The American Independent Party (AIP) formed in California and successfully gathered enough signatures to qualify Wallace for the California ballot. Wallace received seven percent of the California vote in 1968. The Party has been active in California ever since, but it was sometimes subsumed under other national minor parties, most recently the Constitution Party. Although its roots lie in Southern segregationism, its platform today focuses on promoting very conservative economic and social positions. Its manifesto begins, "We believe in liberty and justice for all under God. We want to keep America independent and safe. We will protect the family, marriage and work. We believe in individual responsibility and free enterprise…" The AIP Presidential Candidate, Rocky de La Fuente, received .06% of the vote nationally and .3% in California ("General Election" and FEC). La Fuente was also the Reform Party and Alliance Party candidate.
Based on the number of people registering as members of the AIP, it is the third-largest party in California. Given its far-right positions and low support of its candidates, it is easy to suspect that voters are erroneously registering as AIP members when they intend to register as "no party preference." A Los Angeles Times poll of AIP members partially confirmed this suspicion: 58.9% of respondents were unaware that they had registered for a political party rather than as an independent ("Are You an Independent Voter…").
The Libertarian Party
In 1971, the Libertarian Party (LP) was established by conservatives concerned that the Republican Party under President Nixon was no longer the party of small government. Nixon instituted price controls in response to inflation, removed the currency from the gold standard, and supported most of the social welfare programs established by Democrats. The Party was influenced by Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism, popularized by her many science fiction books such as Atlas Shrugged. The LP organized state and local party organizations quickly as the country became more conservative in the 1970s. By 1980, the LP was on the ballot in all fifty states and received about 1% of the vote.
The platform of the Libertarian Party (LP) begins, "As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty: a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and are not forced to sacrifice their values for the benefit of others…" The Party appeals to both liberals and conservatives. The LP emphasizes personal liberty regarding sexuality and drug use and emphasizes the same for gun rights, free enterprise, and taxation. In 2020, the Libertarian presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen called for dismantling social security and replacing it with individual retirement accounts, stopping construction of the border wall, and ending state mask mandates to fight the pandemic. Jorgensen received 1.1% of the California presidential vote and 1.18% nationally. Its central organizing principle is minimizing the role of government in society.
The Green Party
Just as other minor parties have grown out of social movements, the Green Party has its roots in the environmental movement that achieved widespread support in the 1970s as Americans realized the impact of industrial civilization on the natural environment. The Greens first organized in Minnesota in 1984. In part, they emulated the development of Green parties in Europe. The organizing conference of the Greens proclaimed a set of principles that continues to guide their policy positions. They include ecology, sustainable economics, democracy, nonviolence, and social justice. By the late 1980s, state parties were forming around the country. In 1992, the Greens qualified for the California ballot. The Party received its most notoriety in 2000 when its Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, garnered enough popularity (2.74% of the national vote) to help shift the electoral college vote to Republican George Bush. By then, it was on the ballot in 43 states ("Early History…").
In 2020, environmentalist and labor activist Howie Hawkins ran for President as the Green Party nominee. Among other positions, he favored Medicare for all, the "Green New Deal," and a $20 minimum wage. The Green Party received .5% of the vote in the California general election for President and .26% nationally.
