The party's original name was inspired by its European counterparts, the Polish trade union Solidarity,[17] and the current one reflects its more developed ideology and focus in the years since.[8] The ASP mascot is the pelican, a traditional symbol of charity.[18] The party's political color is orange, like other Christian-democratic political parties.
On social media, ASP members use the orange heart emoji to denote their "whole-life ethic" and Christian democratic influences. Members of the American Solidarity Party use the demonym "Solidarist" to refer to themselves.[19]
History
The American Solidarity party was founded in 2011 as the Christian Democratic Party USA (CDPUSA) by founders David "Frost" Harris, Kirk Morrison, and Jack Quirk.[8][20] In 2012, the CDPUSA endorsed the independent candidacy of Joe Schriner for president.[21] In December 2020, the American Solidarity Party joined the board of the Coalition for Free and Open Elections (COFOE).[22]
The American Solidarity Party opposes abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment on the basis of the sanctity of human life. It views the traditional family as being central to society.[14]
The American Solidarity Party advocates for a sympathetic approach to immigration. They believe in balancing the need for secure borders with a commitment to human dignity. This involves addressing the root causes of migration, such as the impact of the country's military, political, and economic power abroad.[14]
The American Solidarity Party is non-interventionist in its foreign policy, using peace as its guiding principle. It supports foreign aid and nonviolent diplomacy, while opposing violent military action as a means to resolve conflicts.[14]
Electoral reform
The American Solidarity Party advocates for electoral reform, aiming to combat what they call a "political oligarchy" and gridlock. They propose proportional representation for the House of Representatives, endorse ranked-choice voting or approval voting in all elections, and support easy voter registration. The party also emphasizes fair access for independent candidates, access to impartial information, and pilot programs for electronic voting with consideration for security concerns.[14]
Influences
Daniel Silliman writes that the American Solidarity Party, as with other Christian-democratic political parties, draws from Catholic social teaching and Neo-Calvinist theology.[2] In the same vein, David McPherson says that the American Solidarity Party "affirm[s] ... the full spectrum of Catholic social teaching (namely, the teachings regarding the sanctity of human life, the common good, subsidiarity, religious freedom, solidarity, etc.)," contrasting the ASP to both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, each of which recognizes only some of these items.[30] Its strongest support is in California and Texas, according to the Madera Tribune (of Madera, California).[25]
Elections
2016
Presidential election
During the 2016 presidential election season, the American Solidarity Party held an online convention on July 9, 2016, which nominated Amir Azarvan of Georgia for president and Mike Maturen of Michigan for vice-president.[31][32][33][18] However, Azarvan subsequently withdrew, and in response the ticket was revised, with Maturen running for president and Juan Muñoz of Texas running for vice-president.[30][25][31][34][18]
For the 2016 election, the American Solidarity Party was listed on the ballot in Colorado.[35] It was a certified write-in option in Alabama,[36] California,[37] Georgia,[38] Iowa,[36] Kansas,[39] Kentucky,[40] Maryland,[41] Michigan,[42] Minnesota, New Hampshire,[36] New Jersey,[36] Ohio,[43] Oregon,[36][44] Pennsylvania,[36] Rhode Island,[36] Texas,[45] Vermont,[36] and Washington.[46] Maturen received 6,697 reported votes, not including states that did not report votes for him.[47]
2017
For the November 2017 off-year elections, the American Solidarity Party ran a candidate for New Jersey legislature, Monica Sohler, in the 6th district. She received 821 votes.[48]
2018
Desmond Silveira, a software engineer, was a national committee member of the American Solidarity Party, served as the campaign manager for the Maturen-Muñoz 2016 campaign, the vice chair of the ASP, and the director of operations for the party. In 2018, he ran for governor, receiving 4,633 votes in the primary election.[49][50][note 1]
For the 2020 election, the American Solidarity Party was on the ballot in Arkansas,[56] Colorado,[57] Guam, Illinois,[58] Louisiana,[59] Mississippi,[60] Rhode Island,[61] Vermont[62] and Wisconsin.[63]
It was a certified write-in option in
Alabama,[64]
Alaska,[65]
California,[66]
Connecticut,[67]
Delaware,[68]
Florida,[69]
Georgia,[70]
Idaho,
Indiana,[71]
Iowa,[64]
Kansas,
Kentucky,[72]
Maryland,[73]
Massachusetts,[74]
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Missouri,
Nebraska,
New Hampshire,[64]
New Jersey,[64]
New York,
North Dakota,
Ohio,[75][76]
Oregon,
Pennsylvania,[64]
Tennessee,
Texas,[77]
Utah,[78]
Virginia,[79]
Washington, and
Wyoming.
2021
Benjamin Schmitz ran for state senate in the Wisconsin 13th state senate district in the April 6th legislative special election.[80] Stephen Hollenberg ran for a state house seat in the Merrimack, New Hampshire special election on April 13, 2021.[81]
On June 2, 2023, Peter Sonski won the nomination of the party for President of the United States.[103][104] The primary was conducted by an online members' vote. The vice presidential nominee, Lauren Onak, was selected by Sonski before the national convention in early July in Plano, Texas, and she was formally nominated there.[105] The party was on the ballot in Arkansas, Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Ohio.[106] Additionally, the American Solidarity Party had approved write-in status in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.[107]
U.S. Senate elections
California
Dr. Mark Ruzon ran for the 2024 United States Senate elections in California.[108][109] Statewide polling indicated that he is an underdog in the race.[110][111] In California's top-two system, all candidates regardless of party affiliation run together, and the top two proceed to the November election. On the Super Tuesday primary election, Ruzon received 13,429 votes, equal to 0.2%, placing 23rd out of 27 candidates on the ballot.[112]
U.S. House of Representatives District 31 in California
Erskine Levi Jr. ran for Congressional District 31 in California,[113] participating in a candidate forum to discuss housing, climate, war and peace.[114] He did not proceed past the first round of the blanket primary, placing 9th out of 10 candidates with 1,166 votes, or 1.2%.[112]
Other
Pennsylvania
Eric K. Anton received a ballot-line for the American Solidarity Party for the 2024 Pennsylvania Auditor General election.[115] However, his campaign was invisible, as he lacked any social media or online presence.[116] According to Anton's campaign finance he spent $0 on the race as all attempts to contact him by local Pennsylvania media was unsuccessful.[117][118] However, public records show Anton as being a registered member of the party since 2017, served on its national committee, and is the party's state coordinator.[119] Anton won 20,967 votes (0.31%).
^ abcBecause the American Solidarity Party did not have ballot access in California at the time of the election, the candidate was listed on the ballot as having "no party preference"
^ abcBlack, Susannah (August 15, 2016). "Mr. Maturen Goes to Washington". Front Porch Republic. Retrieved August 16, 2016. What's next may be hinted at by a 51 year old devout Catholic, businessman, and semi-professional magician named Mike Maturen, who recently accepted the presidential nomination of the American Solidarity Party, the only active Christian Democratic party in the nation.
^ abc"Christian Democracy". American Solidarity Party. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018. Christian Democracy is a political movement that first emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, influenced by Catholic social teaching starting with the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII, and by the Neo-Calvinist worldview as heralded by the Dutch Prime Minister, Abraham Kuyper. The strength of this ecumenical collaboration led to Christian Democratic parties coming to power in various countries of Europe, as well as in Latin America, where they emphasized several unique concepts that promoted the common good. The American Solidarity Party (ASP) identifies itself as a Christian Democratic political party.
^"New political party says its roots are in Catholic Social Teaching". November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2021. opportunities for socially conservative, economically progressive movements, and desired to get involved in such movements…and was glad to see that ASP was interested in applying such ways of thinking to contemporary issues.
^"About Us". American Solidarity Party. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
^ abPadusniak, Chase (Winter 2015), "Why You Should Vote Third Party", Intercollegiate Review, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, archived from the original on August 21, 2016, retrieved July 21, 2016, For the socially-conservative American who thinks government intervention has some place in the economy, the American Solidarity Party might fit.
^"New political party says its roots are in Catholic Social Teaching". November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2021. I was working on my doctoral dissertation largely concerning difficulties and opportunities for socially conservative, economically progressive movements, and desired to get involved in such movements ... and was glad to see that ASP was interested in applying such ways of thinking to contemporary issues.
^ abcde"Platform". American Solidarity Party. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
^Monsma, Stephen V. (2012). Pluralism and Freedom: Faith-based Organizations in a Democratic Society. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 13. ISBN9781442214309. This is the Christian Democratic tradition and the structural pluralist concepts that underlie it. The Roman Catholic social teaching of subsidiarity and its related concepts, as well as the parallel neo-Calvinist concept of sphere sovereignty, play major roles in structural pluralist thought.
^ abcde"July 2016 Ballot Access News Print Edition". Ballot Access News. July 30, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2020. States that allow write-ins in the general election, and don't have write-in filing laws, are legally obliged to count all write-ins: Alabama, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont.