Ross Perot and his followers are starting a new third political party nationwide - a party that in Utah will be called either the Reform Party or Independence Party.
And the new movement, less than 24 hours old, excites Merrill Cook so much that the old war horse "may even run for office again" under the new party banner, he said Tuesday.Utah law makes it easy to start a new political party and get candidates on the ballot. It takes only 500 signatures from registered voters. Claire Geddes, executive director of United We Stand, Utah - the local chapter of Perot's citizen action group - said Tuesday morning that she and her group's local members will start a new party here next year.
"I imagine we'll do everything that a party does - hold mass meetings and a convention" in 1996, Geddes said. She said she couldn't yet say whether the Utah party would - as Perot requests - refuse to nominate candidates for the U.S. House or governor in 1996. (Utah has no U.S. Senate race next year.) "We'll have to wait and see" if the party runs any candidates for the Utah Legislature or local county seats next year, she added.
Perot announced his new third party, which he calls the Independence Party, on CNN's "Larry King Live" Monday night. Perot and his backers in his state organizations have been talking for some time about a third party. Perot said his party will nominate a presidential candidate in 1996, and he hinted that that person won't be him. Perot ran for president as an independent in 1992, finishing third with 19 percent of the vote nationwide. He said his party won't be running Senate and House candidates in 1996 but would endorse Republican and Democratic congressional candidates where appropriate.
Historically, Perot has refused to allow his organizations to run candidates in state races. Cook tried to get Perot to allow him to run under Perot's political umbrella in Cook's 1992 gubernatorial race. But Perot refused.
"This is great news (Perot's third party)," Cook said Tuesday. "My wife and I were so excited watching him (on Larry King), she even talked about letting me run again." After finishing a disappointing third in the 2nd Congressional District race in 1994, on election night Cook said he wouldn't run for office again and encouraged members of his Independent Party of Utah to quit the third party and join either the Republican or Democratic parties.
"I put a lot of money and effort into the Independent Party of Utah," said Cook Tuesday. He started the party in 1989. It didn't work, with Cook becoming the only viable candidate in the party's efforts. Cook never won a race, although he finished second in the 1992 governor's race. Cook added, "I believe it takes money and organization to succeed. Certainly, Perot (a billionaire) has the resources. If (Perot's party) could get Colin Powell to run as president and (retiring Democratic U.S. senator) Bill Bradley to run as vice president, wow! That would totally breathe new life into the independent movement in Utah and across the nation."
There does seem to be an opening for independents in Utah. In his latest survey for the DeseretNews and KSL-TV, pollster Dan Jones & Associates found that 40 percent of Utahns consider themselves Republicans, 35 percent say they are independents and 19 percent say they're Democrats. Republicans hold all the major state-wide offices and large majorities in the Legislature; Democrats hold only the 3rd Congressional District and attorney general's office.
"In reality, we haven't had a viable two-party system in Utah for a long time," said Geddes. "A lot of people are looking for an alternative. We can be that." Perot finished second in Utah in the 1992 presidential race, getting 27 percent of the vote.
Geddes said United We Stand, Utah will continue to operate, even after the Perot-backers here form a new party next year. "We will continue to be a citizen action group. In a number of areas like telecommunications reform, governmental ethics and reform no other political party people have been speaking out - trying to find the middle ground. We will," said Geddes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Requirements
Here are the requirements for certifying a new political party, capable of nominating a presidential candidate, in the three states with 1995 deadlines. Ross Perot said Monday these would be the initial targets of his effort:
- California: Deadline is Oct. 24. Supporters need signatures from 890,064 registered voters expressing support for the idea. Or, they would have to persuade89,007 people to register as members of the new party. In either event, the deadline to make the 1996 ballot is Oct. 24. State officials said qualifying in one month would be unprecedented.
- Ohio: 33,000 signatures from registered voters are required by Nov. 19. Efforts could be complicated by an internal power struggle in the state United We Stand chapter.
- Maine: 25,551 signatures by Dec. 14.