The Unity Party of America is a national political party in the United States founded on November 4, 2004 with the slogan "Not Right, Not Left, But Forward!"[3] The party has 45 state affiliates, two of which, Colorado and Massachusetts, have ballot access.[4][5][6] Additionally, the Unity Party has reported that it has members in 46 states.[7]
History
Party founder Bill Hammons in 2008The "Tripartite Triangle", the party's logo from 2004-2021
The Unity Party grew out of the grassroots group named Runners for Clark which supported General Wesley Clark's 2004 presidential campaign by raising campaign contributions and awareness of Clark's run for the presidency; Runners for Clark morphed into Unity Runners and then into the Unity Party.[8][9]
Bill Hammons of Texas, New York and Colorado founded the Unity Party in 2004 as chairman and ran as the Unity Party of America candidate for Colorado's 2nd congressional district, centered on Boulder, in 2008[10] and again in 2010.[11] By that point, the Unity Party had expanded beyond Colorado to 27 states.[12] He then ran for the U.S. Senate in Colorado in 2014 before running for the Senate again in 2016 and then for Colorado governor in 2018 (the "Unity" voter affiliation option in Colorado is a direct result of his Senate candidacy).[13][14][15][8]
In 2012, veteran and Gold Star father Jim Pirtle of Colorado Springs was declared as a Unity Party candidate for Congress.[16]
In June 2017, the Unity Party achieved full recognition as a minor party by the state of Colorado, and its candidates in the state no longer need to petition onto the ballot, but instead just need a "show of hands" at a party assembly. By 2017, the party had spread to 37 states.[19][15][20][21]
In September 2017, Unity Party members decided to begin referring to themselves as "Uniters."[22]
In October 2018, Hammons was quoted as saying, "God did not ordain two parties in the United States," and went on to say one goal of his gubernatorial run was to help put a Unity Party presidential candidate at the top of the ballot in Colorado in 2020.[23]
In June 2019, Rebecca Keltie of Colorado Springs became the first female Unity Party candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, and in September 2019 the Unity Party U.S. Senate candidacy of Arvada's Joshua Rodriguez created the first-ever contested Unity Party nomination race.[24][7]
Bill Hammons and Eric Bodenstab were nominated for President and Vice President, respectively, in an online convention held over WebEx on April 4, 2020.[25] Hammons and Bodenstab made it onto the ballot in Colorado,[26] Louisiana[27] and New Jersey.[28]
On 18 September, 2020, Ian Silverii , columnist for the Denver Post, gave the Unity Party as an alternative to the Colorado Republican Party after the Republicans failed to give any official platform for their 2020 state convention, instead republishing their 2016 platform.[29]
On 24 August, 2023, Richard Ward, the Libertarian candidate for Colorado's 8th congressional district in 2022 who had the best showing of any Libertarian congressional candidate in 2022 with 3.9% of the vote, announced that he would be switching party affiliation to the Unity Party, citing the rightward shift in the Libertarian Party after their takeover by the Mises Caucus.[31]
Party structure
Chairman
No.
Name
Term Start
Term End
Notes
1
Bill Hammons
November 4, 2004
February 11, 2022
Party's founder and longtime perennial candidate.[1]
2
Elijah Herson
April 9, 2022
June 7, 2022
Longtime party Vice-Chairman, resigned due to personality disputes in the party's national committee.[1]
3
Tim Wolf
June 7, 2022
March 29, 2023
Former vice-president, there is no interim-chairman role in the party's constitution, upon Herson's resignation Wolf became chairman until his own resignation.[1]
4
Eric Bodenstab
April 7, 2023
May 12, 2023
Upon the resignation of Wolf, Vice-Chair Jim Wiest declined chairmanship so Secretary Eric Bodenstab became chairman.[1]
5
Alex Darlington
May 12, 2023
July 29, 2023
Popular national committeeman, Alex Darlington, was elected chairman in an attempt to end the instability of party leadership, however, he too would resign.[1]
6
Sabrina Bryan
July 29, 2023
July 30, 2023
Another interim chairman who oversaw the transfer of power back to Hammon.[1]
1 (7)
Bill Hammons
October 7, 2023
Incumbent
To conclude the leadership instability, then treasurer and founder Bill Hammons was reinstated as chairman.[1]
Unity Party of Colorado: 3,900 members officially affiliated with the Unity Party of Colorado as voters, as of late 2023 [37] The founding core of the party, with a strong support base in Boulder and Colorado's second congressional distinct. Founded as the first state affiliate in 2005 and is a recognized political party in Colorado with ballot access since 2008.[38]
Unity Party of Florida: 13 members listed[40] The Unity Party of Florida campaigns on increasing high-tech industries within the state, while also working on sustainable initiatives, all while promoting a "Floridian" character.[41]
Unity Party of Massachusetts: Formed by Hammons in 2021 and with a support base in Boston, the Unity Party of Massachusetts is a recognized political party in Massachusetts with ballot access since its foundation.[53]
Unity Party of Texas: 18 members listed. Formed by Hammons in his home state and is largely subsidiary to the Colorado party, the Unity Party of Texas maintains two strong support bases in Hammon's home town of Odessa and his place of residence since 2019, Austin.[72]
Downballot, the party's Senate candidate, Stephen "Seku" Evans, won 8,971 votes, coming in very last place,[80] underperforming Hammons both in his senatorial run and in his 2018 gubernatorial run.
In the House of Representatives, the party only ran candidates in the state of Colorado, who averaged between 0.5% and 1% of the vote in their respective districts[80]
The Unity Party's best performance came from James Triebert, who ran for Adams County Commissioner against Democrat Chad Tedesco. He won 29.1% of the vote, with 57,387 votes.[81]
On December 21, 2023, Donnie Harold Harris, the President of the Unity party of Indiana, and Hammons announced that for the first time in the Unity Party's history that there will be a Unity Presidential primary which will determine the candidate in time for the April 13, 2024, Unity party convention. Additionally, the pair announced that former party chairman Elijah Herson will be moderating a debate.[82]
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3,900[2]
