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New Jersey Conservative Party

The New Jersey Conservative Party, formerly abbreviated as the NJCP, now as CP-NJ, is a conservative political party in New Jersey, United States.

New Jersey Conservative Party
ChairmanDr. Steven Maness
Founded1992[1]
IdeologyAmerican nationalism
States' rights
Conservatism
Political positionCenter-right to right-wing
Website
http://www.conservativepartynj.org/

Ideology

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The NJCP advocates for low taxes, a balanced budget and job growth, the right to own private property, limiting welfare to individuals, ending government-supported health care, and limiting foreign aid. It favors states' rights, a strong military, anti-immigration laws, and term limits for congressmen. It supports a national holiday for Election Day.

Membership

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According to the New Jersey Division of Elections (part of the New Jersey Department of State),[2] there were 154 registered Conservative Party members statewide on October 20, 2008.[3] Membership in the party grew five-fold in 2015-2016;[4] as of March 2016, there were 814 registered members,[5] and by November 2016, there were 3,516.[6] Membership grew again in 2018; in February there were 7,371 registered voters,[5] and as of July 2018, there were 8,447.[7][8][9]

In February 2019, there were 10,610 registered members.[10]

History

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1963 New Jersey elections

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In the 1963 election for New Jersey Assembly a number of candidates ran as "Conservative" in Essex and Bergen counties as part of a nationwide split in the Republican party which saw northeastern states, like New Jersey, have their state Republican party be dominated by the party's liberal faction. These Conservative candidates opposed the social liberal policies of the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration in favor of the more social conservative school of though emerging with Senator Barry Goldwater.[11] This party split would end following the 1964 United States presidential election and its 1964 Republican National Convention which effectively saw the Goldwater wing of the party dominate.[12][13] These candidates have no relation to the party founded in 1992, but were listed under the same name on the ballot.

1992 party

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The New Jersey Conservative Party was created in 1992 by Tom Blomquist, who had run as candidate for Governor of New Jersey[14] in the 1989 as a Republican getting 0.98% of the vote in the primary, and in 1993 gubernatorial elections as a Conservative.[15][16]

The party's initial platform was a rejection of bossism and promotion of the use of referendum for passing legislature. The party also sought the abolition of county governments as a way to cut taxes throughout the state. They also led a series of ballot questions which would dissolve wards in many New Jersey towns and cities, replacing them with at-large districts. The party's initial stronghold was Blomquist's hometown of Brick, but made its initial headquarters in Point Pleasant Beach. During the party's foundation Blomquist met with Michael R. Long, then chairman of the Conservative Party of New York State, who gave him his blessing to make a New Jersey Conservative Party.[17]

The NJCP received the endorsement of United We Stand America, H. Ross Perot's citizen action organization in 1995.[18][19] In 1995, the party ran approximately 60 candidates for the New Jersey General Assembly, none of whom won.[20][21] the party broke the record for the most third party candidates during one election in the history of New Jersey. This helped lead the NJCP to receiving 117,219 votes. However, in order to earn official third-party status from the state, the party was required to bring in at least 10% of the total vote; a number it did not meet.[22] The party considered changing its name in support of Perot's presidential candidacy.[23]

In 1997, the Conservative Party and other members of the Council of Alternative Political Parties filed suit against the state regarding filing deadlines and the number of signatures needed to do so.[24][25]

The party ran candidates in every district in New Jersey in the midterm 1998 United States House of Representatives elections.[26]

In 1999, New Jersey Conservative Party and three of its individual members who were candidates for elective office filed a certified complaint to enjoin county clerks, from drawing separate political party columns for the Democratic and Republican parties on the official ballot.[27][28] The party also brought an appeal to the Supreme Court of New Jersey regarding preferential ballot positions for the Republican and Democratic parties compared to the NJCP. Historically, the Republican and Democratic candidates were given top spots on the ballot, and the NJCP argued that low voter turn-out led to these parties not even receiving the 10% vote minimum (out of all registered voters for that cycle) to proceed to the general vote.[29] However, the court ruled to reject the application.[30]

In 2000, the New Jersey Conservative Party was involved in a lawsuit that permitted New Jersey voters to join third parties. Until 2001 New Jersey did not allow registering to vote as anything other than Democrat, Republican, or Independent. This was ruled unconstitutional in 2001 after a lawsuit was brought by a coalition of political parties, including the NJCP.

In 2009 the State Chairman Stephen Spinosa asked registered members to change their party affiliation to Republican so they could vote for Steve Lonegan for Governor. (Spinosa had run for office as NJCP candidate, twice for State and once for Congress between 1997 and 1999[31]). By doing so he effectively called for the suspension, though not dissolution, of his third-party movement in order to boost Lonegan's chances.[32][33]

On February 19, 2010, the New Jersey Conservative Party signed an affiliation agreement with the national Conservative Party USA. By February 20, the New Jersey affiliate turned over their party membership to the national party for management in accordance with the affiliation agreement. Dr. Steven Maness (who had run as Conservative Party candidate for Middlesex County Freeholder in 1998[34]) assumed New Jersey party leadership on December 30.[35][36]

After the election of Donald Trump during the 2016 United States presidential election, third parties across New Jersey saw a spike in registration. In 2018 the Conservative Party was the fourth largest party in the state, Behind the Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians respectively with 8,447 registered voters, slightly above the Constitution Party's 8,288.[37] In 2016, prior to the election, the Conservative party had just 3,509 registered voters.[38]

In January 2019, Martin Marks, former mayor of Scotch Plains, alongside Harris Pappas, announced their independent candidacy for the New Jersey's 21st Legislative District, under the banner of "Conservative" in the 2019 New Jersey elections.[39][40] Both would go on to lose handily with 1.05% and 0.99% respectively.[41]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Blevins, Dave (27 April 2006). American Political Parties in the 21st Century. McFarland. p. 133. ISBN 9780786424801 – via Internet Archive. New Jersey Conservative Party.
  2. ^ "Statewide Voter Registration Statistics Archive". New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  3. ^ "New Jersey Division of Elections". Archived from the original on 2008-11-26.
  4. ^ Symons, Michael (7 November 2016). "Democratic registration surges in New Jersey, now 860,000 above GOP". New Jersey 101.5.
  5. ^ a b https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/assets/pdf/svrs-reports/2016/2016-03-voter-registration-by-county.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ "Statewide Voter Registration Summary November 7, 2016" (PDF).
  7. ^ "Minor political parties growing fastest in NJ as registrations increase". North Jersey.
  8. ^ "Libertarians Standing Tall As Largest Third-Party In New Jersey". Belleville-Nutley, NJ Patch. 22 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Independent parties double registration since Trump election". New Jersey Globe. 9 July 2018.
  10. ^ https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/assets/pdf/svrs-reports/2019/2019-03-voter-registration-by-county.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  11. ^ "New Jersey Division of Elections" (PDF).
  12. ^ Nicol C. Rae, The Decline and Fall of the Liberal Republicans: From 1952 to the Present (1989)
  13. ^ Perlstein, Rick (August 2008). "How the 1964 Republican Convention Sparked a Revolution From the Right". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  14. ^ McLarin, Kimberly J. (2 November 1993). "The 1993 CAMPAIGN: The Long Shots; Candidates Who March To Different Drummers". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  15. ^ Peterson, Iver (8 October 1992). "Big 'C' Conservative Makes Big Plans for New Jersey". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Peterson, Iver (29 October 1995). "ON POLITICS;Third-Party Fervor? More Than Hard Work". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  17. ^ Peterson, Iver. "Big 'C' Conservative Makes Big Plans for New Jersey". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  18. ^ Peterson, Iver (29 October 1995). "Perot Commands Enthusiasm For New Jersey Conservatives". The New York Times.
  19. ^ "Political Diversity: Third party in N.J. would enlarge the ring". Asbury Park Press. 27 April 1995. p. 17. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com. 
  20. ^ Demasters, Karen (8 October 1995). "NEWS AND TOPICS: POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT;New Third Party, Flexing Muscles, Looks to '96 and Beyond". The New York Times.
  21. ^ Keller, Susan Jo (9 November 1995). "NEW JERSEY DAILY BRIEFING;The Conservatives Strike Out". The New York Times.
  22. ^ "Conservatives". The Herald-News. 16 Sep 1995. p. 5. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com. 
  23. ^ Pristin, Terry (28 September 1995). "NEW JERSEY DAILY BRIEFING; Conservatives May Join Perot". The New York Times.
  24. ^ http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/975398.txt [bare URL plain text file]
  25. ^ "The Council of Alternative Political Parties, Green Party of NJ, Natural Law Party, NJ Conservative Party, NJ Libertarian Party, U.S. Taxpayers Party of New Jersey, Albert Larotonda, Gary Novosielski, Madelyn Hoffman, Jim Mohn, Mary Jochristian, Jeffrey M. Levine, Tom Blomquist, Bernard Sobolewski, Sal Duscio, Anne Stommel, Leonard Flynn, John Paff, Michael Buoncristiano, Emerson Ellett, Charles Novins, Lowell T. Patterson, Eugene R. Christian, Scott Jones, Richard S. Hester Sr., Barbara Hester, Austin S. Lett, Arnold Kokans, Leona Lavone, Shirley Boncheff, Christianzegler, Victoria Spruiell, Harley Tyler, v. Lonna R. Hooks, Secretary of State of the State of New Jersey, in Her Official Capacity and Her Successors, Appellant, 179 F.3d 64 (3d Cir. 1999)". Justia Law. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  26. ^ "New Jersey Division of Elections" (PDF).
  27. ^ "NEW JERSEY CONSERVATIVE PARTY INC v. Bergen County Democratic Organization and Essex County Democratic Committee, Inc., Defendants/Intervenors-Appellants". Findlaw.
  28. ^ Court, New Jersey Superior (10 April 2019). "Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Superior Court, Appellate Division, Chancery Division, Law Division, and in the County Courts of the State of New Jersey". Soney & Sage – via Google Books.
  29. ^ Conohan, Sherry (10 Aug 1999). "Judge allows challenge to ballot law". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com. 
  30. ^ Conohan, Sherry (9 Sep 1999). "Top court says no to appeal on ballot". Asbury Park Press. p. 5. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com. 
  31. ^ "Conservative Party - Stephen G.Spinosa". conservativepartyusa.org. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  32. ^ "Conservative party chairman resigns, temporarily, to work for Lonegan". The New York Observer. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  33. ^ "New Jersey conservative chairman says party won't dissolve". The New York Observer. 10 April 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  34. ^ "Conservative Party - Steve Maness". conservativepartyusa.org. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  35. ^ USA, Conservative Party. "Conservative Party (CP-USA) Highlights Leadership Change in New Jersey". PRLog. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  36. ^ release, press. "Conservative Party (CP-USA) Highlights Leadership Change in New Jersey". Atlantic Highlands Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  37. ^ Kiefer, Eric (22 August 2018). "Libertarians Standing Tall As Largest Third-Party In New Jersey". Patch Media. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  38. ^ Wildstein, David (9 July 2018). "Independent parties double registration since Trump election". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  39. ^ "Marks and Pappas Running as Conservatives in LD21 General Election". Insider NJ. 25 March 2019.
  40. ^ "LD21: Fmr. GOP mayor weighing third party 'Conservative' challenge to GOP's Bramnick, Munoz »". 10 January 2019.
  41. ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/04/2019 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
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