Organizers of a new political party say they want to offer voters an alternative to the traditional Republicans vs. Democrats system.
Steve Mann, state coordinator for the Missouri People’s Party, said supporters are collecting signatures on petitions as part of the effort to certify the party. If the petition drive is successful, the party will be able to place candidates on ballots. Organizers hope that comes as early as the general election in November 2022.
The party recently satisfied a state requirement by forming a provisional state committee.
“The People’s Party was formed out of the effort to draft Bernie (Sanders) for president in 2016,” Mann said. “Since then, it’s evolved into a movement.”
Mann said statewide, the party needs to collect signatures from 10,000 registered voters before August 2022 and recruit candidates for as many offices as it can.
“Hopefully, by August (2022), we’ll take our petitions and our list of candidates to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, and once those are vetted, we’ll be able to place our candidates on the Nov. 8 (2022) ballot.”
Officials said they have collected more than 2,000 signatures in Missouri so far.
Mann said he hopes the party would have candidates lined up to run for state auditor and for the U.S. Senate in November 2022.
“We also are looking at people who want to run for the (General Assembly),” he said.
The party also could be recognized at local levels, like county or legislative
districts, by collecting the signatures from 2 percent of registered voters in each jurisdiction and bringing forth candidates.
“But we’re really aiming for statewide access,” Mann said.
Asked to describe where the People’s Party would fit in between the traditional Republican and Democratic parties, Mann bristled.
“We reject that definition,” he said. “There’s no left-right; there’s up and down. There is the 1 percent at the top and the rest of us, the 99 percent, at the bottom. The left-right idea is being pushed by the people at the top who want the rest of us to fight each other.”
Mann said his party’s primary platform reflects issues Americans support, as borne out by polling.
“A majority of Americans support getting money out of politics, internet neutrality, no more endless wars, Medicaid for all, free college education and a guarantee of housing. Those are some of the issues we support,” he said.
Mann said the People’s Party is a natural successor to the Green Party, which he said suffered from disorganization.
In addition to the statewide and legislative posts, he said the party is looking for candidates to run in local elections, such as for the four seats on the Jefferson County Council that will be on the ballot in 2022.
People’s Parties are also being organized in California, Colorado, Maine, Ohio and Oregon.
For information on the party, see missouri.peoplesparty.org.