Buchanan unable to win support for Reform Party

By JONATHAN D. SALANT

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – A badly divided Reform Party finished the presidential campaign with its top issues taken by other candidates and presidential nominee Pat Buchanan unable to attract much support or attention.

The topics that initially defined the party – balancing the budget, overhauling campaign finance laws, opposition to free trade – were picked up by others in the presidential race. The party’s founder and two-time presidential nominee, Ross Perot, sat on the sidelines.

Polls leading up to Election Day gave Buchanan 1 percent or less of the vote, well below the 5 percent threshold required for the Reform Party’s 2004 nominee to receive federal funds.

Still, Buchanan promised to remain in the party and continue to speak out on such issues as opposing abortion, restricting immigration and opposing free trade agreements.

“I am with these causes now and up until the time the Lord himself calls me home,” Buchanan told a cheering crowd of around 100 people at a nearby hotel. “This cause is not going to die. This cause is going to move forward.”

Interviews with voters indicated that Buchanan supporters were mostly white, married, Christian and making less than $50,000 a year. Still, an overwhelming majority of anti-abortion voters and self-described members of the religious right cast their votes for George W. Bush, as did more than half of those who voted for Perot in 1996. The exit polls were conducted by Voter News Service, a consortium of The Associated Press and the television networks.

“The Reform Party is now traveling a well-trod path in American politics, down the road to oblivion,” said John Kenneth White, a professor of politics at the Catholic University of America.

“What third parties need to survive and thrive are two things. They need a charismatic candidate and they need a set of compelling issues,” he said.

Today, the Reform Party has neither, White said.

Perot endorsed Bush for president. The budget is balanced. Green Party presidential nominee Ralph Nader campaigned against free trade and for overhauling the campaign finance laws, two of Perot’s signature issues.

Without Perot, the party split over Buchanan, an anti-abortion conservative who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000.

Still, Reform Party chairman Gerry Moan said Buchanan brought in new people to the party.

“I think our demographics have gotten younger, bolder, more conservative, and we’re going to have to build upon that coalition,” Moan said.

But those who left over Buchanan’s candidacy question whether the party is worth saving.

“Its a brand name,” former chairman Russell Verney said. “If the brand name gets tarnished, you may have to step away from it.”

Indeed, Nader, who ran on such traditional Reform Party issues as campaign finance reform and trade, may wind up being Perot’s heir, suggested Jim Mangia, the party’s founding national secretary.

“If his independent movement is going to grow, he’s going to have to reach out to those center forces,” Mangia said. “Is there room for the radical center in Nader’s movement? Those of us who are left standing will be coalescing and discussing what we’re going to do from here.”

“The real foundation is the 530,000 municipal, county and state elected officials,” Verney said. “Rather than a national party, it’s more important to have 50 state political parties and focus on the fundamentals. If and when a competitive national candidate comes along that can unify the 50 state parties, we have the support system in place to assist that campaign.”

Copyright ©2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

LifeWise local co-directors Darcie Hammer and Sarah Sweeny talk about what a typical classroom routine looks like on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett off-campus Bible program draws mixed reaction from parents

The weekly optional program, LifeWise Academy, takes children out of public school during the day for religious lessons.

Protesters line Broadway in Everett for Main Street USA rally

Thousands turn out to protest President Trump on Saturday in Everett, joining hundreds of other towns and cities.

An EcoRemedy employee checks a control panel of their equipment at the Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant on Thursday, April 17, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds launches technology to destroy PFAS

Edmonds is the first city in the country to implement… Continue reading

Over a dozen parents and some Snohomish School District students gather outside of the district office to protest and discuss safety concerns after an incident with a student at Machias Elementary School on Friday, April 18, 2025 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Parents protest handling of alleged weapon incident at Machias Elementary

Families say district failed to communicate clearly; some have kept kids home for weeks.

Irene Pfister, left, holds a sign reading “Justice for Jonathan” next to another protester with a sign that says “Major Crimes Needs to Investigate,” during a call to action Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Arlington. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Arlington community rallies, a family waits for news on missing man

Family and neighbors say more can be done in the search for Jonathan Hoang. The sheriff’s office says all leads are being pursued.

Mary Ann Karber, 101, spins the wheel during Wheel of Forunte at Washington Oakes on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lunch and Wheel of Fortune with some Everett swinging seniors

She’s 101 and he’s 76. At Washington Oakes, fun and friendship are on the menu.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition championship robotics Team 2910 Jack in the Bot on Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek robotics team celebrates world championship win

The team — known as “Jack in the Bot” — came in first place above about 600 others at a Texas world championship event last week.

The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
Parental rights overhaul gains final approval in WA Legislature

The bill was among the most controversial of this year’s session.

Snohomish firefighters appeal vaccine suspensions to Ninth Circuit

Despite lower court’s decision, eight men maintain their department did not properly accommodate their religious beliefs during COVID.

A rental sign seen in Everett. Saturday, May 23, 2020 (Sue Misao / Herald file)
Compromise reached on Washington bill to cap rent increases

Under a version released Thursday, rent hikes would be limited to 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower.

A Mitsubishi Electric heat pump is installed on the wall of a home on Sep. 7, 2023, near Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Kicking Gas urges households to get in line for subsidies while funds last

The climate justice group has enough funding to aid 80 households with making the transition to heat pumps and electric ranges

Everett Fire Department’s color guard Jozef Mendoza, left, and Grady Persons, right, parade the colors at the end of the ceremony on Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County officials honor Worker’s Memorial Day

Work-related injuries kill thousands of people nationwide every year.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.