Reform Party of Florida


The Reform Party of Florida is the state party organization for Florida of the Reform Party of the United States of America.

Registration

Reform Party membership in Florida has decreased since the year 2000.
YearRegistered Members
19961,557
19982,695
20004,672
20024,616
20043,872
20063,790
20083,093
20102,473
20121,961
20141,717
20161,400

2000 campaign controversy

After a great deal of infighting conservative presidential candidate Pat Buchanan was granted the party's ballot line. Due to confusion over the design of some ballots, it is thought that many residents miscast their vote for Buchanan, believing they were casting their vote for Al Gore. Buchanan received an unexpectedly strong 3,407 votes in Palm Beach County. Many accused Buchanan of being a "spoiler."

2004 election controversy

In 2004, the party gained national attention when efforts were made by local Democrats to keep Ralph Nader, the Reform Party presidential candidate, off Florida's ballot. The affair garnered a great deal of media attention, with moderate Senator John McCain publicly condemning the attempts to keep Nader off the ballot.
The courts eventually sided with Nader, and his name appeared on the ballot. Nader's spokesperson, Kevin Zeese, criticized the ordeal, saying: "We hope Democrats engage on issues and stop anti-democratic efforts to prevent voters from having a choice."
Nader received 32,971 votes in Florida.

2006 gubernatorial campaign

Max Linn, a financial planner and President of the "Eight is Enough" term limit campaign ran as the Reform Party nominee in the 2006 Florida Gubernatorial election. His running mate was Tom Macklin former mayor of Avon Park and founder of the American Party. Despite his unorthodox media blitz, Linn gained most of his notoriety among the Florida electorate for an emergency landing he made on an Orlando, Florida highway in October 2006 when a plane he rented had engine difficulties. Linn was not hurt, although he spent a day in the hospital under observation. Linn got 92,595 votes and in total 1.92% of the popular vote.

Recent events (2007-present)

In 2008, Jim Brown ran for Polk County, Florida commissioner; his campaign received some press as he was the first Reform candidate ever to run for local office in the state. Brown lost to incumbent Sam Johnson in the general election, garnering 13,453 votes, 6 percent of the total.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Darcy G. Richardson and former state legislator Nancy Argenziano ran as the nominees of the Reform Party for Governor and Lt. Governor of Florida in 2018. It was the first time in more than a decade the Reform Party had fielded a statewide candidate in any state. The ticket finished in third place, capturing 47,140 votes.

Notable statewide and congressional election results

YearOfficeCandidatePopular votesPercentage
19985th Congressional DistrictJack Gargan67,14733.7%
2000United States Senate Class 1H. Joel Deckard17,3380.30%
20009th Congressional DistrictJohn Duffey46,47418.1%
200015th Congressional DistrictJohn McGuire7,5562.6%
2006Governor / Lieutenant GovernorMax Linn / Tom Macklin92,5951.92%
2018Governor / Lieutenant GovernorDarcy G. Richardson / Nancy Argenziano47,1400.57%

Presidential nominee results

Since 1996, the Reform Party of Florida has placed a candidate for President of the United States on the ballot in every election except 2008.
The party's best performance in a presidential race came from Ross Perot in 1996.
YearNomineeVotes
1996Ross Perot483,870
2000Patrick Buchanan17,484
2004Ralph Nader32,971
2008No Candidate0
2012Andre Barnett820
2016Rocky De La Fuente9,108