Who is the leader of the Patriot Party? Far-right group fails to become an official party in Arizona
PHOENIX, ARIZONA: The Patriot Party of Arizona, a far-right political group led by John Fillmore, a former Republican state representative, has failed to qualify for the 2024 ballot due to a lack of valid signatures.
The Secretary of State of Arizona, Adrian Fontes, announced on Monday, November 20, that while the party submitted 37,227 signatures, only 31,018 were deemed valid after verification.
Although they managed to gather more than the required 34,127 signatures, the party fell short of meeting the strict verification requirements.
In a press release, Fontes said, "After the required statutory review by my office and by county elections officials across the state, the Patriot Party of Arizona has not met the minimum signature requirement and, therefore, does not qualify as a new political party for federal, statewide, and legislative races in the 2024 Primary and General Elections under Arizona law."
John Fillmore was chosen as the head of the Patriot Party of Arizona to end its 'divisive atmosphere'
In May, former GOP state Rep John Fillmore took over the Patriot Party of Arizona, a group that was formerly headed by Daniel McCarthy and Steven Tyler Daniels.
Fillmore’s appointment as the president of the Patriot Party of Arizona was notified via an email sent out by the party.
It read, "Both (McCarthy and Daniels) will no longer be affiliated with the popular constitutional conservative movement in any capacity. The separation and succession by Fillmore is to replace and end a divisive atmosphere in the drive to become an Arizona State Political Party."
In the same email, the emerging party noted that the recent expulsion of Liz Harris from the Arizona House of Representatives, backed by a majority of Republican legislators showed that conservatives "cannot continue to sit back and have any confidence in the GOP."
"A party we all have loved and respected at one point and think they will do what they promised to do for Arizonians," it said about the Republican Party.
Per his website, McCarthy is an American businessman turned political leader in Arizona who ran for the US Senate seat in 2020 as a Republican but lost in the primary election to Senator Martha McSally.
Daniels, who earlier this year vied to become chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, was unsuccessful in his attempt, as per AZMirror.
Both men are known for utilizing apparently aggressive and extremist political tactics against what they refer to as the "uniparty" system, an outlying concept that asserts there are no significant differences when it comes to how Republicans and Democrats govern.
The group has endeavored to gain recognition as a political party in Arizona since 2021 after missing a deadline to submit signatures before the 2022 election.
Simply HORSESH*T, The RNC & the state Rep. party both threatened AZs SOS (a Democrat nd 1/2 of the Uniparty) with lawsuits If the PPAZ was approved, it is pathetic, misleading and pandering misinformation 4"the PCs to believe the Republican party is still relevant It's NOT,… https://t.co/vS5y03SBq3
— JOHN FILLMORE (@JMFILLMORE) November 21, 2023
The Patriot Party’s newly appointed President Fillmore was in a hurry to submit over 34,000 verified signatures before the 2024 US general elections, as recognized political parties are granted automatic access to the general election ballot.
The group has garnered the attention and backing of far-right extremists for their involvement in anti-LGBTQ+ rallies, anti-vaccine, and anti-mask campaigns, as well as for disrupting school board meetings and staging protests outside schools across the state.
Arizona emerges as a fertile ground for emerging third parties
Secretary of State of Arizona, Adrian Fontes, has been under pressure from the Republican National Committee and the Arizona Republican Party, who threatened to take legal action against him if the Patriot Party of Arizona was recognized.
The GOP claimed that 8,000 signatures were from unregistered voters and that 10,000 signatures were from more than two years earlier. As a result, the Patriot Party's failure in getting recognition has come to light.
In a press release, the AZGOP asserted the Patriot Party’s failure to obtain enough valid signatures, claiming it as "a significant victory in maintaining the integrity of the state’s petition signature gathering process."
More than 50 AZGOP volunteers "meticulously reviewed over 37,000 signatures by hand at the AZGOP headquarters until the early hours of the morning."
The AZGOP also slammed Fontes, claiming that the changes he made to the process for new parties to qualify were "favoring partisan interests over transparent and impartial processes."
This comes as Democrats in Arizona are litigating over the No Labels Party's eligibility for ballot access.
The No Labels Party has launched its own lawsuit in return, asking a federal judge in Phoenix to stop Fontes from allowing individuals to run under the No Labels banner for offices other than the president or vice president.
Filed on Thursday, November 16, the lawsuit sought to block its ballot line from being used by Democrats who oppose the party’s efforts to launch a third-party ticket for president next year.
No Labels has faced heightened inspection in Arizona, one of twelve states where the party has secured ballot access for a potential presidential candidate.
Supporters of President Joe Biden have expressed concern that No Labels Party could act as a spoiler, given that the POTUS won the state by a margin of fewer than 11,000 votes in 2020, with a coalition that included conservative independents and moderate Republicans.
No Labels Party asserts that, by abstaining from nominating candidates for state offices, it is not subject to Arizona's campaign finance disclosure laws.
The party contends that state law only permits political parties to participate in elections of their choosing and that the United States Constitution protects the party's right to associate freely or not associate with candidates.