Come November ballot, parties with the word Socialist in their name have almost completely disappeared. Only one candidate from any party is using the word this year. The Socialist Party’s Maia Dendinger of Maine is the one candidate in the country appearing on the ballot from one of the socialist parties.

Ballot access laws are the main barrier to many potential candidates. An example of the struggles many socialist parties had in obtaining ballot access was in Washington state where the Freedom Socialists Party wanted to field Steve Hoffman for Senate but his name didn’t make the November ballot, leaving the party with no nominee.

Despite past successes in this regard, the Freedom Socialists Party, the Socialist Alternative Party, Socialist Action, and the Socialist Working Party are without candidates for November midterm elections. A great summary was recently posted by Ballot Access News editor Richard Winger:

The Socialist Equality Party has a candidate for congress in Michigan, but because it didn’t do the statewide petition, its candidate must have “independent” as a ballot label. It also ran two candidates in California, but because of the top-two system, they are not on the November ballot. And even in the primary, they were forced to have the label “party preference: none.”

• The Freedom Socialist Party had a candidate on the Washington primary ballot for U.S. Senate, but he also was not able to be on the November ballot.
• The Socialist Alternative Party has in the recent past run candidates for the Washington legislature, but it did not do so this year.
• Socialist Action tried to place a candidate on the Connecticut ballot, but its petition was a few hundred signatures short.
• The Socialist Workers Party has nominated twenty candidates for federal or state office, but none of them is on the ballot.

Does the continued decline of any socialist party influence reflect a shift in America? Has the Democratic Party monopolized the field? Add your thoughts in the comment section.

Democracy Chronicles has put together a brief review of the majority of America’s socialist/leftist parties in a handy overview you can see below. The parties are separated into two categories, Democratic Socialist Parties and Communist Parties. Links to their websites and party platforms are included too. See other summaries of American political parties at Democracy Chronicles Third Party Central.

1. democratic socialist parties

2. communist parties

communist party usa

cpusa.org
Marxist-Leninist political party that is the largest communist party in the country. Established in 1919, it has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement. The Communist Party USA has championed the struggles for democracy, labor rights, women’s equality, racial justice and peace for ninety years. It has an intimate history in the progressive movement of the United States, from the struggle against Jim Crow segregation to the organizing of the industrial unions, from the canneries of California, to the sweatshops of New York City. The Communist Party has members and local organizations all around the country from big cities to small towns. Look at their website for the party platform.