| Independent American Party of Nevada | |
| Chairman: | Janine Hansen |
| Headquarters: | 186 Ryndon Unit 12, Elko, Nevada 89801 |
| Ideology: | American nationalism Social conservatism Paleoconservatism |
| Position: | Far-right |
| National: | Constitution Party |
| Website: | http://www.iapn.org |
| Country: | the United States |
| Colors: | Purple (de facto) |
The Independent American Party of Nevada (IAPN) is a right-wing American political party and the Nevada affiliate of the Constitution Party. The party was founded in 1967 and affiliated with the Constitution Party after its forming in 1999.[1] It was one of four Constitution state parties that did not change their names to "Constitution Party".[2]
IAPN's high water mark was the 1974 Nevada gubernatorial election where IAPN's candidate, wealthy silver speculator James R. Houston, split the Republican vote and got 15.52% of the electorate, or 26,285 votes.[3] [4]
The Nevada IAPN achieved some electoral success in the 1990s with the election of Chuck Horne as the mayor of Mesquite in a nonpartisan race.[5]
In the 2010 elections, three Independent American Party candidates were elected to local offices and one was re-elected.[6] Several IAPN candidates also performed well in various state and legislative elections, including the election for Nevada State Assembly, District 33, where Janine Hansen won 30.81% of the vote and placed second in a three-way race.[7] The IAP candidate for State Attorney General, Joel Hansen, also secured 7.81% of the vote.
As of the Close of Registration, October 2010, the Independent American Party had a total number of 62,724 registered voters in the Party.[8]
On October 25, 2013, the party membership experienced a small split with some members staying with the Independent American Party of Nevada and others forming a new Constitution Party of Nevada.[9]
The party has a stronghold around Elko where the party often runs a full slate of candidates that see more success then compared with other parts of the state. There, state chairman Janine Hansen ran for the Nevada Senate for District 19.[10] There he got 27% of the vote.[11] Since 2012 the 19th District has been contested solely between the Republican and American Independent Party.
The party gained notoriety when Cliven Bundy, of Bundy standoff fame, came out as a registered member of the party, and spoke at a series of party events in 2018. Namely, Bundy was the keynote speaker of the party's convention on February 23, 2018 in Sparks. Prior to the convention 4.5% of registered voters in Nevada were registered with the Independent American Party.[12] At the convention Bundy was hailed as a hero against federal “corruption and tyranny” by the party's chairman and spoke at length about his armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management.[13] [14]
The party also consistently competes for Nevada's 2nd congressional district and in 2020 the election was a three way race with the Republicans, Democrats and the American Independent Party, with Janine Hansen running as the IAPN's candidate and getting 2.7% of the vote.[15]
In the 2022 Reno mayoral election, the IAPN nominated Joaquin Roces, a National Alliance on Mental Illness employee with no prior political experience who ran on a platform of increasing homeless outreach, expanding funding to the fire-department, slashing casino subsidies, and expanding renewable energy in the city.[16] He got 627 votes, or 1.35% of the electorate, in distant 8th place.[17]
| Year | Nominee | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Wallace | 20,432 (13.25%) | ||
| Lester Maddox | 1,497 (0.74%) | ||
| Howard Phillips | 677 (0.13%) | ||
| Howard Phillips | 1,732 (0.37%) | ||
| Howard Phillips | 621 (0.10%) | ||
| 1,152 (0.14%) | |||
| 3,194 (0.33%) | |||
| 3,240 (0.32%) | |||
| 5,268 (0.46%) | |||
| 3,138 (0.22%) |
| Year | Nominee | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Hansen | 5,415 (3.68%) | ||
| James Ray Houston | 26,285 (15.52%) | ||
| Thomas F. Jefferson | 3,282 (1.71%) | ||
| Daniel Hansen | 10,012 (2.64%) | ||
| Chuck Horne | 7,509 (1.73%) | ||
| David Holmgren | 7,047 (1.40%) | ||
| Christopher Hansen | 20,019 (3.44%) | ||
| Floyd Fitzgibbons | 5,049 (0.70%) | ||
| David Lory VanDerBeek | 14,536 (2.66%) | ||
| Russell Best | 10,076 (1.04%) | ||
| 2022 | Ed Bridges | 9,918 (0.97%) |