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Former Constitution Party Nominees Randall Terry and Stephen Broden to Run in Upcoming Florida Special Elections as Independents

Randall Terry and Stephen Broden, the Constitution Party’s most recent presidential and vice-presidential nominees, are running as independents in Florida’s upcoming special congressional elections. Terry is seeking the 6th Congressional District seat, while Broden is running in the 1st District.

Qualifying deadlines for the two special elections closed this past weekend, with nine candidates filing to run in the 6th District and 16 candidates in the 1st District. Both seats became vacant after President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Congressman Matt Gaetz of the 6th District to serve as Attorney General—a position Gaetz later withdrew from—and Congressman Mike Waltz of the 1st District to be his National Security Advisor.

In the 6th District, three candidates filed for the Democratic primary and three for the Republican primary. The remaining three—one Libertarian, one independent, and one write-in candidate—will not need to contend with a primary election. Meanwhile, in the 1st District, ten candidates filed for the Republican primary, one for the Democratic primary, one as an independent, and four registered as write-in options. In both races, several individuals either failed to qualify or withdrew before the deadline.

Notably, both races include figures from the Constitution Party’s 2024 presidential ticket. Randall Terry, the party’s most recent presidential nominee, is running in the 6th District, while Stephen Broden, the party’s vice-presidential nominee, is running in the 1st District. Both candidates are running as independents, which means they won’t need to contend with primary elections next month. Both candidates are also not residents of Florida, according to their filings, with Terry’s showing him as living in Tennessee and Broden’s as living in Texas.

Earlier this month, Independent Political Report first reported on Terry’s intention to run for the 6th District seat, referencing a conversation he had with Semafor journalist Dave Weigel. In his conversation with Weigel, Terry confirmed his candidacy, describing himself as a “loyal soldier for President Trump” and a “faithful warrior to defend children.” At the time, it was unclear under which party, if any, he would run. Broden’s candidacy, meanwhile, became known only after the qualifying period closed.

Although both Terry and Broden are running as independents, they remain closely associated with the Constitution Party—at least as recently as last month. Both men served as keynote speakers at the party’s Fall National Committee Meeting and Issues Conference immediately following the presidential election, where they discussed the party’s future and organizational strategy.

The primary elections for both special races are scheduled for January 28, with the general elections set for April 1.

12 Comments

  1. Unimportant December 11, 2024

    They must have read the seminal masterpiece by Pat Jones

    https://thirdpartywatch.com/2024/10/21/opinion-the-era-of-parties-is-over/

    Although, to the extent that process takes some time, yes, they should absolutely run for the CP nomination again, and get it.

    To the extent that parties are still sometimes useful for ballot access, even if little or nothing else, there’s nothing wrong with using them for it.

  2. Nuña December 10, 2024

    “If I was a member of the Constitution Party I would be very disappointed.”

    I am, and the only thing I’m disappointed about is that there hasn’t been more explicit severing ties with and publicly distancing from the fake “Constitution Parties” of Utah, Nevada and Idaho.

    “The Constitution Party was only on the ballot on about 12 states, presidential candidate Randall Terry ran a very poor campaign and did not receive many votes”

    What are you talking about? Terry ran a campaign to air as many pro-life ads as possible, not to win votes, and did a great job. And despite explicitly telling people to vote for Trump instead of him, he still got a ton of votes. Taking that into consideration, as well as his smaller ballot access and low campaign expenditure, he did much better in terms of return on investment than most – possibly even all – of the Constitution Party’s previous presidential candidates.

    “the party is collapsing before my very eyes. The Libertarian Party had a poor election year but at least it can be said not as poor as the Constitution Party had.”

    In what way is the Constitution Party collapsing at all? Never mind comparably to the LP which was already in tatters only held together by McArdle and the Mises Caucus, before the fraudulent nomination of Oliver and ter Maat, and Harlos’s subsequent crimes.

    “If Randall Terry is running as an independent he should leave the Constitution Party. The party will be better off if he leaves.”

    Of course not. Terry has been great for the party. And the party has been great for his campaign. A match made in heaven. Hopefully he runs again in 2028, perhaps with Michael Heise as running-mate.

    “I read somewhere he received the least amount of votes ever received by a Constitution party candidate for president. Yes, his campaign was that bad.”

    LOL Fake news. He did better than Phillips 1992 and Blankenship 2020 in an absolute sense, and in a relative sense perhaps better than any previous Constitution Party candidate. We’ve been through this several times already, see for example https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2024/07/constitution-party-of-idaho-to-host-state-convention-in-meridian-select-presidential-ticket/#comments

    “They must not care much about building and promoting the party that put them on the ballot for President.”

    How do you know? Who knows what agreement they made with the Florida Constitution Party. I’m not aware of any acrimony.

    “would only be an unnecessary albatross to those campaigns. They are acting rationally in not dragging the extra weight of a partisan ballot label”

    Why would the party label act as an albatross weighing them down? If (wannabe) child murderers in Florida are angry, they will remember their names and faces as easily as the party. And I doubt the Constitution Party has such a strong degree of fame/infamy in Florida that many other people would ignore their candidacy simply because of the label behind their names.

    “I think everyone (or at least most of them) understood that it was a limited partnership for the purpose of the presidential campaign.”

    Nonetheless, it was a fruitful and natural partnership. A match made in heaven. I for one, would like to see Terry run again as our candidate in 2028. Maybe after another four years of Trump’s treachery, this time in an attempt to grow our ballot access and win votes, or else at least in an attempt to destroy both interchangeable faces of the uniparty.

  3. X December 10, 2024

    Jose,

    Terry’s campaign goals were not how many states they could get on the ballot on or how many votes they could get, but getting their ads on the air. They succeeded to some extent. I was hoping for more, but it wasn’t the failure that you portray.

    I think the libertarian campaign was much worse, doing nothing except dividing their party and making no dent with the general public (probably a good thing, given the embarrassment of a ticket).

    I’m not sure what you mean by “leave the constitution party.” You mean not seek their nomination again? I would probably seek their nomination again if I was them, and I’d vote to give it to them if I was one of their delegates, hoping to keep building on their ad strategy one election after the next.

    Maybe the circumstances in 4, 8, 12 etc years from now will create a bigger opening than those of this particular election.

  4. X December 10, 2024

    If parties want to nominate presidential candidates who will continue to build their parties after the presidential campaign, they should nominate candidates who already had a track record of doing that before they ran for President. The constitution party went in a different direction this time, choosing nominees who were focused in making a difference on their top issue and potentially in the outcome of the race between the leading candidates with a clearly laid our strategy for doing so. I think everyone (or at least most of them) understood that it was a limited partnership for the purpose of the presidential campaign.

  5. Actually December 10, 2024

    If anything, they should be congratulated for their independence.

  6. Reality December 10, 2024

    Of course not. Why should they? It was only useful for presidential ballot access. It’s not needed for congressional ballot access, and would only be an unnecessary albatross to those campaigns. They are acting rationally in not dragging the extra weight of a partisan ballot label in what is already a steep uphill climb.

  7. Andy December 10, 2024

    It would not be any more difficult for them to get on the ballot as Constitution Party candidates in Florida. They must not care much about building and promoting the party that put them on the ballot for President.

  8. José C December 9, 2024

    Also, concerning Randall Terry, I read somewhere he received the least amount of votes ever received by a Constitution party candidate for president. Yes, his campaign was that bad.

  9. José C December 9, 2024

    If I was a member of the Constitution Party I would be very disappointed. The Constitution Party was only on the ballot on about 12 states, presidential candidate Randall Terry ran a very poor campaign and did not receive many votes, and the party is collapsing before my very eyes. The Libertarian Party had a poor election year but at least it can be said not as poor as the Constitution Party had. If Randall Terry is running as an independent he should leave the Constitution Party. The party will be better off if he leaves.

  10. Reality December 9, 2024

    Independent also generally does better for candidates than any party label. For the national run, the constitution party was a shortcut to ballot access in the ten states needed for their ad strategy, but in Florida congress races they don’t need it.

  11. NewFederalist December 9, 2024

    I would guess ballot laws. Richard Winder would certainly know.

  12. Andy December 9, 2024

    The Constitution Party has recognized party status in Florida, so why are they running as independents rather than as Constitution Party camdidates?

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