American Solidarity Party

The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is a Christian democratic political party in the United States. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party has a Solidarity National Committee (SNC) and has numerous active state and local chapters. Brian Carroll was the party’s nominee in the 2020 presidential election.
The ASP encourages social development along the lines of subsidiarity and sphere sovereignty, with a stated emphasis on "the importance of strong families, local communities, and voluntary associations". As a socially conservative political party, they also have a stated policy of defending religious freedom. The American Solidarity Party favors a social market economy with a distributist flavor, and seeks "widespread economic participation and ownership" through supporting small business. They also call for providing a safety net. In order to promote environmental stewardship and sustainability, the ASP platform calls for conservation and a transition toward more renewable sources of energy, while rejecting population control measures.
History.
The ASP was founded in 2011 as the "Christian Democratic Party USA". In 2012, the CDPUSA endorsed the independent candidacy of Joe Schriner for President.
The name of the party was changed after the 2012 election to the "American Solidarity Party", and a national committee was created for the purpose of drafting a platform and developing the party’s online presence. Kirk Morrison chaired the committee until late 2015. Stephen Beall, who drafted the original platform, became chair in 2016 and organized the party’s first online convention in July. He was succeeded by Matthew Bartko, who worked to incorporate the ASP as a legal entity and presided over the formation of numerous state chapters.
In December 2020, the American Solidarity Party joined the board of the Coalition for Free and Open Elections (COFOE).
Names and symbols.
The party was founded in 2011 as the Christian Democratic Party USA. Shortly after the 2012 election, the CDP USA renamed itself the American Solidarity Party.
The ASP mascot is the pelican, a traditional symbol of charity. The party’s political color is orange, as with other Christian Democratic political parties.
Some members of the American Solidarity Party refer to themselves as Solidarists.
Ideology and influences.
The American Solidarity Party has been characterized as conservative on social issues while supporting some government intervention in economic matters. The ASP's 2016 presidential nominee, Mike Maturen, has characterized the party as "centrist", as has "The Irish Times".
Membership and leadership in the American Solidarity Party is open to people of all backgrounds, creeds, etc. The American Solidarity Party adheres to the ideology of Christian democracy, which has been influenced by Catholic social teaching and Neo-Calvinist theology. As such, the ASP looks to the Christian Democratic movements in Europe and the Americas, and to American religious populists such as Martin Luther King Jr. As the name indicates, the American Solidarity Party draws its inspiration from Solidarity, founded by Lech Wałęsa in 1980. In addition, the ASP shares the socially conservative positions of the Netherlands' Anti-Revolutionary Party, founded by Dutch prime minister and Calvinist theologian Abraham Kuyper in 1879.
Daniel Silliman writes that the American Solidarity Party, as with other Christian democratic political parties, draws from Catholic social teaching and Neo-Calvinist theology. In the same vein, David McPherson says that the American Solidarity Party "affirm[s] ... the full spectrum of Catholic social teaching (namely, the teachings regarding the sanctity of human life, the common good, subsidiarity, religious freedom, solidarity, etc.)," contrasting the ASP to both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, each of which recognizes only some of these items. Its strongest support is in California, Ohio, and Texas, according to the "Madera Tribune" (of Madera, California).
Elections.
2016.
Presidential election.
During the 2016 presidential election season, the American Solidarity Party held an online convention on July 9, 2016, which nominated Amir Azarvan of Georgia for president and Mike Maturen of Michigan for vice-president. However, Azarvan subsequently withdrew, and in response the ticket was revised, with Maturen running for president and Juan Muñoz of Texas running for vice-president.
For the 2016 election, the American Solidarity Party was listed on the ballot in Colorado. It was a certified write-in option in Alabama, California, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. Maturen received 6,697 reported votes, not including states that didn't report votes for him.
2017.
New Jersey legislative election.
For the November 2017 off-year elections, the American Solidarity Party ran a candidate for New Jersey legislature, Monica Sohler, in the 6th district. She received 821 votes.
2018.
California Governor.
Desmond Silveira, a software engineer, was formerly national committee member of the American Solidarity Party, the campaign manager for the Maturen-Muñoz 2016 campaign, vice chair of the ASP, and director of operations for the party. In 2018, he ran for governor, receiving 4,633 votes in the election.
California's 22nd congressional district.
Brian T. Carroll ran against Devin Nunes for California's 22nd congressional district as an American Solidarity candidate, receiving 1,591 votes in the election.
2020.
Congressional election.
Shane Ian Hoffman ran as the ASP's candidate in Ohio's 15th Congressional District. He did not make the ballot and was a write-in candidate.
Presidential election.
In the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Brian Carroll, Joe Schriner, and Joshua Perkins announced their candidacies for the ASP nomination. Carroll was declared the winner of the nomination on September 9, 2019.
For the 2020 election, the American Solidarity Party was on the ballot in Arkansas, Colorado, Guam, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. 
It was a certified write-in option in 
Alabama, 
Alaska,
California,
Connecticut,
Delaware, 
Florida, 
Georgia, 
Idaho, 
Indiana, 
Iowa, 
Kansas,
Kentucky,
Maryland,
Massachusetts, 
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Missouri,
Nebraska,
New Hampshire, 
New Jersey, 
New York, 
North Dakota, 
Ohio, 
Oregon, 
Pennsylvania, 
Tennessee, 
Texas, 
Utah,
Virginia,
Washington, and 
Wyoming.
2021.
Benjamin Schmitz ran for state senate in the Wisconsin 13th state senate district in the April 6th legislative special election. Stephen Hollenberg ran for a state house seat in the Merrimack, New Hampshire special election on April 13th, 2021.
California Governor.
James G. Hanink is running for governor of California in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election. Hanink is a former professor of philosophy who spent 40 years of his career teaching at Loyola Marymount University. He writes in the areas of metaphysics, epistemology, and social thought and is long associated with the New Oxford Review. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He taught at the Loyola Marymount University from 1976 to 2015. His research interests include Thomism, Personalism, Jacques Maritain, Elizabeth Anscombe, and Karol Wojtyla. Hanink is the host of The Open Door podcast. He is the president of the American Maritain Association.