Independent Party of Utah
The Independent Party of Utah was founded in 1988 by Merrill Cook. It joined the Patriot Party, a predecessor of the Reform Party, but did not join the Reform Party like other Patriot Party affiliates.
Cook was the party's candidate for Governor of Utah in 1988 and 1990, winning 136,651 votes in his first race.
In 1996, the party ran a ticket for President of the United States consisting of Alma Peter Crane (February 17, 1924 — May 4, 2002) of Murray, Utah and Connie Chandler of Ogden, Utah. They won 1,101 votes. Crane was a physician, a 1947 graduate of the University of Utah School of Medicine from Murray, Utah who had previously ran as an independent for the United States House of Representatives in 1992..
The Utah League of Independent Voters is sometimes mistakenly believed to be affiliated with the Independent Party. ULIV is a nonpartisan political group seeking structural reform to Utah's political system as part of a national effort led by Independent Voting.org.
References
- Ballot Access News September 9, 1996, Volume 12, Number 7
- "1996 Election Results - U.S. - President" Ballot Access News
- "Third Parties in Utah," Utah History Encyclopedia