‘Tired of the Bulls—’: Progressive Activist Files to Start an ‘America First Party’ Ahead of November Elections
by John Gage
(Picture credit Secretary of State’s Office)
A new “America First Party” filed paperwork with the Nebraska Secretary of State just two weeks before the July 15 signature deadline. Behind the effort is John Cartier, a longtime progressive activist.
The filing, which occurred on Wednesday, marks the second attempt in less than a week for a new party attempting to make the November ballot. Cartier is a former director of the liberal nonprofit, Civic Nebraska, as well as a former campaign committee member for a pro-marijuana group.
Filings obtained from the Secretary of State’s office list the purpose of the party as providing “voters with a political organization committed to putting Americans and Nebraskans ahead of all others by cracking down on out-of-contol government spending and wasteful foreign aid, getting tough on illegal immigrants, standing up against abortion, and rigidly defending the Second Amendment.”
Cartier told The Plains Sentinel that he was forming the party because “people are angry and tired of the bulls—.” “The America First Party is here to give voters options,” he added.
Cartier has not responded to a request for comment about whether the effort has financial backing. He currently serves as attorney general of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and is the campaign treasurer for the Mike Marvin for U.S. Senate campaign, which the Senator Pete Ricketts campaign has accused of being a “plant” candidate.
The America First Party’s stance on abortion appears to conflict with comments Cartier has made in the past on the issue. During his run for school board in Lincoln, Cartier stated, “I think it is important to have some freedom to control when one has offspring, especially if you are a teenager who still needs to graduate high school.”
Both the Nebraska Democratic Party and the Republican Party issued statements in response to the filing.
“We had no idea this party was being formed. We are laser focused on the hundreds of Democrats running across the state up and down the ballot,” Democratic Chair Jane Kleeb said. “No matter how many parties get formed with billionaire backers we are organizing and mobilizing a coalition of voters to end the corrupt one-party Republican rule.”
GOP Chair Mary Jane Truemper accused Kleeb of being behind the formation of the new party.
“Rigging primaries wasn’t enough for Jane Kleeb. Now her Nebraska Democrats are behind a fraudulent ‘America First Party,’ filed by a progressive lawyer and Dan Osborn associate John Cartier, designed to trick conservative voters into splitting their vote.”
The filing from Cartier comes after registered Democrat and failed write-in candidate Robin Richards filed last week to start a “Nebraska Working People Party.” The Nebraska Democratic Party has accused Ricketts of being behind the effort while the Nebraska Republican Party has said they are urging people not to sign onto that party as well.
Petitioners for a new party are required to get “signatures totaling not less than one percent of the total votes cast for Governor at the most recent general election,” which is just under 7,000 signatures.
— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.
Editor’s Note: An early version of the story incorrectly identified Cartier as a currently registered Democrat. He re-registered from a Democrat to nonpartisan since last year.