Progressive Party (United States)
Progressive Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founders | Theodore Roosevelt Hiram Johnson Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Franklin D. Roosevelt Eugene V. Debs |
| Founded | 1916 (104 years ago) |
| Split from | Republican Party |
| Headquarters | Washington D.C., U.S. |
| Student wing | Young Progressives |
| Youth wing |
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| Women's wing | Progressive Women |
| LGBT wing | LGBTQ+ Progressives |
| Overseas wing | Progressives Overseas |
| Membership (2020) | ▲ 62,692,003 |
| Ideology | Majority: Progressivism Social democracy Factions: Democratic socialism Left-wing populism Marxism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Colors | Green |
The Progressive Party is one of the three main contemporary political parties in the United States alongside the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The party's platform is centered on progressive social and economic policies, including affordable housing, environmental awareness, workers' rights, and racial and gender equity. The party also advocates for increased government intervention in the economy, including higher taxes on the wealthy, the creation of a federal jobs guarantee, and the establishment of a public banking system.
The Progressive Party's first election was the 1916 United States presidential election, when it fielded former president Theodore Roosevelt against incumbent president Charles Evan Hughes. It won the popular vote with Robert M. La Follette, Sr. in the 1920 election and placed in second in 1924, but lost the electoral vote in both elections. In 1932, it chose not to field its own candidate as Huey Long chose Robert M. La Follette Jr. as his running mate, but broke with Long over the formation of the America First Party and resumed running its own candidates. From 1945 to 1953, the Progressive Party were allied with the Republican Party during the administration of Douglas MacArthur, who installed Henry A. Wallace as his running mate to unify anti-Longist forces across the country. Fifty-two years after its foundation, the Progressive Party won its first presidential election in 1968, after the election of George McGovern to the presidency.