The Prohibition Party is on the forward march. The nation’s oldest third party, centered issues of public wellbeing, reform, and the combating of social ills, is in an upswing. In this last year’s national election, Prohibition Party Presidential Candidate, Jim Hedges, received at least 5617 votes; the party’s largest vote results since 1988, and a nearly tenfold increase from its results in 2012. The party has seen an upsurge in people interested in the party, especially among young people. There is hope that these developments are signifying a new period of growth, which may continue in the future.

Now that the latest quarterly issue of the Prohibition Party newsletter, the National Prohibitionist, is out, there is more information on the party’s 2016 election performance and on its plans for the coming years.

The National Prohibitionist reports that several dozen people, mostly young, contacted us as a result of seeing our “Hedges & Bayes” and “Prohibition Party” websites.

This is a relatively good turnout considering that the party’s main body of activists heading into the campaign consisted of about 3 dozen dues paying members. I myself, am one of the people who had joined the party in the past year, and in my time I have noticed a number of other newcomers. Hopefully, a good portion of these interested people have or end up joining into the party.

The second main page story in the issue looks at ballot access efforts. The party made it onto the ballot in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Colorado, and nearly succeeded in Iowa, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Iowa and Louisiana were caused by unforeseen circumstances, which couldn’t be remedied in time. New Jersey and Tennessee were caused by issues with electors.

Learning from these instances, the party plans to focus on efforts to help gain success in these states next time. The party plans to work on building up its recruitment and local organizations in these states. It also plans to organize to try to get ballot access petitions sent in early enough to respond to possible unforeseen circumstances.

The party also has plans for activities in the coming 2018 elections. Chairman Rick Knox states that in 2018 there are many offices up for grabs across the country, and some of which may only have one major party candidate. He indicates an intent to target Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia, and any other state where someone is willing to run for the party. Time will see how effective these efforts will be. Hopefully, a good group of 2018 candidates for various offices will arise, which will build on the progress of 2016 and help set the state for 2020.

In another sign of party growth, a committee has been formed in the effort to study the possibility of acquiring a new party headquarters building. The committee should report on the matter, during the Party’s coming mid-term conference.

This information helps to provide some positive news for the Prohibition Party’s continuing work. As the Party’s work progresses, more information may come out.