Wikipedia

Peter Sonski 2024 presidential campaign

Peter Sonski 2024 presidential campaign
Campaign2024 United States presidential election
CandidatePeter Sonski
Lauren Onak
AffiliationAmerican Solidarity Party
StatusOfficial nominee: June 2, 2023
Website
https://www.petersonski.com
2024 U.S. presidential election
Republican Party
Democratic Party
Third parties
Related races
← 2020 2024 2028 →

The American Solidarity Party candidate for 2024 was Peter Sonski, a former radio host, journalist and U.S. Marine. Sonski won the ASP primary and nomination of the party for President of the United States on June 3, 2023.[1][2] The primary was conducted by an online members' vote. The vice presidential nominee, Lauren Onak, was selected by Sonski before the national convention in early July in Plano, Texas, and she was formally nominated. The party was on the ballot in Arkansas, Alaska, Florida, Ohio, Hawaii, Louisiana and Mississippi and was a registered write-in option in a further 36 states.[3]

Background

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The American Solidarity Party, founded in 2011, first contested a presidential campaign in 2016 getting ballot access to one state and earning 6,697 votes. In 2020 they were on the ballot on 8 states and received 42,305 votes. For their 2024 attempt it was announced on June 2, 2023, that Peter Sonski had won their party's online primary, which lasted from May 24 to June 1 of that year, in which all ASP members could vote. Sonski was nominated in the first round of ranked-choice voting with 52%. Sonski then selected Lauren Onak as his vice president, who was then officially nominated via unanimous consent of the delegates at the national convention.

American Solidarity Party presidential nomination
Candidate Votes Percentage
Peter Sonski 328 52.5%
Jacqueline Abernathy 207 33.1
Joe Schriner 50 8.0
Larry Johnson 24 3.8
Erskine Levi 16 2.6
Total: 625 100.00%
Source:[4]
American Solidarity Party vice presidential nomination
Candidate Votes Percentage
Lauren Onak Nominated via Unanimous Consent
Source:[5]

Sonski and Onak

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Peter Sonski (born July 11, 1962) is an American former radio host, who served as an elected member of Connecticut's Regional School District 17 Board of Education and as director of the Knights of Columbus Museum.[6][7][8][9][10]

Campaign

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In September 2023 Crossview Podcast interviewed Sonski with a discussion of "faith, the duopoly and third parties, government’s role in handling covid, immigration, foreign policy, moral issues, education, and more."[11]

In December 2023 Fr. Dwight Longenecker published an interview on The Stream in which Sonski explained that "third parties provide thoughtful alternatives and allow other voices to be heard, and this is important in a democratic system."[12]

In January 2024 Catholic News Agency interviewed Sonski in which he said that he wants to "provide a means for Catholics to vote in accord with the conscience, rather than just for the 'lesser of two evils.'"[13] Crisis Magazine also published an interview, conducted by Fr. Dwight Longenecker, which describes how Sonski "was born into a blue-collar Catholic family and went on to work in agriculture, insurance, journalism, and public relations."[14]

In April 2024, Christianity Today reported that Evangelicals disaffected with the two main parties were beginning to get their support.[15]

In June 2024, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Church were the first major Protestant organization to give them coverage with a four-part series that looked at the various parties in the election.[16]

In July 2024, soon after the Republican National Convention, the National Review characterized the Solidarity Party as the only current anti-abortion party, contrasting with the Democratic and Republican parties; the latter especially so because of a perceived softening of their stance on abortion in their platform which they released at their convention.[17] Aleteia published an interview of Sonski in which he described the American Solidarity Party as “predominantly centrist – a little right on social issues, a little left on fiscal issues."[18]

Also that month, EWTN's News In Depth interviewed Sonski in which he said, "My faith informs all my decisions." [19]

In August 2024, the American Reformer magazine acknowledging that evangelicals critical of Donald Trump were "flocking to the American Solidarity party" wrote a critical assessment of the campaign urging evangelicals to think twice before voting for Sonski, stating that "stakes are too high too high and the country on the brink" and that "at the presidential level votes should not be wasted on quixotic schemes" [20]

Later in August, New Jersey Republicans successfully launched a legal challenge against Sonski's position on the New Jersey ballot, claiming some of his ballot access signatures were invalid. Sonski ultimately did not appear on the ballot in that state.[21]

Again in August, the Gospel Coalition, an evangelical group, published an article comparing the Democratic, Republican, Solidarity, and Constitution parties' stances on key social issues.[22]

That same month, The Pillar, a Catholic news agency, profiled the campaign, conducting an interview with Sonski.[23]

NCR did a piece on how difficult it was for the Sonski campaign to get Ballot access during the election.[24]

Ballot access

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American Solidarity Party ballot access during the 2024 presidential election
  Certified for ballot
  Registered write-in
  Automatic write-in
  Not on ballot

Correct as of Sept 17, 2024:

Total Possible 2024 2020 2016
States & DC (inc Write in) 51 7 (45) 8 (39) 1 (26)
Electoral Votes (inc Write in) 538 74 (480) 66 (397) 9 (323)
Percent of EVs (inc Write in) 100% 13.8% (89.2%) 12.3% (73.8%) 1.7% (60%)
Alabama 9 write-in write-in write-in
Alaska 3 On ballot write-in write-in
Arizona 11 write-in Not on ballot Not on ballot
Arkansas 6 On ballot On ballot Not on ballot
California 55 write-in write-in write-in
Colorado 9 write-in On ballot On ballot
Connecticut 7 write-in write-in Not on ballot
Delaware 3 write-in write-in Not on ballot
Florida 29 On ballot write-in Not on ballot
Georgia 16 write-in write-in write-in
Hawaii 4 On ballot Not on ballot Not on ballot
Idaho 4 write-in write-in write-in
Illinois 20 write-in On ballot Not on ballot
Indiana 11 write-in write-in Not on ballot
Iowa 6 write-in write-in write-in
Kansas 6 write-in write-in write-in
Kentucky 8 write-in write-in write-in
Louisiana 8 On ballot On ballot Not on ballot
Maine 4 write-in Not on ballot Not on ballot
Maryland 10 write-in write-in write-in
Massachusetts 11 write-in write-in Not on ballot
Michigan 16 write-in write-in write-in
Minnesota 10 write-in write-in write-in
Mississippi 6 On ballot On ballot Not on ballot
Missouri 10 write-in write-in Not on ballot
Montana 3 write-in Not on ballot Not on ballot
Nebraska 5 Write-in write-in write-in
Nevada 6 Not on ballot Not on ballot Not on ballot
New Hampshire 4 write-in write-in write-in
New Jersey 14 write-in write-in write-in
New Mexico 5 Not on ballot Not on ballot Not on ballot
New York 29 write-in write-in write-in
North Carolina 15 write-in Not on ballot Not on ballot
North Dakota 3 write-in write-in write-in
Ohio 18 On ballot write-in write-in
Oklahoma 7 Not on ballot Not on ballot Not on ballot
Oregon 7 write-in write-in write-in
Pennsylvania 20 write-in write-in write-in
Rhode Island 4 write-in On ballot write-in
South Carolina 9 Not on ballot Not on ballot Not on ballot
South Dakota 3 Not on ballot Not on ballot Not on ballot
Tennessee 11 write-in write-in Not on ballot
Texas 38 write-in write-in write-in
Utah 6 write-in write-in Not on ballot
Vermont 3 write-in On ballot write-in
Virginia 13 write-in write-in write-in
Washington 12 write-in write-in write-in
West Virginia 5 write-in Not on ballot Not on ballot
Wisconsin 10 write-in On ballot write-in
Wyoming 3 write-in write-in Not on ballot
District of Columbia 3 TBD Not on ballot Not on ballot

Results

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Main article: Third-party and independent candidates for the 2024 United States presidential election

Peter Sonski attained 47,070 votes for president of the United States, comprising 0.03% of the total votes cast. Sonski did best in states where he was on the ballot, with Ohio being his best state.

Political positions

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As a proponent of Christian democracy, Sonski supports a consistent life ethic, being against abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia. He additionally supports social justice initiatives. He is against the legalization of same sex marriage and believes that gay couples should not have the same adoption rights as straight couples.[25][26] He has endorsed Robert P. George's initiative to rebrand June as Fidelity Month.[27][28] He believes the US should continue to support Ukraine.

Endorsements

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Mike Maturen - 2016 ASP Presidential Candidate

Karen Swallow Prior - Christian Author[29]

Michael Cross - President, Italian Community of St Louis & St Louis-Bologna Sister Cities

References

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  1. ^ "Peter Sonski is the American Solidarity Party 2024 Presidential nominee". Ballot Access News. June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "American Solidarity Party". Twitter. June 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Winger, Richard (July 9, 2021). "American Solidarity Party Gains Presidential Ballot Status for 2024 in Arkansas". Ballot Access News. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Peter Sonski is the American Solidarity Party 2024 Presidential nominee". Ballot Access News. June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  5. ^ Willow Evans, Jordan (June 29, 2023). "American Solidarity Party names Lauren Onak as Vice Presidential Nominee". Independent Political Report.
  6. ^ Redpath, Bill (June 3, 2023). "Peter Sonski is the American Solidarity Party 2024 Presidential nominee". Ballot Access News. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  7. ^ "BoE Members". Regional School District 17. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  8. ^ McMahon, Lisa (October 17, 2022). "Knights of Columbus Visit Niagara University". NU News. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  9. ^ Iafrate, Anthony (August 7, 2023). "Who Are the 2024 3rd-Party Candidates?". CatholicVote. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "Peter Sonski on LinkedIn". Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  11. ^ "Our Interview with a 2024 Presidential Candidate". YouTube. Crossview Podcast. September 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. ^ Longenecker, Fr. Dwight (12 December 2023). "Meet Peter Sonski — The Unknown Christian Candidate". The Stream. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ^ McKeown, Jonah. "Meet Peter Sonski, the Catholic you've never heard of who's running for president". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  14. ^ Longenecker, Fr. Dwight (2 January 2024). "Peter Sonski: the Other Catholic Candidate". Crisis Magazine. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Some Evangelicals Want a Third-Party Option, Even Without a Chance at Winning". Christianity today. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Of Two Evils, Choose Neither". 6 June 2024.
  17. ^ "The New Party of Life?". National Review. 16 July 2024.
  18. ^ Burger, John. "This 3rd party could be an answer to voters' increasing dismay". Aleteia. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  19. ^ Irons, Mark (26 July 2024). "Catholic running for President: "My faith informs all my decisions"". YouTube. EWTN News In Depth. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  20. ^ Sabo, Mike (August 2024). "Reject Third Parties:"Evangelicals Should Think Twice Before Voting for the American Solidarity Party in the Presidential Election"". American Reformer.
  21. ^ "Three independent presidential candidates face petition challenges in N.J." 3 August 2024.
  22. ^ "where political parties stand". 19 August 2024.
  23. ^ "We're taking the long view". 23 August 2024.
  24. ^ "ASP fights for ballot access state by state". 3 September 2024.
  25. ^ "Peter Sonski's Policies". iSideWith.com.
  26. ^ Kennedy, Jeff (July 24, 2023). "The Jeff Kennedy Show". The Legend 93.5.
  27. ^ Anthony, Abigail (June 27, 2023). "Princeton Professor's Initiative to Rebrand June 'Fidelity Month' Gains Steam on Religious Right". National Review. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  28. ^ Sonski, Peter. "Fidelity Renewed". Peter Sonski for President. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  29. ^ "Karen Swallow Prior (Notorious KSP at the Priory) (@KSPrior) on X". X (formerly Twitter).