The party was founded by Howard Phillips, a conservative activist, after President George H. W. Bush violated his pledge of "". During the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections the party sought to give its presidential nomination to prominent politicians including Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot, but was unsuccessful and instead selected Phillips as its presidential nominee thrice. Michael Peroutka was given the presidential nomination in 2004, Chuck Baldwin was given the presidential nomination in 2008 although he faced opposition from multiple state affiliates, Virgil Goode was given the presidential nomination in 2012, Darrell Castle was given the presidential nomination in 2016, and Don Blankenship was given the presidential nomination in 2020.