When Wallace returned to the Democratic Party in 1970, the AIP moved further to the right, as was evidenced by its 1972 presidential nominee, California Congressman John G. Schmitz, the then-leader of the John Birch Society. He carried 1.4 percent of the vote, with just under 1.1 million votes. The party fielded presidential candidates in 1976 AIP and 1980, when they nominated white supremacist and ex-Louisiana Congressman John Rarick, who only won 41,000 votes.
The largest AIP affiliate in existence today is in California. In June 2008, the AIP of California announced a national affiliation with the AIP of Fenton, Miss., breaking from its previous affiliation with the Constitution Party. Like the Constitution Party, however, the national AIP has a strong leaning toward Christian conservatism. The foundation of its principles and its platform is Christianity:
- The Constitution is the original contract with America, and under the tenth amendment it guarantees the right to a limited government
- Freedom from liberalism and the right to responsible enterprise and ownership of property
- The sanctity of life and the right to life for all human beings is guaranteed by the constitution
- Marriage is a religious union between a man and a woman and therefore the government has no right to subvert this union
- Families have the right to and responsibility to educate their children any way they choose
- The protection of the Second Amendment, which guarantees individuals the right to self- defense against impositions by other citizens or our government
- Opposition to illegal immigration and the support of secure borders
