The first president was John Roy Harper II,[3] named at the first annual convention on April 13, 1970; he later served as party chairman.

[2] In 1988, the New York based New Alliance Party filed the paperwork to run a candidate for the UCP line, Lenora Fulani, for President of the United States.

[12] However, with an established state branch of the Reform party, Perot's supporters migrated, leaving the PP dormant.

Sure, there have been a number of black legislators elected, but not enough to make difference without the support of white Democrats, which too rarely happens.

[16] In presidential election of 2004, the UCP chose to nominate the Socialist Party candidate Walt Brown for president.

On March 29, 2008, the party endorsed Barack Obama via convention for the 2008 presidential election,[18] but the nomination was not accepted.

On the November 2014 ballot, the party nominated Reeves for Governor and David Edmond for Commissioner of Agriculture.

[22] Also on the 2024 UCP ticket are Gregg Marcel Dixon[23] running for South Carolina's 6th Congressional District challenging Democratic incumbent Jim Clyburn, and Chris Nelums[24] running for State Senate District 19, challenging Democratic incumbent Tameika Isaac Devine.