text: The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a United States political party founded in 1967 as a leftist organization opposed to the Vietnam War.\n\nThe PFP gained its highest Presidential vote to date in 1968 when it nominated Black Panther spokesman Eldridge Cleaver for President. Although a convicted felon, Cleaver carried nearly 37,000 votes. Because Cleaver was only 34 years old, the state of California refused to put his name on the ballot, so the presidential line was blank, with only Vice-Presidential candidate Peggy Terry appearing. [citation needed] During this time period, Bob Avakian was a spokesman for the party in the San Francisco Area.\n\nBecause the party attained ballot status in 14 states and had no effective central control, its presidential ticket in 1968 varied from state to state. Although the national convention nominated Eldridge Cleaver for President, more than one state party put Dick Gregory on the ballot instead, as did parties called the "Freedom and Peace Party". The vice presidential nominee also varied from state to state. In California it was Chicago political activist Peggy Terry. In other places it was economist Doug Dowd. Cleaver had personally preferred Yippie leader Jerry Rubin as his running mate, but very few activists concurred.\n\nDuring the 1968 election, the New York Peace and Freedom Party consisted of a fractious coalition of competing Marxist groups along with libertarians led by Murray Rothbard.\n\nIn 1972, the PFP nominated democratic socialist and anti-war activist Benjamin Spock. Since then, the PFP has been active largely within the state of California, and it has been targeted by groups seeking its coveted California ballot spot.\n\nIn 1998, the PFP failed to attain more than 2% of the votes, causing them to lose ballot status in the state. Their position on the ballot was restored in 2003 after a voter registration drive, and convicted murderer/political prisoner and Native American activist Leonard Peltier was chosen as the party's 2004 presidential candidate at the August 2004 State Convention.\n\nThe party again fell under the required number of registered voters in February 2006, and was declared disqualified by Secretary of State. However, citing previous instances in which parties not meeting the 'ballot qualification' criteria were still allowed to participate in primary elections, and the fact that there had not yet been a regular gubernatorial election since the party regained its ballot status (and as such, the decision was premature), the decision to bar the party from the June 2006 Primary was reversed after less than a week.