In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, in states where ballot access is more readily available by forming a new political party than by filing as an independent candidate, the campaign of independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader chose to create the Populist Party.

This Populist Party has no connection either to the much earlier American political party of that name, or to the late-twentieth century Populist Party, which ran candidates such as David Duke and Bo Gritz and was widely regarded as a racist, white supremacist organization.

It was expected that the new Populist Party organization would exist only for the strictly limited purpose of achieving ballot access for Ralph Nader in 2004.

In Maryland, however, an effort is under way to field candidates for governor, other statewide seats and at the local level for the State Assembly, county and municipal positions in the 2005 and 2006 under the slogan "Democracy and a Better Paycheck Too." The Populist Party of Maryland's (PPMD) rank and file and leaders, so far drawn mostly from the ranks of Ralph Nader supporters, have drafted a program similar to the Nader/Camejo 2004 platform, calling for an end to what they call the "corporate crime wave", cleaning up what they see as widespread political corruption in the capital city of Annapolis, and enacting legislation favorable to labor unions. The PPMD is focused on practical, "paycheck" issues it says are important to all working people.