VP candidate for Green Party of the United States (2012, 2016)
Running mate with nominee (2012, 2016): Jill Ellen Stein (b. 1950)
Popular vote (2012): 30,222 (0.02%)
Popular vote (2016): 102,160 (0.07%)
Electoral vote (2012, 2016): 0/538
The campaign (2012):
The 2012 Green Party Presidential nomination was won by Massachusetts physician Jill Stein, a perennial Green Party candidate for various offices in the Bay State during the previous decade. From 2005-2011 she had been twice elected to the Lexington, Mass. town council, her only public office prior to running for the White House.
The cornerstone of Stein's campaign was the Green New Deal, a phrase that goes back to the early 21st century, was picked up and expanded on by the Green Party, and then later co-opted by progressive Democrats. The Party's 2012 Green New Deal not only called for assertive environmental measures but also included several social issues such as full employment, strict tariffs, support labor unions, upgrade the nation's infrastructure, tuition-free education, a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, phase out dependence on oil-coal-nuclear power, repeal the Patriot Act, Statehood for DC, legalize marijuana.
Although Stein might have appeared radical to mainstream voters, she looked totally moderate when compared to her running-mate, controversial Philadelphia-based activist Cheri Honkala. The Green Party VP had a Dickens style hardluck upbringing and later survived as a homeless single mother living in her car. In her struggle she evolved into an unorthodox and in-your-face advocate on behalf of those living on the margins of society. Her method of operation was confrontational, probably giving her the record for number of arrests related to civil disobedience for 2012 nominees. Honkala's efforts worked in terms of generating attention for her cause. Back when magazines had more clout than they do today, Ms. Magazine named Honkala "Woman of the Year" in 2001, and Mother Jones bestowed the "Hellraiser of the Month" honor to her in April 2005.
Stein and Honkala were arrested more than once during the campaign in the course of protesting issues like foreclosures and being excluded from the Obama-Romney debates. Incarceration was considered just part of the election process.
In Wisconsin Stein's running-mate was Ben Manski, in Illinois it was Howie Hawkins.
A year earlier Hawkins had finished with 47.94% of the vote for the Common Council of Syracuse, N.Y., which was his highest popular result to date in his long electioneering career. Hawkins was a veteran environmental and anti-war activist dating back to the Vietnam War era, not seeking elected office until the 1990s, but then he made up for lost time becoming one of the most perennial of modern third party candidates.
Their 4th place result of nearly half a million votes was the best showing for the Green Party since 2000. On the ballot in 37 states + DC and write-ins in 5, there were no states where they could be accused, as they were in 2000, of being a spoiler. The Stein/Honkala ticket finished strongest in Maine (1.14%), Oregon (1.18%), Alaska (0.97%), Arkansas (0.87%), District of Columbia (0.84%, where they placed third), Hawaii (0.73%), Washington and Idaho (0.67% each), West Virginia and California (0.66% each), Massachusetts (0.65%).
Stein finished in 4th place nationally and in Illinois as well, with the Stein/Hawkins ticket landing 0.58% of the vote in that state.
The campaign (2016):
Jill Stein was nominated as the Green Party standard bearer for the second time in 2016. Her official running-mate was Ajamu Baraka.
Stein's direction had veered a bit since 2012. In the 2016 election some critical observers felt she was starting to demonstrate what critics call "conspirituality," where New Age followers and the more cultish Trump adherents overlap in their denial of science and embracing a multitude of conspiracy theories. For example, the belief that Big Pharma controls the government regulatory agencies and vaccinations are harmful. Although Stein did not go full anti-vaxxer, she was accused by critics of pandering to that demographic through the use of linguistic "dog whistles." Critics also contended she used the same method in suggesting Wi-Fi causes brain damage and that the 9/11 attack deserved more investigation.
Although even skeptics agreed the Greens seemed to be more reality based when it came to environmental science, they pointed out their medical science was quite another thing (which is ironic considering Stein is a doctor), as demonstrated on the Green webpage--
Greens support a wide-range of health care services, not just traditional medicine which too often emphasizes “a medical arms race” that relies upon high-tech intervention, surgical techniques and costly pharmaceuticals. Chronic conditions are often best cured by alternative medicine. We support the teaching, funding and practice of holistic health approaches and as appropriate, the use of complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy, naturopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and other healing approaches.
The rise and fall of the Bernie Sanders campaign left a good sized number of voters without a home. The Green Party was able to seize upon this opportunity. The Greens disdained Sanders' method of working within a major party, and felt everything the Democrats co-opted from them, such as the Green New Deal, became watered down after it had been essentially mainstreamed (hmm, interesting accidental aquatic wordplay there). Stein also did not seem to care if Trump emerged the winner in 2016--
The answer to neofascism is stopping neoliberalism. Putting another Clinton in the White House will fan the flames of this right-wing extremism. We have known that for a long time ever since Nazi Germany. We are going to stand up to Donald Trump and to stand up to Hillary Clinton!
Stein told the media she would step aside if Sanders was willing to run for President in the Green Party. She felt Clinton could do more damage if elected because she was competent where Trump was clearly in over his head.
The fact her running-mate Baraka was outspoken about his embrace of certain conspiracy theories did not help with the Greens escaping the "woo" image that took off like a rocket with Cynthia McKinney in 2008 and was now solidifying in 2016. I'll get to Baraka when I cover 2016.
For some reason Howie Hawkins once again ended up as a stand-in VP, this time in Minnesota, Vermont, and Washington. He was quoted by Politico during the Green convention with a statement that turned out to be prophetic--
The biggest threat to the Democrats isn't losing votes to the Greens ... Working class whites say, well, the Democrats don't have all that much for us. And Trump sounds like he's mad at the system. So they throw a protest vote to him ... the African-American, Latino, Asian working class. Barack Obama got them out twice, but he didn't do a lot for them, and he's not on the ticket this time.
Stein finished in 4th place with 1,457,288 votes (1.06%), the second highest result in the history of the Party. Of that, the Stein/Hawkins ticket tally was 102,160 votes: Minnesota 1.26%, Washington 1.76%, and Vermont 2.11%.
Some pundits point to Stein's percentages in Wisconsin (1.04%), Pennsylvania (0.81%), and Michigan (1.07%)-- all swing states that voted for Trump who won by margins below the Green total-- and accuse her of being a spoiler as they accused Nader in 2000. However, in all three states the Libertarians had considerably higher percentages than the Greens, placing third, which complicates the "spoiler equation." If anything, a case could be made both third parties drew away a significant number of "Protest Voters" who otherwise would have voted for Trump and he won those states in spite of that.
Election history:
1996 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Green Party) - disqualified from ballot
1997 - Mayor of Syracuse, N.Y. (Green Party) - defeated
1998 - Comptroller of New York (Green Party) - defeated
2000 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Green Party) - defeated
2002 - Comptroller of New York (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2004 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Peace and Justice Party) - defeated
2005 - Mayor of Syracuse, N.Y. (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2006 - US Senate (N.Y.) (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2007 - Common Council of Syracuse, N.Y. (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2008 - Green Party of the United States nomination for US President - defeated
2008 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2009 - Common Council of Syracuse, N.Y. (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2010 - Governor of New York (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2011 - Common Council of Syracuse, N.Y. (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2013 - Common Council of Syracuse, N.Y. (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2014 - Governor of New York (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2015 - City Auditor of Syracuse, N.Y. (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2017 - Mayor of Syracuse, N.Y. (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2018 - Governor of New York (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2020 - Peace and Freedom Party nomination for US President - defeated
2020 - US President (Green Party of the United States/Socialist Party of the United States of America/Legal Marijuana Now Party) - defeated
2024 - US President - pending
Other occupations: US Marine Corps, Teamster, construction, UPS worker, union activist, co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, co-founder of the Clamshell Alliance, member of the Industrial Workers of the World
Notes:
Opponents in 2006 included Hillary Clinton (winner), Róger Calero, and Bill Van Auken.
Opponents in 2010 included Andrew Cuomo (winner) and Jimmy McMillan.
Winner of the 2014 and 2018 elections was Andrew Cuomo.
Joined the Socialist Party in 1973. Campaigned for Bernie Sanders as part of the Liberty Union Party.
Stein was inducted into the Encyclopedia of American Loons in 2020.
Full disclosure: In 2012 I voted Obama. In 2016 I supported Sanders in the primary but voted Clinton in the general.
