Howard Gresham Hawkins

 

Howard Gresham Hawkins, December 8, 1952 (San Francisco, Calif.) -

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.

Benjamin R. Manski

 

Benjamin R. Manski, July 16, 1974 (Pittsburgh, Penn.) -

VP candidate for Green Party of the United States (2012)

Running mate with nominee: Jill Ellen Stein (b. 1950)
Popular vote: 7,665 (0.36%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

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.

Longtime activist Manski, who was one of the organizers for the 1999 WTO protest in Seattle [Washington State Trivia Alert!!] had joined the Green Party in 1990. He served as Ralph Nader's Midwest field director in the 2000 election. He had run twice before for county and state legislative offices, both times almost coming within reach of winning. In 2012 he was Jill Stein's campaign manager.

Initially placed on the ballot as a placeholder, Manski somehow ended up appearing on the final ballot with Stein. The press characterized that move as an accidental result of a bureaucratic entanglement.

Stein finished in 4th place nationally and in Wisconsin as well, with the Stein/Manski ticket finishing with 0.25% of the vote in that state.

Stein would run again in 2016 where she had morphed into a different kind of candidate who would have more of an impact on the outcome of the election. I'll get to that later.

Election history:
1996 - Dane County Board of Supervisors (Nonpartisan) - defeated
2010 - Wisconsin State Assembly (Green Party of the United States) - defeated


Other occupations: attorney,  co-founder 180/Movement for Democracy and Education, founder of Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution

Notes:
Spent part of his childhood in Israel before his family moved to Madison, Wis.

Cheri Lynn Honkala

 

Cheri Lynn Honkala, January 12, 1963 (Minneapolis, Minn.) -

VP candidate for Green Party of the United States (aka DC Statehood-Green Party aka Mountain Party aka Green-Rainbow Party aka Independent aka Pacific Green Party aka Green Independent Party) (2012)

Running mate with nominee: Jill Ellen Stein (b. 1950)
Popular vote: 431,741 (0.33%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

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 among 2012 nominees for number of arrests related to civil disobedience. 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. For them, incarceration was considered just part of the election process.

Their 4th place result of nearly half a million votes was the best showing for the Green Party since 2000. On the ballot in 35 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%).

In Wisconsin Stein's running-mate was Ben Manski, in Illinois it was Howie Hawkins.

Stein would run again in 2016 where she had morphed into a different kind of candidate who would have more of an impact on the outcome of the election. I'll get to that later.

Election history:
2011 - Sheriff of Philadelphia, Penn. (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2017 - Pennsylvania House of Representatives (Green Party of the United States) - defeated

Other occupations: activist for homeless, co-founder of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, co-founder National Coordinator of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign

Notes:
Honkala's son is the actor Mark Webber, best known to me as "The Kid" at the end of one of Bill Murray's best films, Broken Flowers (2005). Murray imparts the following wisdom, "Well, the past is gone, I know that. The future, isn't here yet, whatever it's going to be. So, all there is, is, is this. The present. That's it."

James George Janos

 

                                                Cordell and Santa Claus in a video debate

 

James George Janos, July 15, 1951 (Minneapolis, Minn.) -

VP candidate for Independent (2012, 2016)
 
Running-mate with nominee (2012): Donald Leslie Cordell (1927-2021)
Running-mate with nominee (2012): Piotr Blass (b. 1948)
Running-mate with nominee (2016): Daniel Salvatore Muffoletto
Popular vote (2012, 2016): ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote (2012, 2016): 0/538

The campaign (2012) (Cordell)

Don Cordell, who ran for President in 2008 declaring he wanted Ron Paul as his running-mate, ran again in 2012 but this time expressed a preference for Jesse Ventura as his VP--

I want ex Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura as my Vice President. Together, he and I could bring Justice back to our nation. Then I’d want Glenn Beck as a Whitehouse advisor, since he has Investigated, and knows the facts about the “Treason against our nation”. This must be done, or WE lose, “the United Nation wins”.

Cordell started the 2012 quite early. On one blog he commented--

PresidentDon said...

    Just wait until our nation is turned over to the United Nations. Right now Calif takes in over $3 billion in confiscation, and laughing all the way to the bank. You had a chance last year to elect Don Cordell for President to stop this, and you didn't
    It is time to stop the cops in our nation of Tyranny. I'll restore our Bill of Rights. Without me you will get Martial Law, confiscation of all belongings for the New World Order government. If you do not believe me, google my name and then do some research. I'm telling you how it is, and what is coming.
    30 million out of work, where are the jobs? How many more each month to break our nation? Are you Patriots or Cowards? It is time to Revolt/Revote
    November 23, 2009 at 3:02 AM

Which drew the reply--

Anonymous said...

    Don - You and about 10,000 other false prophets are always telling us how it is going to be and lecturing us on what cowards we all are. You want to know what I think - you're a nobody like the rest of us. So give up your Messianic complex.
    November 23, 2009 at 7:32 AM

In 2011 Cordell left this comment on a news article--

Don Cordell • 9 years ago

You have only one choice. You see what the DemocRats and RepubliCons are doing, yet you keep electing them, WHY? I am one citizen, that can Restore not Change America, if you give me a chance. We must return Middle Class jobs and manufacturing back to America. Stop all the imports. Our leaders tell us, China buys from us, yeah, we buy $10 worth China buys $1 from us. Our nation is broke, we only have this next year to ReVote, to ReStore America, or we will surrender to the New World Order, with United Nations troops in power to force us to submit. If you think your little guns will defend America, let me tell you what you can do with those guns when the turn off all of your utilities, turn of the Radio and TV stations, close the bank the grocery and gas stations, stop all mail delivery coming and going, ban newspapers, except publications telling you how to meet government plans for your behavior. YOU will surrender when the SWAT team comes to your door, because they will kill you and your family, so others in your neighborhood see what happens if you resist. Is this the future you want for America, or a pissed off 84 year old man like me to kick ass, and clean up Washington DC? Lets do this before we are all in FEMA Camps and screwed, blued and tattooed, that serial number on your arm, on your kids arms. Do you care? I care, Just google my name and learn What I will do, for YOU.

As in 2008, Cordell's website was a claustrophobic broadside filled with "inside job" conspiracy theories and if anything was even more ramped in 2012 than before. A tiny sample--

The American Citizens are too lazy to stand up and fight anymore. Because they’ve been taught in our schools, we must GLOBALIZE. Being FREE is a SIN, FREE is not FAIR to the rest of the world people.

I am at war with Socialist Obama: To keep America: FREE
How much is America’s Freedom worth to you? I won’t STOP. Islam laws will never be enacted in America on my watch. If I‘m not elected as your next President, all of America will look like Detroit, MI in the next 20 years. All of America “DESTROYED” is this happening to your city, now or next?

*Why is the United States Bankrupt? INSIDE JOB? *Why are millions of Americans out of work? INSIDE JOB? *Why have millions lost their homes to foreclosure? INSIDE JOB? *Why? Because the United States has been sold! INSIDE JOB? *Why won’t you get up, and campaign to me get elected? *Note: Unemployment benefits running out for Millions. *Note: The major Middle class jobs: “Will not return”. Does the Mayan calendar revel the end of America in Dec 2012

When will Romney ask you, to become members of the Mormon Church?

News Flash: Christianity outlawed in America, Christian MORAL’S outlawed. Gay Pride takes over the schools, and offices of our politicians, to hasten our failure. Will you surrender our Judeo/Christian values without a fight? Are you a wimp?

Cordell's involuntary running-mate, Jesse Ventura (legal name James George Janos) was a celebrity superstar in the world of third parties, having served as the Governor of Minnesota 1999-2003, elected as a member of the Reform Party. By 2012 the former wrestler was hosting the third season of a TruTV series entitled Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura. He had increasingly drifted into the world of conspiracy theories in Century 21, including 9/11 Trutherism. Cordell made a reference and provided links to some of Ventura's televised programs--

We are being destroyed from within; we “must stop this”. If you have Cable or Satellite check the listing for the “Jesse Ventura” broadcasts, be awakened to this TREASON, then get involved to save us. If you have a weak stomach, you won’t want to watch, it will make you sick. It’s all about “Building 7", the more you understand about “Building 7” the more you will realize,

Just discovered: Jesse Ventura Video’s online. There are many items like this to educate you; it’s time to learn what is happening to our nation, by our so-called (leaders) traitors

#1, Haarp, Alaska Controversy
#2, 9/11
#3, Global Warming
#4, Big Brother
#5, Secret Societies
#6, Manchurian Candidate
#7  Apocalypse

Ventura's popularity was such that he was frequently touted as a potential third party Presidential candidate. There is little doubt that if he had indeed gone all out on such an effort his impact on the outcome of the election would have been hard to ignore.

After losing a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration concerning 4th Amendment violations, Ventura declared in a Nov. 2011 news conference he would never set foot in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport again, called the USA the "Fascist States of America," and added, "I will never stand for a national anthem again ... I will turn my back and raise a fist the same way Tommy Smith and John Carlos did in the '68 Olympics, Jesse Ventura will do that today." He considered obtaining dual citizenship in Mexico.

During the 2012 Republican Presidential primaries, Ventura endorsed Ron Paul (on Alex Jones' program). He also was reported to have said, "if Ron Paul runs as an independent, I will give great consideration to being his running mate." He later endorsed Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party) for the general election. Most likely Ventura was unaware of being Cordell's selection for VP.

Ventura has the distinction of being the only member of the Reform Party ever elected Governor (1998). Remaining an independent after he left office, he liked Bernie Sanders in 2016 but his endorsement was declined [!!!], and he also let it be known he would be willing to be Trump's running-mate. There was some buzz that he might go for the Libertarian nomination. In the end he voted for Jill Stein and eventually joined the Green Party himself.

There was an effort to draft Ventura for President in 2020 and he appeared as a Green on the ballot in Alaska and was a write-in in California, under his actual legal name of Janos and with Cynthia McKinney as his VP.

Meanwhile, back to 2012-- the Cordell/Ventura ticket did not file with the FEC and failed to appear on any ballots or register as write-ins for any state, thus no election results can be reported.

The campaign (2012) (Blass)

Getting a handle on the political life of perennial candidate Piotr Blass of Boynton Beach, Fla. is not an easy task. He has been running for office in Florida since the mid-1990s. Some of his multiple campaigns have been overlapping and getting a bead on where he falls on the spectrum is problematic. Here are some descriptions from the media--

Palm Beach Post, May 25, 2013
Piotr Blass, 64, is a regular at city commission meetings, where he stands out with his stringy long hair, sandals and thick European accent. He ran for U.S. Senate in 2004, governor in 2006 and Congress in 2008, before coming in last of seven candidates in the 2010 Boynton Beach mayoral race, won by Jose Rodriguez. Blass got 24 of the 4,377 votes cast.

He regularly describes his dream of a university in Boynton Beach, as well as projects that include a turbine power-generating network just offshore.

“My idea is to run and inspire,” said Blass, who said he became a citizen in 1979 with a plan to run for office. “I’m not a very good manager, but I could be a reasonable senator.”

... In 2011 Blass was a suspect in a fraud case when a former roommate, William S. Hunter, accused him of stealing and cashing his checks in 2010 while Hunter was in the Palm Beach County Jail.

Palm Beach Post, June 23, 2015
It's not a Florida election until Boynton Beach resident Piotr Blass files as a write-in candidate. Blass has been a write-in candidate in every general election since 2004.

Miami Herald, July 12, 2015
Many candidates offer refreshingly original interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Boynton Beach’s Piotr Blass, who has a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Michigan, was born to Polish parents in Poland, which seems to run afoul of all that stuff in Article II of the Constitution requiring a president to be a “natural born citizen” of the United States. But when the Herald reached Blass by phone last week (in, ahem, Poland), he airily insisted that the Supreme Court will be on his side when he wins. “I have been a model citizen of the United States for more than 35 years now,” he explained. “I believe the equal protection clause of the Constitution means I must be entitled to equal treatment as that accorded to a 35-year-old native-born citizen.”

Blass has maintained that he, along with Tim Berners-Lee, was a co-creator of the World Wide Web in 1988.

In 2011 Blass seemed to include a Presidential campaign among his other activities. On the topic of Vice-Presidents, he made these comments on Facebook--

Facebook
Feb. 8, 2011
Piotr Blass for President 2012--Arnold for running mate or jessee ventura

Dec. 29, 2011
Jesseee
Ventura
Running
Mate

Apparently abandoning his run for President in 2012, Blass made a write-in bid for the US Senate. By Election Day he was endorsing Green Party nominee Jill Stein for POTUS. Blass would be back in 2016, but with a new running-mate.

The campaign (2016):

Daniel Muffoletto registered as a write-in Presidential candidate in Minnesota with Jesse Ventura as his VP. Minnesota did not categorize the results of the write-in votes. According to his 2008 and 2012 campaign webpages, Muffoletto previously ran as an "Eco-Green Republican" write-in candidate. In 2006 he had lost the Republican primary for US Senate in Maryland. Muffoletto is a naturopath and also works as an agent for actors. At some point he moved from Baltimore to Hollywood. His 2016 Presidential campaign was something of an under the radar event.

Muffoletto's Facebook entries indicate he was willing to run again in 2020 with Ventura but it seems the idea remained in the concept stage and never took the form of action.

Election history:
1991-1995 - Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minn. (Nonpartisan)
1999-2003 - Governor of Minnesota (Reform Party of the United States of America/Independence Party of Minnesota)
2020 - US President (Independent Green Party of the United States) - defeated

Other occupations: US Navy (Vietnam War), member of the Mongols motorcycle club, wrestler, bodyguard for the Rolling Stones, sports commentator, actor, author, television host

Notes:
"I wish they would pass a law where all Democrats and Republicans had to wear NASCAR racing suits, because if you look at the NASCAR drivers, it tells who their sponsors are. And if they do that, we could then become informed voters, because we would know who owns them."--Jesse Ventura

Tracy Chapman

 

Tracy Chapman, March 30, 1964 (Cleveland, Ohio) -

VP candidate for Independent (2012)

Running mate with nominee: Santa Claus (b. ca1947)
Popular vote: 670 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

On Oct. 24, 2012, Santa Claus announced his Vice-Presidential choice was Tracy Chapman, the celebrated singer and contributor to causes involving human rights. No, really. If Chapman herself responded to this, I have yet to find a document.

In 2005 a gentleman by the name of Thomas Patrick O'Connor legally changed his name to Santa Claus. Prior to assuming the identity of Saint Nicholas the Incline Village, Nev. resident had been a communications consultant for the NYC Police Dept. He was also an Anglican monk. He explained this transformation in an interview shortly before Election Day 2012--

Well, I live up in Lake Tahoe which is up in the mountains surrounded by pine trees and a beautiful alpine lake on the Nevada side on Lake Tahoe.  About 2005, I was walking down to the post office on a brisk cold day.  There were not too many cars on the road so it was a pretty easy walk.  As you know I’m a monk and a bishop and I was praying to God.  Now,  I had grown out my beard the winter before and a lot of people had said that I should do the Santa thing and I said “I don’t know, maybe I will.” If you’ve seen my photograph, the resemblance is pretty good so I did this for non-profit charity organizations.  People seemed to like it and children seemed to like it so I was praying to God asking what should I do with this gift and how I can help the greatest number of children with this gift.  I stopped praying after a while and began walking to the post office when this car drove by, the windows were open and I heard voice of someone inside -he was in his 20s or so – and he shouted, “I love you Santa!” I thought, that’s probably the quickest answer to prayer I’m probably ever going to get so I called up the county clerk’s office who referred me to the court and I asked them what do I have to do to change my name and they sent me the paperwork.  A month or so after I filed, this judge – who was appointed recently by the governor – wasn’t quite sure what he should do so he called governor who knew me from all my volunteer stuff and the governor told him, “Yeah, just go ahead and do it.” So the clerk called me up a couple weeks later and told me to come pick up the paperwork and that’s what I did… and for more than 7 years I’ve been Santa Claus; that’s my legal name.

I’m a child advocate and a peace activist. I do what Santa Claus was based on many, many, many centuries ago in what is now Turkey – St. Nicholas.  He was expressing his love for children and the idea that love is the greatest gift one can give. That’s what I do now and what I tell people. I still think of Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Christ and not the crass, commercial, secular spectacle it has become in many places.

He ran for President in 2008, visiting several Governors as an advocate for children. Claus explained his motives to a reporter in 2012--

I haven't heard either of the big boys talk about anything with respect to children, so I'd like to use that as a platform to insinuate my views on children, their health, safety and welfare and that's what I meant by restoring America's heart and soul .. We have presidents and candidates and all these other politicians that are really into the whole war machine, some other things that aren't particularly good for children in my view and I would like to see voters consider changing that.

In another interview he said---

Running for president is a platform for me to talk about children’s issues.  There are 2 million children in the United States who are abused, neglected, abandoned, homeless, or institutionalized; a lot of kids are going through the foster care/adoption system; and there are many other children who need state health insurance.  Running for president in 15 states as an independent write-in candidate (that’s a big hurdle to get over to begin with) gives me a platform to talk about these issues with a very small expenditure of money and spending a lot of my time. When I get interviewed by people like you, I can bring that subject up.

I’ve met both [major party candidates] running for president.  I worked for a while in the SLOC (Salt Lake Organizing Committee) a long time ago where I met then governor Romney.  I also met President Obama when he was a senator during his campaign for 2008 in Carson City. I asked him, “How come you guys aren’t talking about children’s issues?”  He just kind of looked squarely at me and replied, “Well, they don’t vote.” So I asked him, “OK, how can I make things better and talk about children’s issues?” and he said “Running for president,” so I did.

(Laughing) President Obama has nobody to thank but himself for my running for office.

Claus filed with the FEC late in the campaign season, Aug. 28, 2012.

He outlined his platform on his website--

As an independent candidate, I am able to combine elements the best of other candidates' platforms and form my own. My political platform includes:

The ten key values of the Green Party platform (www.GP.org):
GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
NON-VIOLENCE
DECENTRALIZATION
COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY

~ and ~

Parts of Ron Paul's "Restore America" plan (RonPaul2012.com):
A TRUE BALANCED BUDGET IN YEAR 3
CUT ONE TRILLION DURING FIRST YEAR
RETURN MOST OTHER SPENDING TO 2006 LEVELS
ELIMINATE GOVERNMENT WASTE
ADDRESS FUTURE ENTITLEMENTS, TAXES, AND REGULATION
AUDIT THE FEDERAL RESERVE

Before settling on Chapman as a running-mate, Claus had offered a potential Cabinet and executive staff positions on his blog, Aug. 13, 2012 and among others suggested Rep. Dennis Kucinich as his VP, Noam Chomsky as Sec. of Defense, Rachel Maddow as Chief of Staff.

Shortly before the 2012 election, on Halloween, Claus withdrew from the race and endorsed Jill Stein of the Green Party. Tracy Chapman had been the Santa Claus Vice-Presidential nominee for only 8 days.

In 2008 Claus was a registered write-in in Montana and West Virginia, garnering 62 votes. I could not find any evidence of a running-mate in that election. In 2012 the Claus/Chapman ticket were registered write-ins in Idaho, Maryland, Montana, Washington, and West Virginia. The bulk of their 670 reported votes came from Maryland. Claus said he was an official write-in in 15 states but apparently they did not report any of his votes.

In 2015 Claus was elected as a write-in to the City Council of North Pole, Alaska. For real.

Election history: none.

Other occupations: singer, songwriter

Notes:
Chapman has a B.A. degree in Anthropology and African studies, Tufts University.

Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan

 

Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan, July 10, 1957 (Inglewood, Calif.) -

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (aka Americans Elect aka Independent) (2012)

Running mate with nominee: Roseanne Cherrie Barr (b. 1952)
Popular vote: 67,477 (0.05%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In late Jan. 2012 Roseanne Barr filed with the FEC for President as a candidate of the Green Party. A few months earlier the sitcom star had announced her intention to run while a guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. "I'm totally serious," Barr said, "'Cause I want to be part of the debates, because I want to represent the tax payer. In fact, I'm choosing the tax payers as my vice president ... I'm not for either party because they both suck and they're both a bunch of criminals ... So I made up my own party. It's the Green Tea Party."

Barr entered the Green Party primaries but lost the nomination to Jill Stein. However, Barr was able to parlay that momentum into gaining the Presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party. Her running-mate was a PFP member, antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan.

Sheehan had become a national figure after her son Casey was killed in action in Iraq on Apr. 4, 2004 while serving in the US Army. The event radicalized Sheehan who staged a series of dramatic events protesting at first the Bush, then later the Obama administration military policies. Sheehan had progressively moved to the Left in the course of her political journey, starting as a California Democrat, then running against Nancy Pelosi in 2008 as an Independent, Sheehan found a home with the Peace and Freedom Party in 2010. Although she has sort of fallen off the radar in recent years, in 2012 Cindy Sheehan was a frequent name in the headlines. A faction of the Socialist Party USA had approached Sheehan to run as their VP, but the internal SPUSA politics prevented that from happening.

The Barr/Sheehan team did not last long. Living on her macadamia nut farm in Hawaii, Barr had an idea of running the campaign strictly online, admitting that she hated "to be around people or touch them," and "that there's going to be weirdos there that want to kill me."

Some of Barr's activities and statements as a PFP nominee made the Party uncomfortable and for sure Barr herself candidly acknowledged a long history of challenges with mental illness. It became evident she embraced a few unfounded conspiracy theories (e.g. she spoke at the The Consciousness Beyond Chemtrails Conference during the campaign) and also was one of the early Presidential candidates to find herself in trouble over messages she created on Twitter, an example being comments she wrote that resulted in charges that she was transphobic.

A month into the campaign, Sheehan posted this on her blog Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox--

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

No Longer on Campaign. Formal announcement

For personal and health reasons, I regret that I have to pull out of active participation in the Barr/Sheehan 2012 campaign. I strongly believe in the Platform as written, and the mission statement of the Peace and Freedom Party, and hope to continue my activism when my health improves. As to the personal reasons, Candidate Barr and I have irreconcilable differences on how best to serve the Peace and Freedom Party. I believe between my health issues and the disparity of our Political approach; both the Campaign, Ms Barr and the Party would be better served by my resignation. I wish nothing but good things for the Party and campaign.

UPDATE I: APPARENTLY, IT IS TOO LATE ACCORDING TO STATE POLICIES FOR ME TO RESIGN FROM THE TICKET,  BUT I AM WITHDRAWING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN CAMPAIGNING. SO, I WILL STILL BE THE VP CHOICE ON BALLOTS (CINDY)

On Feb. 12, 2015, Sheehan elaborated a bit more on the subject in hindsight, including the following passages--

The few weeks that I was her running mate were devastating for me. I had known Roseanne for years before that star-crossed collaboration and I considered her a friend.

Roseanne was flawed, of course, as are we all. But I saw a person who I truly believed was committed to the same principles that I was, but Twitter is not Barr’s friend and she started to tweet some things that were 180 degrees from the platform of the party and my own personal platform, such as: “If people go on welfare, birth control should be mandatory.”

Side note: I also disagreed that our entire campaign should be by tweet, especially ones that were so contrary to what we, as a party, stand for.

Then some people have defended her most recent foray into outrageousness by saying exactly that, “She is famous for saying outrageous things.” Well, so am I, but I only consider what I say outrageous in the context of Imperial Capitalism like, “war of aggression is always wrong.”

The PFP actually went beyond the borders of California for the first time in awhile. The Barr/Sheehan ticket placed 6th nationally. They were on the ballot in three states: California (0.41%), Colorado (0.20%), and Florida (0.10%) as well as write-ins in 11 more states.

Barr would go on to promote numerous spurious conspiracy theories and then support Trumpism by the 2016 election.

Election history:
2008 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Independent) - defeated
2014 - Governor of California (Peace and Freedom Party) - primary - defeated

Other occupations: youth minister, antiwar activist, author, radio host

Notes:
Winner of the 2008 election was Nancy Pelosi.
2014 opponents included Jerry Brown (winner) and Luis J. Rodriguez.
I was not a viewer of her 1980s TV show, but thought Barr was great in She-Devil (1989)

Rosa Alicia Clemente

 

Rosa Alicia Clemente, April 18, 1972 (New York, NY) -

VP candidate for Green Party of the United States (aka DC Statehood-Green Party aka Mountain Party aka Green-Rainbow Party aka Independent aka Pacific Green Party aka Unaffiliated) (2008)

Running mate with nominee: Cynthia Ann McKinney (b. 1955)
Popular vote: 161,870 (0.12%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In 2008 the Green Party nominated former US Representative Cynthia McKinney for President. Serving from Georgia 1993-2003, 2005-2007, she found herself frequently operating on the Left side of the Democratic Party. Initially she ruled out running for President but changed her mind in the course of the election season. Her running-mate was Hip-Hop activist Rosa Clemente.

McKinney's political record was a mixed bag for progressives. She took strong positions regarding both domestic and international human rights and was firmly in the anti-war camp. In 2006 she had introduced articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush for abuse of office and unconstitutional actions but it failed to clear the House Judiciary Committee.

But on the other hand McKinney also had some serious baggage. She was inclined to promote various conspiracy theories and by 2008 had been associated with the 9/11 Truthers, a claim that the Dept. of Defense used the chaos of Hurricane Katrina to execute about 5,000 people by a bullet to the head, and was showing the early signs of a mindset that would later accept pizzagate, anti-vaccinations, portions of Holocaust denial, exposing "Zionist shill" operations, and many other alleged plots as fact. She would earn a place in the Encyclopedia of American Loons ("The Democrats' answer to Michele Bachmann, McKinney is really stunningly insane, and despite the good stuff she’s done, she is a real threat to sanity and society"), and Cracked's "The 6 Most Insane People to Ever Run for President." McKinney's supporters responded that painting her as a conspiracy nut was an effort to discredit her and hide the truth.

In 2006 McKinney made national news after she was accused of physically assaulting a Capitol police officer who stopped her entrance to an office building due to her lack of displaying the required credential identification.

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviewed McKinney and Clemente and in her introduction stated, "The Green Party made history last week when it nominated the first all-women-of-color presidential ticket in US history." This is an often repeated claim about the McKinney/Clemente ticket but it is not really accurate. Earlier tickets included: Lenora Fulani with VPs Wynonia Brewington Burke, Mamie L. Moore, and Barbara R. Taylor (New Alliance Party, 1988), Lenora Fulani and Maria Elizabeth Muñoz (New Alliance Party, 1992), Isabell Masters and Shirley Jean Masters (Looking Back Party, 1996), Monica Gail Moorehead and Gloria Estela La Riva (Workers World Party, 1996, 2000), Isabell Masters and Alfreda Dean Masters (Looking Back Party, 2000).

During the Goodman interview, Clemente gave the listeners a little bit of autobiography and her mission--

I mean, thank you for having me, Amy. It’s a humbling experience, first and foremost. But, I mean, I’m a South Bronx Puerto Rican-born girl, 1972. I was in the South Bronx when hip hop, which is still now the voice of multi-racial young people all over the world, began. So I’m humbled, but I’m ready for the work. I’ve been in a great tradition of student activists coming from the State University of New York at Albany in the early ’90s to getting my Master’s at Cornell University under the mentorship of Dr. James Turner and being a community organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, but again under mentorship of the great late Richie Perez.

So I’m humbled, but I’m also excited, because I feel that many African American, indigenous, Asian, Latino youth in this country, mostly working class, are completely disenfranchised and marginalized from a two-party system. There’s over 40 percent of young people that still have not registered to vote, which shows their dissatisfaction with both the Republicans and Democrats. And I really want to bring the face of what hip hop has always been for me, a voice of the voiceless, the mic that speaks truth to power but also uses these elements to act against the status quo or the powers that be.

The Workers World Party endorsed McKinney in this election rather than running their own candidate. She was also endorsed by Roseanne Barr, Noam Chomsky, and Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan.

McKinney/Clemente were on the ballot in 32 states and theoretically could have won enough votes to achieve the magic 270 Electoral number to take office. They were also write-ins in 17 other states. Their strongest percentages on Election Day were in Louisiana (0.47%), Maine (0.40%), West Virginia (0.33%), Arkansas (0.32%), California (0.29%), Oregon (0.25%), and South Carolina (0.23%). They had earned a little more than 40,000 votes over the previous election for the Greens.

Election history: none

Other occupations: journalist, media consultant, speakers bureau

Notes:
In Nov. 2019 McKinney endorsed Adam Kokesh for the 2020 Libertarian Party Presidential nomination.

Monty Wayne Judd

 

Below, Keith Judd in the center, 1989

Monty Wayne Judd, October 15, 1960 (Albuquerque, NM) -

VP candidate for Nonpartisan (aka Green Party of the United States aka Independent Democrat) (2008)

Running mate with nominee: Keith Russell Judd (b. 1958)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Keith Judd, called a gifted musician by some, was not so gifted as a criminal as evidenced by his court records and convictions. By 2008 he had become a perennial candidate having run for President since 1996.

In 1999 he was sentenced to over 17 years for extortion via mail and in 2008 was a prison inmate in Beaumont, Tex.  Early in the year Judd actually made the ballot for the Democratic Party primary in Idaho. "We got conned," admitted Idaho Sec. of State Ben Ysura. With no petition signatures required, Judd was able to pay the $1000 fee. Two of the phone numbers on his filing form turned out to be a newspaper in Beaumont, and the IRS helpline. On the Voice for Inmates website, Judd declared: I AM ON THE MAY 27, 2008 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION
in IDAHO, ALL CONVICTED FELONS CAN VOTE!!

Judd continued his quest for the White House with his younger brother Monty, of Albuquerque, NM, as his running-mate. Other brother Presidential tickets in the past include Larry Brant Sargeant/Perry David Sargeant - American Freedom Party (1976), and Lowell Jackson Fellure/James Monroe Fellure - Independent (2000).

He filed with the FEC in Feb. 2005 as a "Non-Party candidate", refiled in Aug. 2007 as a Democrat, and refiled yet again in Feb. 2008 under the Green Party.

Judd's entries into the Votesmart database are intriguing, and gave journalists the opportunity to fact check his claims, some of which were rather dubious. Here are some of the entries I found most interesting--

Full Name:
Keith 'Mtr. President, Dark Priest, W.D., Rusy...' Russell Judd

Religion:
Rastafarian-Christian

Education
University of California
Attended, Political Science, John F. Kennedy School of Politics, Harvard University, 1998
Attended, Business/Music/Dance/Speech Communications, University of New Mexico, 1992, Grade Point Average of 3.4
University of California Los Angeles, 1972-1978
Attended, Bethany Nazarene College, Oklahoma, 1976

Professional Experience
Agent/Individual Contractor, New York Society of Reproductive Medicine
Band Leader, United States Air Force
Educator, Piano/Music, FCC Low, Education/Recreation Department, Beaumont, Texas, 2006-2007
Sound Engineer, Conavan East Nite Club, 1985-1998
Recording Musician/Writer/Producer, Nadine's Music, Hollywood, California, 1968-1998
Bass Player, Norman Frasier Band, 1995
Sales, Grandma's Music & Sound, 1984-1989
Recording Consultant/Research and Development, Nadine's Music, 1982-1983
Quality Assurance, Inspector, General Electric Aircraft Engine Group, 1978-1982

Religious, Civic, and other Memberships
Activist, Lamesa Neighborhood Association, 1972-present
Activist, Trumble Neighborhood Association, 1972-present
Organizer, Homeless Peoples Voting Rights Association, National, 1968-present
Founder, World Peace Through Musical Communications Skills, 1963-present
Member, American Civil Liberties Union, 1992-2007
Member, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, 1999-2007
Member, National Rifle Association, 1972-2007
Volunteer/Honorary Member, Albuquerque Police Officer's Association, 1997-1998
Member, Musicians-Entertainment Union Los Angeles, 1982-1998
Founder, Rehabilitation of Homeless Association, 1997-1998
Promoter, Musicians Union, 1982-1983
Member, Federation of Super Heroes, 1976-1982
Member, Machinist Union, 1980-1982
Bass Player, Albuquerque Youth Symphony, 1970-1976

Favorite President and Why:
Richard Nixon: He got us out of Vietnam, and began world peace with China and the Soviets

Hobbies or Special Talents:
I Bowled a Sanctioned 300 Perfect Game, and Tournaments. ESP, Telling the Future

Name one thing you would most like to do before you die:
I would like to record another album and go on tour

Personal Hero and Why:
My father, Homer T. Judd. He designed the first Atomic Bomb and worked for the Atomic Energy Commissions 30 years

Person Most Want to Meet (Dead or Alive):
Mozart. He was cool

Priority Issues:
Judicial Accountability Commission and U.S. Department of Justice Accountability Commission. U.S. Treasury Accountability Commission; Federal Reserve Bank System Accountability Commission. Reinvent the Public School System with ties to Industries, Community Job-Placement and Higher Education

Judd was a registered write-in, mostly with Monty as VP, in at least eight states: Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Since some states basically ignored reporting write-ins, it is difficult to guess how many votes they received. In Minnesota, Montana, and Utah Judd identified himself as a member of the Green Party. In Washington Judd was a write-in candidate as a Democrat.

We will be revisiting Keith Judd later in the 2012 campaign when he made national news.

Election history: none

Other occupations: sound and light man for Revolver (Keith Judd's rock band)

Notes:
Custom car enthusiast.

Karen Andrea Sanchirico

Karen Andrea Sanchirico, August 28, 1967 (New York) -

VP candidate for Independent (2004)

Running mate with nominee: Ralph Nader (b. 1934)
Popular vote: 6,168 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Expressing a desire to not become beholden to the platform of any party, Ralph Nader announced he was running for President in 2004 as an independent. Yet he also sought the endorsement (rather than the nomination) of several already established third parties as a way to more easily acquire ballot access. The Reform Party, Independent Party of Delaware, and Independence Party did just that, making him their de facto nominee. Some parties were simply invented as a 2004 one-shot deal due to local requirements. For example, Nader ran in Alaska, Arkansas, and Maryland under the Populist Party name, apparently unconcerned of the legacy of white nationalist policies connected with the recent party of that name 1984-1996 and still a fresh memory.

Although Nader never joined the Green Party, it was under their banner that he was perceived, perhaps unfairly, as being the spoiler in the 2000 election and handing the White House to George W. Bush especially in Florida. The Green Party had some significant differences of opinion within their ranks on how to proceed in 2004. Generally speaking there were three factions at play here.

The first group desired to endorse Ralph Nader's independent run. Nader himself had announced in Dec. 2003 he would not seek the Green nomination, but later he realized the Party's endorsement would come in handy in terms of ballot access although he had no intention of joining the Greens himself. The pro-Nader faction was energized when a week before the Green convention Nader had selected GP activist Peter Camejo as his running-mate. Camejo in fact had won the most popular votes in the Green Party primaries for President.

The second group wanted to run a campaign with a "pure" Green candidate (David Cobb was the frontrunner) rather than ride on the star power of a political celebrity who was not necessarily in line with the Party platform. Cobb, a California attorney and Party activist, had worked hard to gain the nomination as he electioneered across the country gathering delegates.

The third group promoted the idea of sitting out the 2004 Presidential contest and instead concentrate on elections at the grassroots local level. A leaflet from this faction at the convention included, "Choosing No Candidate will allow Greens to build strength at the grassroots, avoiding a punishing national media fight we cannot win ... Our best route to national influence is building local power."

On June 26, 2004 Cobb won the nomination on the second ballot. He named Pat LaMarche, a Green Party activist in Maine, as his running-mate.

Unlike Nader/Camejo the Cobb/LeMarche ticket adopted a "safe state" strategy of not campaigning hard in swing states where they thought they could possibly tip the scales in favor of Bush. Cobb rationalized, "In California, Cobb-LaMarche's message is going to be, 'Progressives, don't waste your vote.' Because if a progressive casts a vote for the corporate militarist John Kerry in California, it does not help to unelect Bush, and you can only send a message that you actually support policies that you don't. That's a wasted vote. Simple message: progressives, don't waste your vote. In the other states where it's very much closer, we have the same, in-depth, scathing critique of both the Democratic and Republican parties, and then conclude with, 'but think carefully before you cast your vote.' You know, that is completely respecting the voter, and it is really challenging those voters to think about why we have a system where I have to vote against what I hate, rather than support what I want."

LaMarche suggested she just might pull the level for the Democrat on Election Day, "If the race is tight, I'll vote for Kerry."

A swath of the Left felt the Greens were capitulating to the Democrats far too much. The Vermont Green Party broke ranks and endorsed Nader/Camejo. Other Greens appeared to migrate to the Socialists in 2004, giving them a larger popular vote than usual.

Karen Sanchirico of Boise, Idaho (PNW trivia alert!!!) became the running-mate in the state of Montana. At the time the state law declared that independent candidates could not be "associated with a political party for one year prior to submission of the nomination petition" which was interpreted as having run for office under the banner of another party. That ruled out Camejo since he had run as a Green in the 2003 election for Governor of California. So Sanchirico was substituted as a stand-in candidate.

In the previous year Sanchirico, with a background in the Green Party, had founded the Boise Patriots, the concept being a broad-based coalition opposing the Patriot Act and civil rights violations on the part of government and law enforcement.

In the four years since Nader last ran 9/11 had happened and the Bush administration was wrapping up their first term. Although President Bush called himself a uniter, not a divider, his economic policy, military initiatives, and interpretation of civil liberties under the Constitution seemed to widening the polarization of the country. Many in the Progressive side were willing to overlook Sen. Kerry's centrism and spent not a small amount of energy attempting to get Nader out of the race or off the ballots.

In one the most famous incidents in the 2004 campaign Bill Maher and Michael Moore got down on their knees and begged Nader on the Real Time television program on July 31, 2004 to drop out of the race.

There were others who agreed--

Keeping the Bush circle out means holding one's nose and voting for some Democrat. ... In a very powerful state, small differences may translate into very substantial effects on the victims, at home and abroad. It is no favor to those who are suffering, and may face much worse ahead, to overlook these facts.
–Noam Chomsky

I am going to run around this country and do everything I can to dissuade people from voting for Ralph Nader. ... this election will come down to a relatively few votes. ... I consider four more years of Bush a potential horror show for this country.
–Bernie Sanders

If Kerry is elected, we'll have a little ledge to stand on.
–Howard Zinn

Last time around, Nader attracted the support of a stellar list of left-leaning celebrities; Phil Donahue, Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore, Paul Newman, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eddie Vedder, and Ani DiFranco were all Naderites. That won't be the case this year.
-Mother Jones Magazine

A number of anti-Nader websites from the Progressive community sprang up: The Nader Factor, United Progressives for Victory, Vote2StopBush.org,  Dear Ralph, StopNader.com, Ralph Don't Run, Repentant Nader Voter PAC, Nader Watch Blog, Don't Vote Ralph, Ralph-Nader.info, Damned Big Difference, and Greens for Kerry (Change In '04).

"It's an ego-fueled Trojan Horse for the right wing," said Bob Gammage of StopNader.org, "The Republicans perceive (the Nader campaign) the same way we do: A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush. They're hoping ... they can confuse enough people to take the election away from Kerry."

Nader met with the Congressional Black Caucus in June. It did not go well. The CBC had asked Nader to drop out of the election and by the end there were raised voices, Nader was told by one member of Congress to "get your ass out" of the meeting, and Rep. Melvin Watt said the candidate was "just another arrogant white man, telling us what we can do. It's all about your ego, another [expletive] arrogant white man." Nader later demanded an apology for the language used in the meeting but never got it.

Some of the other attendees had choice words as well:
"He ain't playing with a full deck"--Rep. James Clyburn
"I don’t think he gets it ... The meeting was about strategy and the pragmatic planning to defeat Bush ... We told him how at strategic level, his candidacy defeats a common a goal ... We were particularly offended by Nader's exhibitionism, his selfishness and egotism"--Rep. Albert Wynn
"If he didn't understand what the meeting was about, not only is he an egotistical maniac, he's dumber than I thought he was"--Rep. Gregory Meeks

There was evidence the Republicans and far-Right groups were doing what they could to help Nader along, which was an unsurprising and old political practice by political parties helping the enemy of their enemy dating back to the early 1800s in US politics.

But as it was Nader's 2004 showing was faint compared to 2000. Rather than setting the foundation for a new progressive party, he was starting to be perceived by many as a perennial candidate for a personality-driven movement.

Nader was on the ballot in 35 states + DC and a registered write-in in 12 states finishing third nationally with 465,642 votes (0.38%). Of those, the Nader/Camejo ticket was on the ballot in 32 states + DC and certified write-ins in half a dozen more. In New York, Nader was on two different ballot lines, each with a different running-mate (with Camejo in the Peace and Justice Party, with Jan D. Pierce in the Independence Party). Pierce was also on the ballot with Nader in Alabama. Documents suggest Pierce would have also been on the ballot in Illinois, Ohio and Arizona as the VP if Nader had prevailed and been made a printed option for voters in those states, but that did not come to pass. Karen Sanchirico was the running-mate in Montana. Nader had no VP at all in 6 write-in slots.

The Nader/Sanchirico ticket finished with 1.37% of the vote in the Big Sky Country. This was Nader's third strongest result among the states.

After the election my friend and shirttail relative Robert C. "Bob" Bailey, who had once been one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington State, said he was not surprised at the re-election of George W. Bush. "Voters don't like to change Presidents in wartime, no matter how bad they are," was his view.

Election history: none

Other occupations: microbrewer, property manager, administrative project manager, translator

Notes:
Also known as Gwen Sanchirico and she recently ran a microbrew operation in the UK. "My name is
 Karen Sanchirico but I go by Gwen, which is Welsh for Karen."

Patricia Helen LaMarche

Patricia Helen LaMarche, November 26, 1960 (Providence, RI) -

VP candidate for Green Party of the United States (aka Green Party aka D.C. Statehood Green Party aka Independent aka Green Independent Party aka Green-Rainbow Party aka Pacific Green Party) (2004)

Running mate with nominee: David Keith Cobb (b. 1962)
Popular vote: 119,910 (0.10%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The Green Party was at a crossroads in the 2004 national election. Still smarting from the perhaps unfair perception that they were the spoilers in the 2000 election-- and handing the White House to George W. Bush especially in Florida-- the Party had some significant differences of opinion within their ranks on how to proceed. Generally speaking there were three factions at play here.

The first group desired to endorse Ralph Nader's independent run. Nader himself had announced in Dec. 2003 he would not seek the Green nomination, but later he realized the Party's endorsement would come in handy in terms of ballot access although he had no intention of joining the Greens himself. The pro-Nader faction was energized when a week before the Green convention Nader had selected GP activist Peter Camejo as his running-mate. Camejo in fact had won the most popular votes in the Green Party primaries for President.

The second group wanted to run a campaign with a "pure" Green candidate (David Cobb was the frontrunner) rather than ride on the star power of a political celebrity who was not necessarily in line with the Party platform. Cobb, a California attorney and Party activist, had worked hard to gain the nomination as he electioneered across the country gathering delegates.

The third group promoted the idea of sitting out the 2004 Presidential contest and instead concentrate on elections at the grassroots local level. A leaflet from this faction at the convention included, "Choosing No Candidate will allow Greens to build strength at the grassroots, avoiding a punishing national media fight we cannot win ... Our best route to national influence is building local power."

On June 26, 2004 Cobb won the nomination on the second ballot. He named Pat LaMarche, a Green Party activist in Maine, as his running-mate.

Unlike Nader/Camejo the Cobb/LeMarche ticket adopted a "safe state" strategy of not campaigning hard in swing states where they thought they could possibly tip the scales in favor of Bush. Cobb rationalized, "In California, Cobb-LaMarche's message is going to be, 'Progressives, don’t waste your vote.' Because if a progressive casts a vote for the corporate militarist John Kerry in California, it does not help to unelect Bush, and you can only send a message that you actually support policies that you don't. That's a wasted vote. Simple message: progressives, don't waste your vote. In the other states where it's very much closer, we have the same, in-depth, scathing critique of both the Democratic and Republican parties, and then conclude with, 'but think carefully before you cast your vote.' You know, that is completely respecting the voter, and it is really challenging those voters to think about why we have a system where I have to vote against what I hate, rather than support what I want."

LaMarche started a "Left-Out Tour" as a way of campaigning, staying in homeless shelters and domestic violence safehouses in her journeys "to draw attention to those living on the edge of society." Her experiences were later published in a monograph, Left Out in America (2006).

There were a few negatives with LaMarche on the ticket. Low on the political Richter Scale was her switching her registration from Democratic to Green just before she ran for Governor of Maine in 1998. And her short stay in jail after a DWI in 1997. In the Big Picture those were not huge issues, after all both Bush and Cheney had been busted for drunk driving too. What really riled those on the Left was her statement she was not sure who she voting for and suggested she just might pull the level for the Democrat on Election Day, "If the race is tight, I'll vote for Kerry."

A swath of the Left felt the Greens were capitulating to the Democrats far too much. The Vermont Green Party broke ranks and endorsed Nader/Camejo. Cobb did not appear on the ballot there. In Utah the Greens experienced concerted activity to keep them off the ballot and Nader's supporters were accused of being complicit in that effort.

The ticket was on the ballot in 27 states + DC with enough Electors to theoretically win the Presidency with 270 electoral votes. An additional 14 states recorded write-in votes for the ticket. The Cobb/LaMarche team finished with their strongest popular vote percentages in: Connecticut 0.61%, Hawaii and Maine 0.40% each, Massachusetts 0.36%, Alaska 0.34%, California 0.33%, District of Columbia 0.32%, Rhode Island 0.30%, and Oregon 0.29%.

The Green Party Presidential popular vote result in 2004 is the nadir on the graph of their Electoral history. Get it?

Election history:
1998 - Governor of Maine (Green Independent Party) - defeated
2006 - Governor of Maine (Green Independent Party) - defeated

Other occupations: teacher, radio talk show host, DJ, columnist, author, novelist, lecturer

Notes:
1998 opponents included Angus King (winner).
Maternal grandparents were Irish immigrants.