Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche

 Moore and Maher beg Nader not to run in 2004

Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche, December 31, 1939 (New York, NY) – September 13, 2008 (Folsom, Calif.)

VP candidate for Independent (aka Populist Party aka Reform Party of the United States of America aka Better Life aka Peace and Justice Party aka Unaffiliated aka Independent Party of Delaware) (2004)

Running mate with nominee: Ralph Nader (b. 1934)
Popular vote: 235,856 (0.19%)
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.

Peter Camejo spent most of his early years in Venezuela, although he was born in New York.

Camejo had a long history as a worker for social justice issues. He had participated in one of the Selma civil rights marches in 1965. Two years later he was expelled from UC Berkeley for his demonstration activities. Gov. Ronald Reagan called him one of the ten most dangerous people in California because he was "present at all anti-war demonstrations." Camejo was also an activist for migrant farm workers' rights.

During this era Camejo's political vehicle was the Socialist Workers Party. He was their Presidential nominee in 1976. As the SWP became more rigid and some say cult-like as they assigned Party workers places to live and work and infiltrate, Camejo either quit or was expelled in 1980. "I tried to make changes inside the SWP, and it was very difficult. I guess it's like being in the Catholic Church and suggesting that Mary wasn't really a virgin or something," he later said.

He gravitated to the Green Party, supported Nader for President in 1996 and 2000, and by 2004 had already run twice as a Green for the office of California Governor, including in that wild 2003 recall election with 135 candidates.

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. Karen Sanchirico was the running-mate in Montana. Nader had no VP at all in 6 write-in slots.

Nader/Camejo cracked 1% in Alaska 1.62%, Vermont 1.44%, Utah 1.22%, North Dakota 1.20%, Wyoming 1.13%, South Dakota 1.11%, Maine 1.09%, and Rhode Island 1.06%.

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.

Shortly before his death in 2008, Camejo endorsed the Nader/Gonzalez ticket.

Election history:
1965 - New York City Council President (Socialist Workers Party) - defeated
1967 - Mayor of Berkeley, Calif. (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1976 - US President (Socialist Workers Party) - defeated
2002 - Governor of California (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2003 - Governor of California (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2004 - Green Party of the United States nomination for US President - defeated
2004 - Green Party of the United States nomination for US Vice-President - defeated
2006 - Governor of California (Green Party of the United States) - defeated

Other occupations: author, activist, stockbroker, Chief Executive Officer of Progressive Asset Management

Buried: ?

Notes:
One of his opponents in the 1967 election was Jerry Rubin.
Winner of the 2002 election was Gray Davis.
Winner of the 2003 election was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Camejo placed 4th in a field of 135
 candidates. I watched this amazing election from up north in Washington and was rooting for
 Georgina "Georgy" Russell.
The 2006 election included Arnold Schwarzenegger (winner), Art Olivier, Janice Jordan, and James
 Harris.
An accomplished yachtsman competing in the 1960 Olympics on behalf of Venezuela.
Full disclosure. I voted for Nader in 2000. Kerry in 2004.

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.

Janice Jordan

Janice Jordan, 1964 (Ojai, Calif.) -

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (2004)

Running mate with nominee: Leonard Peltier (b. 1944)
Popular vote: 27,607 (0.02%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In 1998, The Peace and Freedom Party of California lost their status as a ballot qualified party in California after failing to attain the minimum 2% vote requirement for any statewide candidate. But in 2003 after considerable effort they regained their ballot qualification. Having skipped the 2000 Presidential election, in 2004 they passed over independent Ralph Nader and Socialist Walter F. Brown to nominate Leonard Peltier.

Peltier, a Turtle Mountain Chippewa who was previously active in the American Indian Movement (AIM) had been in prison for almost three decades in 2004. He was convicted of aiding and abetting the 1975 shooting at point blank range of a couple of FBI agents at the Pine Ridge Reservation, SD. Peltier became a fugitive but was arrested a couple months later in Alberta. His case quickly drew controversy while gaining  supporters contending he is a political prisoner and the "Free Leonard Peltier" movement was born.

Agitation to create a Peltier Freedom Party and run him for President had been around even before the previous election in 2000 and disorganized write-in efforts had been promoted that year. Apparently there was some buzz in 2003 of the Peace and Freedom Party endorsing an all-convict ticket of Mumia Abu Jamal for President and Leonard Peltier for VP. Momentum had been building for Peltier to the point where in Feb. 2004 he selected his attorney Barry Bacharach as his running-mate which was serious enough that a button had even been produced.

In March 2004, the same month Peltier won the PFP Presidential primary, his civil rights lawsuit against the FBI for constructing an "officially sanctioned campaign of misinformation and disinformation" was dismissed. 

By the time of the convention on Aug. 1, 2004 Peltier was easily the choice but the Party substituted Bacharach with proven PFP candidate and activist Janice Jordan.

In an interview with Third Party Watch in 2006, Jordan explained how she gravitated to the Peace and Freedom Party--

In 1990, I witnessed the United States Congress declare "Operation Desert Shield" against a poor country, a country of people of color-Iraq. Looking at the sea of wealthy European-American male faces in Washington DC, many of whom were Democrats disgusted me. I grew up in a Democrat stronghold, however at that moment I knew the party wasn't for me anymore. I searched out another political party and I found the Peace & Freedom Party.

Jordan's statement of acceptance as the 2004 VP nominee mirrored the Party platform--

Statement by Janice Jordan

I am honored to be the Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peace and Freedom Party of California, the only socialist and feminist party with ballot status in the most populous state in the United States. I have lived in California all of my life, and been active from a very young age in social justice, human services and environmental issues.

The current situation of international violence and occupation could have been avoided through dialogue and diplomacy, approaches that Leonard Peltier and I take pride in as social justice and human rights advocates. There is only one political party in power (the Republicans and the Democrats) in the United States, and unfortunately diplomacy, justice, civil rights and human rights take a backstage to unregulated military spending, unchecked human rights violations and police crime. The United States is not a leader in democracy or freedom; it has alienated itself from the rest of the world and from many of its own people.

Over the years, I have worked to end the disproportionate incarceration of poor people and people of color; the rise of homelessness among women, men, children and families (especially veterans); rampant military spending; police brutality; and the environmental destruction of reservations. I continue to fight for low-cost housing availability, livable wages, free speech, free healthcare, access to higher education, social security safety for seniors, same-sex marriage rights, and medical marijuana, in coalition with local and national grassroots groups and organizations. Government policies to benefit the working-class and working poor should be a priority not a problem. Healthcare, education, jobs and a livable wage are rights, not privileges.

One or two people cannot cure the ills created over centuries of abuse and neglect. However, Leonard Peltier and I intend to listen to communities that have been overlooked and ignored, and to advocate that each person has the right to live a healthy, productive and safe life in the richest country in the world. Working for effective change will happen by voting your conscience, not your fear.

Only on the ballot in California, the Peltier/Jordan ticket finished with 0.22% of the popular vote in that state.

Election history:
1996 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
1998 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated
2000 - Mayor of San Diego, Calif. (Nonpartisan) - primary - defeated
2001 - San Diego (Calif.) City Council (Nonpartisan) - defeated
2006 - Governor of California (Peace and Freedom Party) - defeated

Other occupations: activist, writer, social worker, physical education teacher

Notes:
Winner of 1996 elections was Duncan Hunter.
Opponents in 2006 were Arnold Schwarzenegger (winner), Peter Camejo, James E. Harris, and Art
 Olivier.
Washington State trivia alert!!!-- Peltier was co-owner of an auto body shop in Seattle ca1965-1972.
 In July 2000 the Washington State Democratic Party passed a resolution in support of executive
 clemency for Peltier.

Ezola Broussard Foster

Below: Florida's "Butterfly Ballot"

Ezola Broussard Foster, August 9, 1938 (Maurice, La.) – May 22, 2018 (Boulder City, Nev.)

VP candidate for Reform Party of the United States of America (aka Independent aka American Party aka Citizens First aka Independence Party aka Right to Life Party aka Freedom Party) (2000)

Running mate with nominee: Patrick Joseph Buchanan (b. 1938)
Popular vote: 438,032 (0.42%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

"Truly to speak, and with no addition,
We go to gain a little patch of ground
That hath in it no profit but the name.
To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it."
--a military captain in Hamlet, attempting to explain the cause of a battle

The Reform Party had become low-hanging fruit for carpetbaggers in 2000. Thanks to Ross Perot's appeal and the hard work of his activists, the Party was at the turn of the century an organized network with (and here the starting gun for the political equivalent of the Oklahoma Land Rush  is fired) over $12 million in matching funds.

There were two potential candidates who had an honest claim to the nomination. Ross Perot himself declined to run. Jesse Ventura, who had made history when he was elected Governor of Minnesota as a member of the Reform Party in 1998, would also have been a legitimate contender if he had  wanted.

John Anderson, the former Republican who had run as an Independent for President in 1980 and Ron Paul the Republican who was also briefly a Libertarian when he ran for President under that banner in 1988, were also names that were bandied about as potential Reform Party nominees. Another name that had come up was Lowell Weicker, an ex-Republican who had served as Governor of Connecticut as a member of the independent Connecticut Party.

But when announcements were made there only three big names that were put forward: Donald Trump, John Hagelin, and Pat Buchanan.

Trump had been encouraged to run by Ventura. A Democrat until 1987, he had toyed with the idea of running for President as a Republican in 1988.  In 1999 Trump campaigned for the Reform Party nomination on a conservative platform but did endorse universal public health care and was more liberal on some social issues than he would be later in his political career. He said he wanted Oprah Winfrey as his running-mate. Roger Stone was his campaign director. By Feb. 2000 Ventura left the Reform Party and Trump withdrew from the race. Trump re-registered as a Democrat in 2001 and then as a Republican in 2009.

John Hagelin was running for President as the Natural Law Party nominee for the third election in a row. He was attempting to merge with the Reform Party and came close enough that his delegates from the latter party held their own convention. Unfortunately for Hagelin, the courts sided with Buchanan but that didn't stop the NLP candidate from sometimes showing up on ballots under the Reform Party label. In some states both Buchanan and Hagelin were on the ballot under the Reform Party name.

In 1992 and 1996 Ross Perot tended to avoid taking strong stands on cultural or social issues that created deep divisions among Americans. His main focus was economic. Pat Buchanan, on the other hand, had established himself as a Right wing "cultural warrior" when he ran for the Republican nomination for President in 1992 and 1996. When he began his campaign for President as a member of the Reform Party, he changed the entire premise for the existence of the organization, making it more of an affluent version of the Constitution Party in 2000. Rather than attempting to unite people with issues they had in common, Buchanan hammered away on divisive hot button social problems such as opposing abortion, Gay rights, Affirmative Action. He held views some called racist on non-white immigration. Using the slogan "America First" (which had previously been employed by fascist sympathizer, anti-Semite, white supremacist, and Holocaust denier Gerald L.K. Smith in his Presidential campaign), Buchanan offered no original ideas that were not already in the platforms of other Right wing political parties concerning foreign relations or the economy.

In spite of this he was able to elicit the support of former New Alliance Party Presidential candidate Lenora Fulani (later withdrawn) as well as future Socialist nominee Brian Moore. Klansman David Duke also hopped on board the Buchanan campaign, as well as members of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, bringing a contingent of White Nationalist support.

In New York he ran under the banner of the Right to Life Party and in Colorado under the American Party.

After considering James P. Hoffa and others, Buchanan selected Ezola Foster, one of his co-chairs from the 1996 campaign. The California-based Foster had made a name for herself as an extremely conservative African American activist. Foster was known for her views against immigration, abortion, and Gay rights. She defended the display of the Confederate flag. She said God brought slaves from Africa to America so "their descendants would know freedom." Her placement on the ticket confused several of Buchanan's more racist followers.

Foster became a controversial pick. Her membership with the John Birch Society was more than simply carrying the card, she was also part of their lecture circuit talent pool. She described the civil rights movement as a "revenge and reparations movement" and didn't think segregation was really all that bad even though she grew up in Louisiana as part of the oppressed community. Rev. Jesse Jackson and his ilk were "Leninist race-baiters" according to Foster.

Foster said "government schools," i.e. public education, were "socialist training camps." She opposed AIDS education in schools because she felt it promoted homosexuality. Foster was outspoken and hardline about illegal immigrant children. As a high school teacher she said she was persecuted for her conservative beliefs and was forced to accept worker's compensation 1996-1998 until she retired because of stress. She later said the "mental disorder" claim was faked but reporters uncovered she had suffered from depression since the 1970s and had recently been prescribed antidepressants.

The Buchanan/Foster team alienated many of the veteran Reform Party members including Perot himself. The 2000 ticket generally placed 4th around the country, behind Ralph Nader and the Greens. In Oklahoma and South Dakota they placed third but in both cases Nader was not on the ballot. There were 45 states with Foster as the VP. In Massachusetts for some reason the running-mate was William J. Higgins Sr., in Oregon no VP was apparently listed, and in Michigan Buchanan was a write-in.

Top results for Buchanan/Foster ticket: North Dakota 2.53%, Alaska 1.82%, Idaho 1.52%, Montana 1.39%, Wyoming 1.25%, Utah 1.21%, South Dakota 1.05%, Minnesota 0.91%, Louisiana-Arizona 0.81% each, Arkansas 0.80%, Nevada 0.78%, Indiana 0.77%.

On Election Day the notorious Florida "butterfly ballot" was thought to be partly responsible for taking votes away from Al Gore and giving them to Pat Buchanan.

By the 2004 election Pat Buchanan was back in the Republican camp, leaving the Reform Party in a state of wreckage. Foster ran for US Congress in 2001 as a member of the Reform Party but in 2002 joined the American Independent Party, explaining, "I'm a Constitutionalist, and it's the only party that recognizes the kingship of Jesus Christ. I'm 100% for that."

Election history:
197- - California State Assembly (Democratic) - defeated
1984 - California State Assembly (Republican) - primary - defeated
1986 - California State Assembly (Republican) - defeated
2001 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Reform Party of the United States of America) - defeated

Other occupations: high school teacher, author, President of Black Americans for Family Values, lecturer

Buried: Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery (Boulder City, Nev.)

Notes:
Catholic
Winner of the 1984 and 1986 races was Maxine Waters.

Arthur Charles Olivier

Arthur Charles Olivier, August 24, 1957 (Lynnwood, Calif.) - 

VP candidate for Libertarian Party (aka Independent) (2000)

Running mate with nominee: Harry Edson Browne (1933-2006)
Popular vote: 384,532 (0.36%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Harry Browne, the 1996 Presidential nominee of the Party, was making a try in 2000 as well. Although Browne was viewed as part of the Establishment Libertarians (for want of a better term) he still had some spirited challengers within the LP. It didn't help that some of the divisions from 1996 had erupted into outright civil war four years later. Accusations of conspiracies and unethical behavior directed toward the Party leaders and staff by the insurgents flew thick and fast. It was the first time the LP ever had the same nominee for two consecutive elections.

Browne would emerge as the official choice of the Party. In an equally spirited contest, Art Olivier was chosen by the Party as the running-mate. The Party was experiencing a bit of civil war and the Arizona chapter went so far as to nominate their own Presidential ticket of L. Neil Smith and Vin Suprynowicz.

Although his position was officially nonpartisan, Olivier was one of the few Libertarians to have actually been elected to public office. As a member of the Bellflower (Calif.) City Council and later Mayor, he was given a real life opportunity to put some of his political philosophy into practice, mainly in efforts to privatize government services and cut taxes.

The 2000 campaign seemed to generate more drama and interest within the Party itself than with the voters on the outside. The Libertarian Party was experiencing the inevitable growing pains of an expanding organization. Nearly 30 years old in 2000 and with a fairly consistent platform in all that time, it was obvious they were here to stay and it was now taken for granted they would be on the ballot of most, if not all the states in Presidential elections.

The Libertarian Party popular vote in 2000 was not the lowest point in their Electoral history but it was still a disappointment from Browne's stated goal of a million votes. In all fairness they were up against two other third party candidates with star power, Ralph Nader of the Greens and Pat Buchanan of the Reform Party. On the ballot in 49 states, the Browne/Olivier top results were: Georgia 1.40% (they placed third), Alaska 0.92%, Colorado 0.73%, Indiana 0.71%, Idaho 0.70%, Wyoming 0.66%, Massachusetts 0.61%, Virginia 0.55%, Nevada 0.54%, Washington-South Dakota-Oklahoma 0.53% each.

Olivier's political career became more interesting after he ran for VP. He made two attempts for Governor of California as a Libertarian, but in 2007 changed his registration to Republican in order to support Ron Paul in the Presidential primaries. In his most recent campaign, for California Assembly, he switched to running as a Democrat in 2010.

He became a 9/11 Truther and produced a motion picture entitled Operation Terror (2012) outlining his vision of how the 2001 terror attacks took place.

In 2013 Olivier stated the Boston Marathon Bombing was a staged event. It seems he regarded the Ukraine crash and Sandy Hook as false flag happenings as well.

Olivier wanted to make a movie about (Washington State trivia alert!!) Rachel Corrie in 2014 and went to Iran to seek funding because, as he told an Iranian journalist in an interview: "The movie houses are owned by Jewish entrepreneurs and many of them are Zionists." In the same interview he also said "America was founded by Freemasons" ... "Largely Jewish groups own the media" ... "You still have freedom of speech in the United States as long as too many people don't hear it" ... suggested Andrew Breitbart's untimely death was possibly a murder by some intelligence agency ... and, said there was an attempt on his life when he was a Bellflower City Councilperson but did not go into detail.

At the same time as the above mentioned interview he attended the 2nd International New Horizon Conference in Tehran, a gathering devoted to exposing the "Zionist control" of US media and politics. Among the attendees were other 9/11 Truthers, as well as a host of other conspiracy theorists.

As recently as Oct. 2019 Olivier gave an interview where he expressed a complex and esoteric cosmic view involving secret societies, the planet Niburu, the End Times, Ley Lines, numerology, Sandy Hook, secrets of Fátima, the Second Coming, astrology, the Great Tribulation begins May 9, 2020, and on Jan. 20, 2023 a third of all mankind will be killed probably in a nuclear war, the Illuminati, Saturn worship, Israel could be nuked Dec. 25, 2021, Stonehenge, the Pyramids of Egypt, quantum levitation, UFOs, and the Denver Airport.

A look at Olivier's recent Facebook entries has examples of how he views Covid-19 through the same esoteric lens.

Election history:
1990 - California State Assembly (Libertarian Party) - defeated
1992 - Bellflower (Calif.) City Council (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1994-1997 - Bellflower (Calif.) City Council (Nonpartisan)
1998-1999 - Mayor of Bellflower, Calif. (Nonpartisan)
2002 - Governor of California (Libertarian Party) - primary - defeated
2006 - Governor of California (Libertarian Party) - defeated
2010 - California State Assembly (Democratic) - primary - defeated

Other occupations: engineer, realtor, freelance Internet web site developer, film producer, screenwriter

Notes:
Was a write-in in the 2002 election.
2006 opponents included Arnold Schwarzenegger (winner), Peter Camejo, and James E. Harris
In case you were wondering about a conflict of interest here I am not the same Steve Willis who
 served as Harry Browne's Road Manager. The other Steve Willis also apparently lives here in the
 Pacific Northwest these days, down in Portland (PNW trivia alert!!)

Islara Boixados Souto

Islara Boixados Souto, December 2, 1952 -

VP candidate for Green Party (1996)

Running mate with nominee: Ralph Nader (b. 1934)
Popular vote: 4,101 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Using the term "Green Party" as a national political entity applied to the situation in 1996 is a bit misleading. Rather than a centralized and unified juggernaut, Ralph Nader's Presidential run in this year was not really nationally managed or coordinated in the traditional way. The Green Party of this era consisted of a confederation of local groups, some of them actually in serious conflict with each other including two groups that were in contention for the actual "Green Party" mantle.

Drafted by a confederation of groups, Ralph Nader did not swear to fight for the platform of any specific group and declared himself an independent. But he still showed up on most ballots next to a party name, usually with the word "Green" in it.

He told a Green convention that endorsed him in California in Aug. 1996:

Many Americans who call themselves liberals have so lowered their expectations about what politics can mean to this nation's future that they are settling for diminishing returns. Politics has been corrupted not just by money but by being trivialized out of addressing the great, enduring issues of who controls, who decides, who owns, who pays, who has a voice and access, and why solutions available on the shelf are not applied to the existing and looming crises of our society, both local and global.

One thing politicians do understand is rejection. When voters are deciding how they wish to use their vote, they should ask themselves how best to send a clear message. The Greens and other progressives are in the early building stages of a people-first, democratic political movement for future years. They deserve our attention because they are centering on the basic issues of representative government, one of whose purposes is to strengthen the usable tools of democracy, the other, in Thomas Jefferson's prophetic words, is "to curb the excesses of the monied interests."

Although not quite as confusing as attempting to identify Eugene McCarthy's running-mates in 1976, nailing down Nader's VP in 1996 isn't easy. His own selection was Winona LaDuke and she is generally recognized as the official person in that role. But there were stand-ins as well, such as Anne E.R. Goeke on the ballot in Iowa and Vermont, Madelyn R. Hoffman in New Jersey, and Muriel Tillinghast in New York. In Florida, where Nader was a write-in, Islara Boixados Souto was considered the running-mate.

Richard Walton (1984 Citizens Party VP) was a stand-in in Rhode Island until replaced by LaDuke. Some sources claim other stand-ins were Krista Paradise in Colorado, Bill Boteler in DC, and Deborah Howes in Oregon but I have not found any primary documents confirming those names as VPs. In a few other states Nader did not have a running-mate.

In Florida the Nader backers failed to acquire the required number of signatures to obtain a place on the ballot but they did earn a certified write-in candidate status with Islara Souto, Tallahassee coordinator for the Green Party, as the running-mate.

In terms of election results, Ross Perot's entry in the contest muddies the waters a bit, but Nader still had an impressive 4th place finish with 685,435 popular votes (0.71%). He cracked over 1% in 16 states + DC. The Nader/Souto ticket won 0.08% of the popular vote in Florida. Four years later Nader's results in Florida would become a controversy that is still debated to this day.

Election history: none

Other occupations: medical writer, actress, literary and business translator, wellness coach, public health advocate, consultant

Notes:
Parents were from Spain
Also known as Islara Souto Linn
Raised in Tennessee.

Muriel K. Tillinghast

Muriel K. Tillinghast, January 21, 1943 (Washington, DC) -

VP candidate for Green Party (1996)

Running mate with nominee: Ralph Nader (b. 1934)
Popular vote: 75,956 (0.08%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Using the term "Green Party" as a national political entity applied to the situation in 1996 is a bit misleading. Rather than a centralized and unified juggernaut, Ralph Nader's Presidential run in this year was not really nationally managed or coordinated in the traditional way. The Green Party of this era consisted of a confederation of local groups, some of them actually in serious conflict with each other including two groups that were in contention for the actual "Green Party" mantle.

Drafted by a confederation of groups, Ralph Nader did not swear to fight for the platform of any specific group and declared himself an independent. But he still showed up on most ballots next to a party name, usually with the word "Green" in it.

He told a Green convention that endorsed him in California in Aug. 1996:

Many Americans who call themselves liberals have so lowered their expectations about what politics can mean to this nation's future that they are settling for diminishing returns. Politics has been corrupted not just by money but by being trivialized out of addressing the great, enduring issues of who controls, who decides, who owns, who pays, who has a voice and access, and why solutions available on the shelf are not applied to the existing and looming crises of our society, both local and global.

One thing politicians do understand is rejection. When voters are deciding how they wish to use their vote, they should ask themselves how best to send a clear message. The Greens and other progressives are in the early building stages of a people-first, democratic political movement for future years. They deserve our attention because they are centering on the basic issues of representative government, one of whose purposes is to strengthen the usable tools of democracy, the other, in Thomas Jefferson's prophetic words, is "to curb the excesses of the monied interests."

Although not quite as confusing as attempting to identify Eugene McCarthy's running-mates in 1976, nailing down Nader's VP in 1996 isn't easy. His own selection was Winona LaDuke and she is generally recognized as the official person in that role. But there were stand-ins as well, such as Anne E.R. Goeke on the ballot in Iowa and Vermont, Madelyn R. Hoffman in New Jersey, and Muriel Tillinghast in New York. In Florida, where Nader was a write-in, Islara Boixados Souto was considered the running-mate.

Richard Walton (1984 Citizens Party VP) was a stand-in in Rhode Island until replaced by LaDuke. Some sources claim other stand-ins were Krista Paradise in Colorado, Bill Boteler in DC, and Deborah Howes in Oregon but I have not found any primary documents confirming those names as VPs. In a few other states Nader did not have a running-mate.

Muriel Tillinghast, Nader's VP in New York where she lived, had joined the Greens early in 1996. She had a long history as a civil rights activist dating back to the early 1960s including with SNCC operations in Mississippi. In her career she also worked with prisoners, AIDS victims, and tenants rights.

Late in the campaign she had applied for the position of Superintendent of the Syracuse, NY school system. Apparently the hiring authorities were unaware she was a VP with Nader until right before the interview (she didn't get the job).

In terms of election results, Ross Perot's entry in the contest muddies the waters a bit, but Nader still had an impressive 4th place finish with 685,435 popular votes (0.71%). He cracked over 1% in 16 states + DC. The Nader/Tillinghast ticket won 1.20% of the popular vote in the Empire State.

Election history: none

Other occupations: social activist, operations manager with Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Notes:
Lutheran
Supported Obama in 2008 and Sanders in 2016.

Madelyn R. Hoffman

Madelyn R. Hoffman, November 8, 1956 (Englewood, NJ) -

VP candidate for Independent (aka Green Party) (1996)

Running mate with nominee: Ralph Nader (b. 1934)
Popular vote: 32,465 (0.03%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Using the term "Green Party" as a national political entity applied to the situation in 1996 is a bit misleading. Rather than a centralized and unified juggernaut, Ralph Nader's Presidential run in this year was not really nationally managed or coordinated in the traditional way. The Green Party of this era consisted of a confederation of local groups, some of them actually in serious conflict with each other including two groups that were in contention for the actual "Green Party" mantle.

Drafted by a confederation of groups, Ralph Nader did not swear to fight for the platform of any specific group and declared himself an independent. But he still showed up on most ballots next to a party name, usually with the word "Green" in it.

He told a Green convention that endorsed him in California in Aug. 1996:

Many Americans who call themselves liberals have so lowered their expectations about what politics can mean to this nation's future that they are settling for diminishing returns. Politics has been corrupted not just by money but by being trivialized out of addressing the great, enduring issues of who controls, who decides, who owns, who pays, who has a voice and access, and why solutions available on the shelf are not applied to the existing and looming crises of our society, both local and global.

One thing politicians do understand is rejection. When voters are deciding how they wish to use their vote, they should ask themselves how best to send a clear message. The Greens and other progressives are in the early building stages of a people-first, democratic political movement for future years. They deserve our attention because they are centering on the basic issues of representative government, one of whose purposes is to strengthen the usable tools of democracy, the other, in Thomas Jefferson's prophetic words, is "to curb the excesses of the monied interests."

Although not quite as confusing as attempting to identify Eugene McCarthy's running-mates in 1976, nailing down Nader's VP in 1996 isn't easy. His own selection was Winona LaDuke and she is generally recognized as the official person in that role. But there were stand-ins as well, such as Anne E.R. Goeke on the ballot in Iowa and Vermont, Madelyn R. Hoffman in New Jersey, and Muriel Tillinghast in New York. In Florida, where Nader was a write-in, Islara Boixados Souto was considered the running-mate.

Richard Walton (1984 Citizens Party VP) was a stand-in in Rhode Island until replaced by LaDuke. Some sources claim other stand-ins were Krista Paradise in Colorado, Bill Boteler in DC, and Deborah Howes in Oregon but I have not found any primary documents confirming those names as VPs. In a few other states Nader did not have a running-mate.

Madelyn Hoffman, Nader's running-mate in New Jersey, had worked as an environmentalist activist for almost two decades before being drafted as the VP. It appears she was not involved with the Green Party prior to 1996 but subsequently remained connected for the rest of her political career.

In terms of election results, Ross Perot's entry in the contest muddies the waters a bit, but Nader still had an impressive 4th place finish with 685,435 popular votes (0.71%). He cracked over 1% in 16 states + DC. The Nader/Hoffman ticket earned 1.06% of the popular vote in the Garden State.

Election history:
1997 - Governor of New Jersey (Green Party) - defeated
1998 - US House of Representatives (NJ) (Green Party) - defeated
2018 - US Senate (NJ) (Green Party of the United States) - defeated
2020 - US Senate (NJ) (Green Party of the United States) - pending

Other occupations: teacher, Director - Grass Roots Environmental Organization, Executive Director - New Jersey Peace Action

Notes:
Opponents in 1997 included Christine Todd Whitman (winner) and James E. McGreevey.