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.

Anne E.R. Goeke

Anne E.R. Goeke, January 26, 1955 (Paris, France) -

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

Running mate with nominee: Ralph Nader (b. 1934)
Popular vote: 12,135 (0.01%)
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.

Goeke's father was French, but mother was American. Although born in Paris, she was an American citizen and still would have been eligible to hold office in the event of a Nader/Goeke victory although no doubt there would have been a Constitutional challenge from opponents. At the time of the 1996 election, she was a Green activist in Pennsylvania. Early in the campaign season she was sometimes mentioned as the "official" 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/Goeke ticket earned 2.16% of the popular vote in Vermont, and 0.53% in Iowa.

Election history:
2000 - Pennsylvania Auditor General (Green Party) - defeated

Other occupations: cofounder Women in Black (Lancaster, Penn.), cofounder Earth Rights Institute, poet, artist, activist

Notes:
She was born Anne de la Bouillerie.
Niece of actor Walter Matthau.

Richard John Walton

Richard John Walton, May 24, 1928 (Saratoga Springs, NY) – December 27, 2012 (Providence, RI)

VP candidate for Citizens Party (aka Independent aka Citizens Group) (1984)

Running mate with nominee: Sonia Johnson (b. 1936)
Popular vote: 24,236 (0.03%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In their second, and final, national election the Citizens Party selected Sonia Johnson as the standard bearer. Johnson had an inner conflict to reconcile-- she was a devout Mormon but also passionate about the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Naturally as her ERA activism increased and she became critical of the Church she found herself excommunicated. To some she was a heretic, to others a heroine.

Barry Commoner, the 1980 Presidential nominee, endorsed Rev. Jesse Jackson in the 1984 Democratic primaries, a move that many felt took the wind out of the sails of this new third party. Another major hurdle for the 1984 campaign was that the Party was still paying off the debt from the 1980 effort.

There were three running-mates for Johnson in 1984. Richard Walton was the official VP nominee on the ballot or certified write-in in 21 states. In California Johnson had won the primary for the Peace and Freedom Party (which included defeating Dennis Serrette of the New Alliance Party and Gavrielle Holmes of the Workers World Party) and her running-mate there was Emma Wong Mar. In Pennsylvania under the banner of the Consumer Party her VP was Bill Thorn.

In addition to the Peace and Freedom Party and the Consumer Party there was another major player. The Socialist Party of the United States of America decided not run a ticket in 1984 and endorsed the Citizens Party.

Although the Citizens Party had a generally progressive platform and was comprised of the largest confederation of Leftist parties in 1984, Johnson's campaign understandably made feminist issues the central focus. Like many other third party efforts, the Johnson/Walton ticket made more news about legal challenges concerning inclusion in the debates and ballot placement than they did in promoting their issues.

The popular vote was almost evenly split three ways among the VPs. Nationally the Party grossed 72,161 votes (0.08%), a considerable decline from their 1980 performance. Interesting that 2/3 of the result came from California and Pennsylvania where they ran under the names of their host parties. The ticket with Walton did contain their highest percentage, 0.56% in Louisiana, where they actually placed third. Johnson/Walton's next highest percentages came from Utah 0.13%, North Dakota 0.12%, Arkansas and Vermont 0.11% each, and Washington 0.10%.

The Citizens Party evaporated shortly after the election. Or did it? In hindsight we see they served as a forerunner of today's Green Party, America's 4th largest political party. Walton himself become one of those who was part of forming the Green Party.

Election history: none

Other occupations: US Navy, disc jockey, journalist, author, teacher, union activist, activist for the homeless

Buried: ?

Notes:
Worked for Adlai Stevenson 1952 and 1956, and for George McGovern 1972.
Later joined the Green Party and was a 1996 Rhode Island temporary stand-in for VP nominee
 Winona LaDuke.