The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States.[10] The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; grassroots democracy; anti-war; anti-racism. As of 2023, it is the fourth-largest political party in the United States by voter registration, behind the Libertarian Party.[11]

Quick Facts Co-chairs, Governing body ...
Green Party of the United States
Co-chairs
  • Craig Cayetano (NJ)
  • Darryl Moch (DC)
  • Alfred Molison (TX)
  • Tony Ndege (NC)
  • Margaret Elisabeth (WA)
  • Tamar Yager (VA)
  • Joseph Naham (NY)
Governing bodyGreen National Committee
FoundersHowie Hawkins
John Rensenbrink
Founded1984 (as Committees of Correspondence)
2001 (as the Green Party of the United States)[1]
Split fromGreens/Green Party USA
Preceded byAssociation of State Green Parties
HeadquartersTakoma Park, Maryland
Membership (2024)Increase 244,006[2]
IdeologyGreen politics
Progressivism[3]
Eco-socialism[4][5]
Political positionLeft-wing[6] to far-left[7]
Colors  Green
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Seats in the House of Representatives
0 / 435
State governorships
0 / 50
Seats in state upper chambers
0 / 1,972
Seats in state lower chambers
0 / 5,411
Territorial governorships
0 / 5
Seats in territorial upper chambers
0 / 97
Seats in territorial lower chambers
0 / 91
Other elected officials
143 / 519,682
[8][9]
Election symbol
Website
www.gp.org Edit this at Wikidata
Close

The direct predecessor of the GPUS was the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP). In the late 1990s, the ASGP, which formed in 1996,[12] had increasingly distanced itself from the Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA),[13] America's then-primary green organization which had formed in 1991 out of the Green Committees of Correspondence, a collection of local green groups active since 1984.[14] In 2001, the GPUS was officially founded as the ASGP split from the G/GPUSA. After its founding, the GPUS soon became the primary national green organization in the country, surpassing the G/GPUSA. John Rensenbrink and Howie Hawkins were co-founders of the Green Party.[15]

The Greens (as ASGP) first gained widespread public attention during the 2000 presidential election, when the ticket composed of Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke won 2.7% of the popular vote, raising questions as to whether they spoiled the election in favor of George W. Bush.[16][17][18][19] Nader has dismissed the notion that he and other Green candidates are spoilers.[20] The US Green Party is no longer a member of the global organization of green parties in part due to its ties to authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin.[21]

History

Early years

The political movement that began in 1985 as the decentralized Committees of Correspondence[22][23] evolved into a more centralized structure by 1990, opening a national clearinghouse and forming governing bodies, bylaws and a platform as the Green Committees of Correspondence[23] and by 1990 simply The Greens. The organization conducted grassroots organizing efforts, educational activities and electoral campaigns.

Internal divisions arose between members who saw electoral politics as ultimately corrupting and supported the notion of an "anti-party party" formed by Petra Kelly and other leaders of the Greens in Germany[24] vs. those who saw electoral strategies as a crucial engine of social change. A struggle for the direction of the organization culminated in a "compromise agreement", ratified in 1990 at the Greens National Congress in Elkins, West Virginia and in which both strategies would be accommodated within the same 527 political organization renamed the Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA). It was recognized by the FEC as a national political party in 1991.

The compromise agreement subsequently collapsed and two Green Party organizations co-existed in the United States until 2019 when the Greens/Green Party USA was dissolved. The Green Politics Network was organized in 1990 and the National Association of Statewide Green Parties formed by 1994. Divisions between those pressing to break onto the national political stage and those aiming to grow roots at the local level continued to widen during the 1990s. The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) encouraged and backed Nader's presidential runs in 1996 and 2000. By 2001, the push to separate electoral activity from the G/GPUSA issue-based organizing led to the Boston Proposal and the subsequent rise of the Green Party of the United States. The G/GPUSA lost most of its affiliates in the next few months and dropped its FEC national party status in the year 2005.

Structure and composition

Committees

The Green Party has two national committees recognized by the Federal Election Commission (FEC):

Green National Committee

The GNC is composed of delegates elected by affiliated state parties. The state parties also appoint delegates to serve on the various standing committees of the GNC. The National Committee elects a steering committee of seven co-chairs, a secretary and a treasurer to oversee daily operations. The National Committee performs most of its business online, but it also holds an annual national meeting to conduct business in person.[26]

Caucuses

Five Identity Caucuses have achieved representation on the GNC:

Other caucuses have worked toward formal recognition by the GNC:

Ideology

Values

The Green Party of the United States follows the ideals of green politics, which are based on the Four Pillars, namely:[36][23]

  1. Ecological wisdom,
  2. Social justice,
  3. Grassroots democracy, and
  4. Nonviolence.

The Ten Key Values, which expand upon the Four Pillars, are as follows:[37][23]

  1. Grassroots democracy,
  2. Social justice and equal opportunity,
  3. Ecological wisdom,
  4. Nonviolence,
  5. Decentralization,
  6. Community-based economics,
  7. Feminism and gender equity,
  8. Respect for diversity,
  9. Personal and global responsibility, and
  10. Future focus and sustainability.

The Green Party doesn't accept donations from corporations, political action committees (PACs), 527(c) organizations or soft money. The party's platforms and rhetoric harshly criticize corporate influence and control over government, media, and society at large.[38]

Eco-socialism

In 2016, the Green Party passed a motion in favor of rejecting both capitalism and state socialism, supporting instead an "alternative economic system based on ecology and decentralization of power".[39] The motion states the change that the party says could be described as promoting "ecological socialism", "communalism", or perhaps the "cooperative commonwealth".[39] The Green Party rejection of both state socialism and capitalism and their promotion of communalism which was created by libertarian socialist Murray Bookchin places the Green Party into the ideology of libertarian socialism.[40] The eco-socialist economy the Green Party of the United States wants to create is similar to the market socialist mutualist economics of Proudhon which consists of a large sector of democratically controlled public enterprises, a large sector of cooperative enterprises, and a smaller sector of small businesses and self-employed.[41][42] Consumer goods and services would be sold to consumers in the market by cooperatives, public enterprises, and small businesses.[41] Services that would be for free include health care, education, child care, and urban mass transit. Goods and services that would be available at low cost would include public housing, power, broadband, and water.[41] Howie Hawkins who was nominated by the Green Party to run for president of the United States in 2020 identifies as a libertarian socialist.[43]

Political positions

Economic and social issues

Healthcare

The Green Party supports the implementation of a single-payer healthcare system and the abolition of private health insurance in the United States.[44] They have also called for contraception and abortion procedures to be available on demand.[45] The Green Party has called for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, an act that prohibits the use of federal taxpayer funds for abortions, unless in the cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.[44]

Education

The Green Party calls for providing tuition-free college at public universities and vocational schools, increasing funding for after-school and daycare programs, cancelling all student loan debt, and repealing the No Child Left Behind Act. They are strongly against the dissolution of public schools and the privatization of education.[46]

Green New Deal

In 2006, the Green Party developed a Green New Deal that would ultimately serve as a transitional plan to a 100% clean, renewable energy including solar and wind energy by 2030 utilizing a carbon tax, jobs guarantee, tuition-free college, single-payer healthcare and a focus on using public programs.[47][48]

Howie Hawkins focused his gubernatorial campaign on the Green New Deal, which was the first time the policy was introduced.[49] Jill Stein also developed her presidential campaign based on the Green New Deal.[50]

Criminal justice

The Green Party favors the abolition of the death penalty, repeal of three-strikes laws, banning of private prisons, legalization of marijuana, and decriminalization of other drugs.[51]

Racial justice

The Green Party advocates for "complete and full" reparations to the African American community, as well the removal of the Confederate flag from all government buildings.[52]

LGBT+ rights

The party supports same-sex marriage, the right of access to medical and surgical treatment for transgender and gender-nonconforming people, and withdrawing foreign aid to countries with poor LGBT+ rights records. The party opposes gender-critical feminism.[52]

Youth rights

The party supports youth rights. They reject the idea that young people are property of their parents or guardians. They support providing mothers with prenatal care. They oppose child abuse and neglect and support young people's rights to food, shelter, healthcare, and education. They support greater student input into their education and sex education and oppose advertisements in schools. They support lowering the voting age to 16.[52]

Fundraising and position on Super PACs

In the early decades of Green organizing in the United States, the prevailing American system of money-dominated elections was universally rejected by Greens, so that some Greens were reluctant to have Greens participate in the election system at all because they deemed the campaign finance system inherently corrupt. Other Greens felt strongly that the Green Party should develop in the electoral arena and many of these Greens felt that adopting an alternative model of campaign finance, emphasizing self-imposed contribution limits, would present a wholesome and attractive contrast to the odious campaign finance practices of the money-dominated major parties.[citation needed]

Over the years, some state Green parties have come to place less emphasis on the principle of self-imposed limits than they did in the past. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that Green Party fundraising (for candidates' campaigns and for the party itself) still tends to rely on relatively small contributions and that Greens generally decry not only the rise of the Super PACs, but also the big-money system, which some Greens criticize as plutocracy.[citation needed]

Some Greens feel that the Green Party's position should be simply to follow the laws and regulations of campaign finance.[53] Other Greens argue that it would injure the Green Party not to practice a principled stand against the anti-democratic influence of money in the political process. Candidates for office, like Jill Stein, the 2012[54] and 2016 Green Party nominee for the President of the United States, typically rely on smaller donations to fund their campaigns.[citation needed]

Foreign policy

The Green Party calls on the United States to join the International Criminal Court, and sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and Non-Proliferation Treaty. Additionally, it supports cutting the defense budget in half, as well as prohibiting all arms sales to foreign countries.[55]

The Green Party supports the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to decrease sanctions while limiting Iran's capacity to make nuclear weapons.[56]

The Green Party advocates for the Palestinian right of return and cutting all U.S. aid to Israel. It has also expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.[57] The Green Party supports "...the creation of one secular, democratic state for Palestinians and Israelis on the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan as the national home of both peoples, with Jerusalem as its capital."[58]

The Green Party called for a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war and condemned Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip.[59][60]

Membership

More information Party, Percentage (2022) ...
Registered voters
Party Percentage (2022)[61]
Democratic 38.73%
Republican 29.6%
Libertarian 0.6%
Green 0.19%
Constitution 0.11%
Close

The Green Party's membership encompasses the fourth-highest percentage of registered voters in the United States, with a total membership of 234,120.[61] The Green Party has its strongest popular support on the Pacific Coast, Upper Great Lakes, and Northeast, as reflected in the geographical distribution of Green candidates elected.[62] As of June 2007, Californians have elected 55 of the 226 office-holding Greens nationwide. Other states with high numbers of Green elected officials include Pennsylvania (31), Wisconsin (23), Massachusetts (18) and Maine (17). Maine has the highest per capita number of Green elected officials in the country and the largest Green registration percentage with more than 29,273 Greens comprising 2.95% of the electorate as of November 2006.[63] Madison, Wisconsin is the city with the most Green elected officials (8), followed by Portland, Maine (7).

Thumb
Membership in the Green Party of the United States by year (1986–2020)

The 2016 presidential campaign of Jill Stein got substantive support from counties and precincts with a high percentage of Native American population. For instance, in Sioux County (North Dakota, 84.1% Native American), Stein gained her best county-wide result: 10.4% of the votes. In Rolette County (also North Dakota, 77% Native American), she got 4.7% of the votes. Other majority Native American counties where Stein did above state average are Menominee (WI), Roosevelt (MT) and several precincts in Alaska.[64][65]

At its peak in 2004, the Green Party had 319,000 registered members in states allowing party registration and tens of thousands of members and contributors in the rest of the country.[66][67]

State and territorial parties

The following is a list of accredited state parties which comprise the Green Party of the United States.[68]

List of national conventions and annual meetings

The Green National Convention is scheduled in presidential election years and the Annual National Meeting is scheduled in other years.[70] The Green National Committee conducts business online between these in-person meetings.

Officeholders

Thumb
Musician Jello Biafra ran for the Green Party's presidential nomination in 2000, and has run for other offices with the Green Party
Thumb
Malik Rahim, former Black Panther Party activist, ran for Congress in 2008 with the Green Party
Thumb
2012, 2016 and 2024 Green presidential nominee, Jill Stein, served from 2005 to 2010 as a member of Lexington's Town Meeting

As of July 2024, 143 officeholders in the United States were affiliated with the Green Party.[8] The party has not had any representation in federal or statewide offices.[71]

Previously in 2016, the majority of them were in California, several in Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, with five or fewer in ten other states. These included one mayor and one deputy mayor and fourteen county or city commissioners (or equivalent). The remainder were members of school boards, clerks and other local administrative bodies and positions.[72]

Several Green Party members have been elected to state-level office, though not always as affiliates of the party. John Eder was elected to the Maine House of Representatives, re-elected in 2004, but defeated in 2006. Audie Bock was elected to the California State Assembly in 1999, but switched her registration to independent seven months later[73] running as such in the 2000 election.[74] Richard Carroll was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2008, but switched parties to become a Democrat five months after his election.[75] Fred Smith was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2012,[76] but re-registered as a Democrat in 2014.[77] In 2010, former Green Party leader Ben Chipman was elected to the Maine House of Representatives as an unenrolled candidate and was re-elected in 2012 and 2014. He has since registered as a Democrat, and is serving in the Maine Senate.[78][79]

Gayle McLaughlin was twice elected mayor of Richmond, California, defeating two Democrats in 2006[80] and then reelected in 2010; and elected to City Council in 2014 after completing her second term as mayor.[81] With a population of over 100,000 people, it was the largest American city with a Green mayor. Fairfax, California; Arcata, California; Sebastopol, California; and New Paltz, New York are the only towns in the United States to have had a Green Party majority in their town councils. Twin Ridges Elementary in Nevada County, California held the first Green Party majority school board in the United States.[82]

On September 21, 2017, Ralph Chapman, a member of the Maine House of Representatives, switched his party registration from unaffiliated to Green, providing the Green Party with their first state-level representative since 2014.[83] Henry John Bear became a member of the Green Party in the same year as Chapman, giving the Maine Green Independent Party and GPUS its second currently-serving state representative, though Bear is a nonvoting tribal member of the Maine House of Representatives.

Though several Green congressional candidates have topped 20%, no nominee of the Green Party has been elected to office in the federal government. In 2016, Mark Salazar set a new record for a Green Party nominee for Congress. Running in the Arizona 8th district against incumbent Republican Congressman Trent Franks, Salazar received 93,954 votes or 31.43%.[84]

Legislative caucuses

With exception to state legislatures and major city councils, all other legislative bodies included in the following chronological table had/have more than two affiliated members simultaneously serving in office.[85][86]

More information Years, Government position ...
Years Government position Jurisdiction State Notes
2001–2022 Minority
(1/13 seats)
2001–2005: (2/13 seats)
Minneapolis City Council  Minnesota
2018–2019 Minority
(1/141 seats)
Maryland House of Delegates  Maryland
2017–2018 Minority
(2/154* seats)[lower-alpha 1]
Maine House of Representatives  Maine
2002–2006 Minority
(1/151 seats)
2016–2017 Minority
(2/5 seats)
Anoka Water Conservation District  Minnesota
2013–2015 Minority
(1/100 seats)
Arkansas House of Representatives  Arkansas
2008–2009 Minority
(1/100 seats)
2002–2014 Minority
Fluctuated
(3–4 out of 9 seats)
Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board  California
2009–2013 Majority
(3/5 seats)
Fairfax Town Council  California
2004–2008 Minority
(2/5 seats)
1990–2012 Minority
Fluctuated
(2–5 out of 30 seats)
Douglas County Board of Supervisors  Wisconsin
2001–2009 Minority
Fluctuated
(2–4 out of 20 seats)
Madison Common Council  Wisconsin
1998–2008 Minority
Fluctuated
(2–4 out of 39 seats)
Dane County Board of Supervisors  Wisconsin
2004–2008 Minority
Fluctuated
(3–4 out of 29 seats)
Portage County Board of Supervisors  Wisconsin
2000–2008 Majority
(3/5 seats)
Sebastopol City Council  California
2004–2007 Minority
Fluctuated
(2–4 out of 9 seats)
Portland Board of Education  Maine
2003–2007 Minority
(2/7 seats)
Kalamazoo City Commission  Michigan
2004–2006;
1996–1998
Majority
(3/5 seats)
Arcata City Council  California
2002–2004;
1998–2000
Minority
(2/5 seats)
2002–2006 Majority
(3/5 seats)
School Board of Twin Ridges Elementary  California
2003–2004 Majority
(3/5 seats)
New Paltz Village Council  New York
2002–2004 Minority
(1/80 seats)
New Jersey General Assembly  New Jersey
1998–2004 Minority
(2/7 seats)
Santa Monica City Council  California
2001–2003 Minority
(2/30 seats)
New Haven Board of Aldermen  Connecticut
2000–2002 Minority
(2/8 seats)
Salem City Council  Oregon
2000–2002 Minority
(2/8 seats)
Santa Fe City Council  New Mexico
1995–2002 Minority
(2/5 seats)
Point Arena Town Council  California
1999 Minority
(1/80 seats)
California State Assembly  California
1996–1998 Minority
(2/8 seats)
Fayetteville City Council  Arkansas
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  1. Includes the three non-voting elected members to the Maine House of Representatives. Henry John Bear, a non-voting member, joined the Green Party along with Representative Ralph Chapman.

Other notable people

Presidential ballot access

2004 to present

Ballot Access of the Green Party of the United States
2004[87][88] 2008[89][90] 2012[91][92] 2016[93][94] 2020[95] 2024[96]
Number of states + D.C.
(number of write-in states)
28
(14)
33
(10)
37
(6)
45
(3)
30
(17)
TBD
Possible electoral votes
(possible write-in electoral votes)
294
(201)[lower-alpha 1]
413
(68)
439
(47)[lower-alpha 2]
480
(42)
381
(133)
+420
(68)[lower-alpha 3]
Alabama Not on ballot On ballot (write-in) On ballot
Alaska On ballot Not on ballot On ballot (write-in)[lower-alpha 4] On ballot
Arizona (write-in) On ballot (write-in) On ballot[99]
Arkansas On ballot
California On ballot
Colorado On ballot
Connecticut On ballot (write-in) On ballot
Delaware On ballot
District of Columbia On ballot
Florida On ballot
Georgia (write-in) On ballot
Hawaii On ballot
Idaho (write-in) On ballot (write-in)
Illinois (write-in) On ballot (write-in)
Indiana (write-in) TBD
Iowa On ballot TBD
Kansas (write-in) On ballot[100] (write-in) TBD
Kentucky Not on ballot On ballot (write-in) On ballot
Louisiana On ballot Not on ballot On ballot
Maine On ballot
Maryland On ballot
Massachusetts On ballot TBD
Michigan On ballot
Minnesota On ballot
Mississippi On ballot
Missouri Not on ballot (write-in) Not on ballot On ballot
Montana On ballot (write-in) Not on ballot On ballot (write-in) On ballot
Nebraska On ballot Not on ballot On ballot (write-in) TBD
Nevada On ballot Not on ballot TBD[101]
New Hampshire Not on ballot (write-in) On ballot (write-in) On ballot
New Jersey On ballot
New Mexico On ballot
New York (write-in) On ballot TBD
North Carolina (write-in) Not on ballot (write-in) On ballot
North Dakota Not on ballot On ballot (write-in) TBD
Ohio (write-in) On ballot
Oklahoma Not on ballot TBD
Oregon On ballot
Pennsylvania On ballot Not on ballot On ballot (write-in) On ballot
Rhode Island On ballot[102] (write-in) TBD
South Carolina On ballot
South Dakota Not on ballot TBD
Tennessee (write-in) On ballot
Texas (write-in) On ballot
Utah (write-in) On ballot
Vermont Not on ballot (write-in) On ballot TBD
Virginia (write-in) On ballot (write-in) On ballot
Washington On ballot
West Virginia (write-in) On ballot
Wisconsin On ballot (write-in) On ballot
Wyoming Not on ballot On ballot (write-in) TBD
  1. Electoral vote allocation for 2004 and 2008 based on 2000 census.[97]
  2. Electoral vote allocation for 2012, 2016 and 2020 based on 2010 census.[98]
  3. Electoral vote allocation for 2024 based on 2020 census
  4. Green Party of Alaska, despite having ballot access, did not place the GPUS nominee Howie Hawkins on the ballot.

1996 and 2000

Ballot Access of the Association of State Green Parties[lower-alpha 1]
1996[103][104] 2000[105][106]
Number of states + D.C.
(number of write-in states)
22
(14)
44
(4)
Possible electoral votes
(possible write-in electoral votes)
239
(200)[lower-alpha 2]
481
(32)
Alabama Not on ballot On ballot
Alaska On ballot
Arizona (write-in) On ballot
Arkansas On ballot
California On ballot
Colorado On ballot
Connecticut On ballot
Delaware (write-in) On ballot
District of Columbia On ballot
Florida On ballot
Georgia Not on ballot (write-in)
Hawaii On ballot
Idaho Not on ballot (write-in)
Illinois (write-in) On ballot
Indiana (write-in)
Iowa On ballot
Kansas (write-in) On ballot
Kentucky (write-in) On ballot
Louisiana On ballot
Maine On ballot
Maryland (write-in) On ballot
Massachusetts (write-in) On ballot
Michigan (write-in) On ballot
Minnesota On ballot
Mississippi Not on ballot On ballot
Missouri (write-in) On ballot
Montana Not on ballot On ballot
Nebraska Not on ballot On ballot
Nevada On ballot
New Hampshire Not on ballot On ballot
New Jersey On ballot
New Mexico On ballot
New York On ballot
North Carolina (write-in) Not on ballot
North Dakota Not on ballot On ballot
Ohio (write-in) On ballot
Oklahoma Not on ballot
Oregon On ballot
Pennsylvania (write-in) On ballot
Rhode Island On ballot
South Carolina Not on ballot On ballot
South Dakota Not on ballot
Tennessee Not on ballot On ballot
Texas (write-in) On ballot
Utah On ballot
Vermont On ballot
Virginia Not on ballot On ballot
Washington On ballot
West Virginia Not on ballot On ballot
Wisconsin On ballot
Wyoming Not on ballot (write-in)
  1. 1996 and 2000 presidential campaigns were prior to formation of GPUS but campaign was endorsed by existing state Green Parties and predecessors ASGP and G/GPUSA.
  2. Electoral vote allocation for 1996 and 2000 based on 1990 census.[107]

Electoral results

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This map shows the percentage of the popular vote Jill Stein received in each county (2016) (with a max vote share of 4.5%)

Presidential elections

More information Year, Presidential/vice presidential candidate ...
Year Presidential/vice presidential candidate Popular votes Percentage Electoral votes Image
GPUS
2024 Jill Stein/Butch Ware
(campaign)
TBD TBD TBD ThumbThumb
2020 Howie Hawkins/Angela Walker
(campaign)
405,034 0.3% (#4) 0 EV ThumbThumb
2016 Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka
(campaign)
1,457,216 1.1% (#4) 0 EV[lower-alpha 1] ThumbThumb
2012 Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala
(campaign)
469,627 0.4% (#4) 0 EV ThumbThumb
2008 Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente
(campaign)[lower-alpha 2]
161,797 0.1% (#6) 0 EV ThumbThumb
2004 David Cobb/Pat LaMarche
(campaign)[lower-alpha 3]
119,859 0.1% (#6) 0 EV ThumbThumb
ASGP
2000 Ralph Nader/Winona LaDuke
(campaign)
2,882,955 2.7% (#3) 0 EV ThumbThumb
1996 Ralph Nader/Winona LaDuke
(campaign)[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5]
685,297 0.7% (#4) 0 EV ThumbThumb
Close
  1. While Stein and Baraka did not receive any electoral votes, Green Winona LaDuke received one vote for Vice President from a Washington faithless elector; the presidential vote went to Faith Spotted Eagle, a Democrat.
  2. Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez, a Green, ran an independent campaign and received 0.6% of the vote, but they were not affiliated with the Green Party.
  3. Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo, a Green, ran an independent campaign and received 0.4% of the vote; however, they were not affiliated with the Green Party.
  4. Nader was not formally nominated by the party itself, but he did receive the endorsement of a large number of state parties and is considered as the de facto Green Party candidate.
  5. In Iowa and Vermont, Anne Goeke was Nader's running mate, in New Jersey it was Madelyn Hoffman and in New York it was Muriel Tillinghast.

Congress

House of Representatives

More information Election year, No. of overall general election votes ...
Election year No. of overall general
election votes
% of overall vote No. of overall seats won +/-
G/GPUSA
1992 134,072 0.14
0 / 435
1994 52,096 0.07
0 / 435
ASGP
1996 42,510 0.05
0 / 435
1998 70,932 0.11
0 / 435
2000 260,087 0.26
0 / 435
GPUS
2002 297,187 0.40
0 / 435
2004 344,549 0.30
0 / 435
2006 243,391 0.29
0 / 435
2008 580,263 0.47
0 / 435
2010 252,688 0.29
0 / 435
2012 372,996 0.30
0 / 435
2014 246,567 0.30
0 / 435
2016 515,263[108] 0.42?
0 / 435
2018 276,877 0.22
0 / 435
2020 90,121 0.06
0 / 435
Close

Senate

More information Election year, No. of overall general election votes ...
Election year No. of overall general
election votes
% of overall vote No. of overall seats won +/-
ASGP
2000 685,289 0.90
0 / 34
GPUS
2002 94,702 0.20
0 / 34
2004 157,671 0.20
0 / 34
2006 295,935 0.50
0 / 33
2008 427,427 0.70
0 / 33
2010 516,517 0.80
0 / 37
2012 212,103 0.20
0 / 33
2014 152,555 0.32
0 / 33
2016 695,604[109] 0.72
0 / 33
2018 200,599[lower-alpha 1] 0.22
0 / 33
2020 258,348 0.03
0 / 33
Close

Best results in major races

Bold indicates race where Green candidate was elected to office

More information Office, Percent ...
Office Percent District Year Candidate
President 10.07% Alaska 2000 Ralph Nader
6.92% Vermont 2000
6.42% Massachusetts 2000
US Senate 20.5% Arkansas 2008 Rebekah Kennedy
15.4% District of Columbia 2018[lower-alpha 2] Eleanor Ory
14.3% District of Columbia 2006[lower-alpha 3] Joyce Robinson-Paul
US House 31.5% Arizona District 8 2016 Mark Salazar
27.5% California District 34 2018 Kenneth Mejia
23.2% Arkansas District 2 2008 Deb McFarland
Governor 10.4% Illinois 2006 Rich Whitney
10.3% New Mexico 1994 Roberto Mondragón
9.5% Maine 2006 Pat LaMarche
Other statewide 32.7% New Mexico State Treasurer 1994 Lorenzo Garcia
32.4% Arkansas State Treasurer 2010 Bobby Tullis
26.7% Arkansas Attorney General 2010 Rebekah Kennedy
State Legislature 67.1% Maine District 38 2002 John Eder
50.9% Maine District 118 2004
48.4% Maine District 118 2006
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Criticism and controversies

Spoiler campaigns

Campaigns run by the Green Party have been seen by some analysts and academics as tossing the election outcomes in favor of Republican candidates – most notably George W. Bush in 2000[16][17][18][19] and Donald Trump in 2016.[110] In 2019, former Green presidential candidate Ralph Nader told the Washingtonian that, while he still does not consider himself a spoiler, he regretted not entering the 2000 Democratic primary.[111]

A 2020 New York Times article highlighted instances where supporters of a Republican candidate worked to get the Green Party on ballots in close races hoping that it would split votes away from Democratic candidate, including during the 2020 presidential election.[112]

On November 1, 2024 Green parties across Europe urged Stein to drop out and endorse Kamala Harris, arguing that Stein risked electing Donald Trump by staying in the race.[113]

Russia

The United States Senate's probe into Russian election interference investigated Jill Stein and the Green Party for potential collusion and looked to better understand why and how Russia was promoting the party.[114] Politico and Newsweek reported that Russian state actors covertly promoted Stein and other Green Party candidates on Facebook prior to the 2016 elections.[110][115] NBC News reported that a "growing body of evidence [exists] that [shows] the Russians worked to boost the Stein campaign as part of the effort to siphon support away from Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and tilt the election to Trump."[114] NBC News additionally documented over 100 instances where Stein appeared on Russian state media, receiving favorable coverage.[114] In 2015, Stein was photographed dining at the same table as Russian president Vladimir Putin at the RT 10th anniversary gala in Moscow, leading to further controversy.[114] Stein contended that she had no contact with Putin at the dinner and described the situation as a "non-event".[116] One of the possible Green Party 2016 VP candidates worked for RT while the VP candidate Stein ultimately chose also often appeared on the network criticizing NATO as 'Gangster states'.[117] Stein also met with Sergey Lavrov at an RT Gala in New York.[117]

Stein's 2016 foreign policy positions regarding Russian topics have been considered by some to have mirrored those of the Russian government, in some instances, including concerning the annexation of Crimea.[114][115] Stein condemned Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but claimed that Russia was provoked by NATO's eastward expansion.[118] The US Green Party is no longer a member of the global organization of green parties due to its ties to authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin.[113]

Allegations of irregularities in primary elections

On October 16, 2019, a joint candidate letter called for reform in the Green Party's presidential primary process in response to the party's announcement that it would remove unrecognized candidates from its website list that November, an effort which Green candidates claimed was being to done to help the Hawkins campaign secure the party's nomination.[119] This was followed by allegations of conflicts of interest among the party's leadership, members of which the candidates believed were helping party co-founder Howie Hawkins, and of an alleged overlooking of a violation of Green Party rules that would have disqualified Hawkins from running as a Green, due to him also seeking the Socialist Party's nomination.[119]

After the 2020 Green Party Nominating Convention named Hawkins as their presidential candidate, runner-up Dario Hunter announced that he would run as an independent candidate. Hunter cited alleged irregularities and undemocratic processes throughout the primary, arguing that party leaders had committed “ethical lapses” to ensure Hawkins' nomination, and criticizing Hawkins for what he saw as his "imperialist perspective" and "CIA talking points.”[120]

See also

Notes

  1. Not recognized as a Senate election by the federal government, and shadow senators do not serve in Congress in any capacity.
  2. Not recognized as a Senate election by the federal government, and shadow senators do not serve in Congress in any capacity.

    References

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