“As a registered party in Florida, the Green Party is entitled to place a presidential candidate on the ballot,” Natalie Meiner with the Florida Department of State, told the Phoenix.
There’s still considerable work needed for the Greens to get their presidential ticket qualified on all 50 states ballots next year. At this stage, the Green Party of the United States has qualified only for 16 states’ ballots next year (as well as the District of Columbia), according to Gregg Jocoy, co-chair of the Green Party media committee.
The Green Party qualified to get their presidential ticket on the ballot in just 30 states in 2020, but were on the ballot in 44 states in 2016. That’s when their presidential candidate was Dr. Jill Stein, who incurred the wrath of some Democratic Party supporters for allegedly taking votes “away” from Hillary Clinton.
Stein received more than 1.4 million votes that year, good enough for 1.07% of the popular vote (Stein told CNN last month that she is now assisting West as he builds up his presidential candidacy).
Some history
Third-party nominees have had an impact on Florida’s presidential elections over the years.
In 1992, when George H.W. Bush defeated Bill Clinton in the presidential election in Florida by less than 2 percentage points, independent Ross Perot received a stunning 20% of the vote.
Ralph Nader. Source: Wikimedia Commons
And in the disputed 2000 presidential election in Florida that was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, in which George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by just 537 votes in the state, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader received more 97,000 votes. He too, was attacked by many Democrats as being a “spoiler” who “took” votes away from Gore, costing him the presidency.
Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan also ran as a third-party presidential candidate that year on the Reform Party’s ticket. While he tallied only 0.3% of the popular vote, a disproportionate emanated from Palm Beach County, due in part to a faulty ballot design.
Now with 30 electoral votes, Florida remains one of the most important states in the electoral college that determines who wins the presidency. However, unlike 2000, the Sunshine State has lost its luster as one of the main battleground states. Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden by 3.3 points in Florida in 2020 and, since then, Republicans have surpassed Democrats in voter registration for the first time in history. They now maintain a nearly 500,000-vote lead, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
“Third-party candidates are nothing new, particularly in Florida. Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan still loom large in our public memory,” said Ryan Ray, chair of the Leon County Democratic Party.
“I agree with many of Dr. West’s positions, as do most rank-and-file Democratic base voters. As the Democratic Party reclaims its rightful mantle as the party of working people, I hope to see some of his proposed reforms incorporated into our platform. All people of good faith working together to prevent the kind of damaging right-wing Republican presidency that Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis would offer is absolutely essential.”
Green competitors
Although West is likely to be the highest profile candidate in the Green Party race for president next year, he will have competition. Eight Green Party candidates have filed with the Federal Elections Commission to run for president.
They include Randy Toler, a resident of Hillsborough County who serves as co-chair of the Green Party of Florida is and a co-founder of the USA Green Party. Other candidates include Adam Hollick, Anita Belle, Jackie Tate, Mason Vicent Cysewski, Robert Cooke IV, and Tyler Gray, according to Ballotpedia.
“I don’t see anybody recognizable or mounting any kind of challenge except for myself as a co-founder of the Green Party,” Toler told the Phoenix.
“This is really exciting,” he added. “Cornel is going to be a real factor. And Democrats are really scared.”
Ryan said that if West gets on the ballot in Florida next year, his candidacy should inspire Democratic voters.
“To those of us who feel strongly it is important to re-elect President Biden, let this motivate us to make sure we are making a compelling case and building the infrastructure needed to win,” he says.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
