Third Party Watch

Tomorrow, August 1, is the deadline for petitions to be filed in West Virginia. A news story in the Huntington Herald-Dispatch reports that the Libertarian Party is “shooting for 22,000 signatures, although just more than 15,000 are needed to pass the initiative.”

A Bob Barr spokesperson, Andrew Davis, said there are about 40 or [...]

The following is a media release from the Nader presidential campaign:

July 30, 2008
www.votenader.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Driscoll (Washington) 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org;
David Peyton (Arkansas), 414-915-8883, djpeytonvotenader.org

NADER/GONZALEZ CAMPAIGN SET TO CAPTURE ARKANSAS BALLOT LINE

Supporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader will submit petitions Friday to the Arkansas Division of Elections to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez [...]

The following is a media release from the Nader presidential campaign:

Rosa Parks, Hail to Thee!
by Ralph Nader
July 30, 2008

Montgomery, Alabama – The Troy University Rosa Parks Museum is located on the side of the old Empire Theatre where this courageous African-American woman declined to “move to the back of the bus” in 1955.

A visit to [...]

The following is a media release from the Nader presidential campaign:

July 30, 2008
www.votenader.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Driscoll (Washington) 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org; Ashley Sanders, (SLC) 801-916-6307, ashley@votenader.org

RALPH NADER AND ROCKY ANDERSON WILL ‘TALK IMPEACHMENT’ FRIDAY MORNING IN A NEWS CONFERENCE AT THE UTAH STATE CAPITOL

Nader/Gonzalez Campaign Set to Secure Utah Ballot Line

Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader and [...]

The following letter was received from Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr:

I recently testified at a congressional hearing about the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. Incredibly, there was a discussion about the erosion of your rights as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. What is incredible [...]

“Democrats haven’t won this state since Bill Clinton captured it in 1992 – with a critical assist from independent candidate Ross Perot,” notes The Politico:

But the state is also home to a large African-American constituency, an influential white urban voting bloc and Bob Barr, a popular former Republican congressman who is running at the top [...]

The Boston Globe’s “Political Intelligence” blog notes that Barack Obama did not get much of a bump in the polls from his trip to the Middle East and Europe. The first poll conducted entirely after his return—a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey—gave Obama a 51%-44% edge over McCain, about the same as 50%-45% edge a [...]

Dustin Hughes, Managing Editor of the Sand Springs Leader, scolds Oklahoma politicians for their determination to keep political choices limited to the Republican and Democratic parties:

Oklahoma has one of the most restrictive ballot access processes in the nation. In most any other state, you’d be able to pick from about five or more other [...]

Members of the local Green Party have sued San Juan County, Washington, alleging that the use of bar codes puts ballot secrecy at risk and violates state law. The Revised Code of Washington 29A.36.111 states, “No paper ballot or ballot card may be marked in any way that would permit the identification of the person [...]

Steve Newton has provided a valuable service on the Delaware Libertarian blog: He has pulled together state-by-state polling data on how all named candidates (including Barr, Nader, etc.) are doing. Some of his conclusions:

Bob Barr is having a distinct impact, though how long that will hold in a tight race is anybody’s guess. [...]

“There is no more important task for a parent than the education of one’s children. That responsibility belongs to parents, not the government,” insists Wayne Allyn Root, the Libertarian Party candidate for vice president. “As a home school parent myself, I know how important it is for government to not interfere in the [...]

Leave it to a small-state blog, the Delaware Libertarian, to report with envy on the success of the Texas Libertarian Party in raising money and in getting real candidates (not just paper candidates) on the ballot.

A record 173 Libertarian candidates will appear on Texas ballots this year, and:

The Libertarian Party of Texas (LPT) has reported [...]

In the Wall Street Journal, columnist Gerald F. Seib writes approvingly that “Irked Extremes May Mean a Happy Political Middle”:

At this time of the cycle, candidates’ efforts to strike more moderate poses usually are read as the typical election-year migration of presidential candidates who, like birds flying north after winter, move to the middle as [...]

The executive committee of the Libertarian Party of Kentucky has withdrawn its endorsement of action-film actor Sonny Landham as its candidate for the U.S. Senate, due to inflammatory comments Landham made about Arabs. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports:

Landham and state party Chairman Ken Moellman called the parting amicable.

Landham said he still hopes to reach the [...]

An article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution puts the Barr campaign’s urgent fund appeals in perspective, based on an interview with campaign director Russ Verney:

Russ Verney told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Barr has enough money to maintain his campaign at present levels. But that’s not the goal, Verney said.

“We’re able to raise enough money to [...]

The following is a media release from the Nader presidential campaign:

July 29, 2008
www.votenader.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Driscoll (Washington), 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org; Ashley Sanders, (SLC) 801-916-6307, ashley@votenader.org

RALPH NADER AND ROCKY ANDERSON WILL ADDRESS CAMPAIGN RALLY IN SALT LAKE CITY THURSDAY EVENING

Who: Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader with former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson
What: Nader/Gonzalez Campaign Rally
When: [...]

Here is a list of 18 Green Party candidates for federal and state offices in Michigan. This list does not yet include candidates who will be nominated for seats in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties at caucuses on Saturday, August 2.

According to the West Virginia MetroNews, “a total of 15,118 signatures are needed to be included on the ballot” in the state, and the deadline is this coming Friday. Here is its status report on the petition efforts by third party candidates:

As of Monday morning, supporters of Ralph Nader who is running with the [...]

According to the Libertarian Republican, “Research 2000, a liberal-leaning polling firm, has Barack Obama way out ahead of John McCain this morning. Of particular note, Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr is at 3% nationwide, which is consistent with other recent polling data such as Zogby. Barr is also ahead of Nader by 1%. All well [...]

Listen here as some McCain supporters worry that libertarian candidate Bob Barr will capture conservative-leaning independent voters, perhaps tipping some states into the Obama column. On NPR, Alex Chadwick speaks with Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving about the independent vote and the possibility of a “Republican Nader.”

The Wall Street Journal’s “Washington Wire” blog calls it “perhaps the most desperate sounding e-mail solicitation yet this election cycle.” It’s a letter from Russ Verney, Bob Barr’s campaign manager:

Under the subject line, “Have I said or done something to offend you?” Russ Verney writes, “You see, I have to report that unless we [...]

Third State Sunday Review lists speaking engagements by Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader in California.

The following is a media release from the Green Party:

Greens urge quick action on Ohio, Pennsylvania election crimes, seek assurance of 2008 ballot access fairness and election integrity

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Pennsylvania: 12 indicted after Statehouse Democrats [...]

The Green Party has a history of supporting progressive environmental policies, says Kenneth Waltzer, a professor at Michigan State University. But because “green issues” are now gaining attention in mainstream politics, he says, green-conscious voters have no reason to vote for a Green Party candidate.

The State News reports that state Green Party spokesperson [...]

The Libertarian Party of Texas is not ready to be king, but it expects to be a kingmaker—or spoiler, depending upon your point of view—in the state’s most competitive races.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that Central Texas is the stronghold of the Libertarian Party in Texas, and in that region, by its count, the Libertarian candidates [...]