independentsforkerry.org

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has won the Illinois primary, which was held online and open to all residents of Illinois 13 and older.  From the Green Party of Illinois:

Results are in from the Illinois Green Party’s first ever online primary. With a total of 153 ballots cast, Harvard-educated physician Jill Stein of Massachusetts has won the primary with 71% of the vote. Legendary sitcom actress Roseanne Barr, whose name was not on the official ballot but became an officially recognized candidate by the GPUS after the ILGP’s registration deadline, earned 18% of the vote as a write in. San Diego air quality inspector Kent Mesplay received 5% of the vote. Nearly 5% of the votes were cast as “Undecided” and three unrecognized write-in candidates received less than 1%.

Unlike the taxpayer-funded Republican and Democratic primaries, the Illinois Green Party cost very little and allowed any Illinois resident age 13 years or older to participate. Participants were allowed to join the party and cast their vote at the same time. Caucuses were held throughout the state to serve as a polling place for those without Internet access, and mail-in ballots were available by request.

Dr. Stein, a native of Highland Park, Ill., established a strong campaign presence in her home state. Following her campaign kick-off, Stein made several appearances in the Chicago area and at a mock election at Western Illinois University in Macomb. Her campaign also sent out several e-blasts to supporters during the course of the voting, including an e-mail endorsement from Rich Whitney, a two-time Illinois gubernatorial candidate who is well-respected within the party.

The Barr campaigned was helped by a media splash from her campaign kick-off, which happened at the beginning of the ILGP’s primary voting period. Though still in its early stages, her campaign has already brought in several members who are new to the Illinois Green Party.

“From the standpoint of party building, the primary was very successful,” said Election Administrator Patrick Kelly. “Thanks to the efforts of our candidates to reach voters, were able to grow our membership and by giving any Illinoisan who wanted to participate a chance.”

Playing off Stein’s success in the WIU mock election, the Illinois Green Party will convene it state membership meeting, March 2-4, at WIU in Macomb to select delegates to the Green Party’s Presidential Nominating Convention in Baltimore, Md. in July. If an apportionment plan is approved by the Green Party of the United States, Illinois would be awarded 31 delegates to the national convention who would be pledged accordingly: Stein would receive 22 delegates, Barr 5, Mesplay 2, and 2 would be unbound.

These results are unofficial pending approval of the Illinois Green Party Executive Committee.

FULL RESULTS

Independent Political Report

Today Jill Stein’s campaign, aimed at securing the Green Party’s nomination for president, sent out a fundraising email with the pitch of “Double Your Green.”  That is, if Stein raises ,000 in donations of 0 or less from 20 or more states, the federal government will then match donations of that amount dollar-for-dollar.  Interestingly, the email contained a map of their progress toward that goal:

See below for a map showing how far along your state is toward qualifying for matching funds:

The sooner we qualify, the better. That’s when we start doubling our green for the Green Party, which means that Dr. Stein can invest twice as much on getting the Greens on the ballot, building our state and local parties, and putting our Green New Deal agenda in the public eye.

As of Monday, February 20th, two states have qualified (CA, MA), one state is close (NY) and four states are halfway there (IL, MD, VA, WI).

Our goal is to qualify in our first 10 states by March 15th.

States that have qualified: California, Massachusetts

3/4 of the way there: New York

Halfway there: Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin

1/4 of the way there: D.C., Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington

Raised something: Every state.

The full email can be read here.

Independent Political Report

From JillStein.org:

Independent Political Report

From Jill Stein for President:
This just in: Organize a house party, get buttons and bumperstickers! In case you missed last week’s announcement, we’re sending an updated notice below. One update is that if you register your house party by January 18th, we’ll send you a package of buttons and bumperstickers. Read on . . . [...]
Green Party Watch

First video message from Jill Stein, a candidate for the Green Party presidential nomination:

Independent Political Report

Green Party Watch

From Jill Stein for President:
Dr. Jill Stein, MD, the Green Party presidential candidate, has strongly criticized an action by Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius taking the unprecedented step of overruling the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to expand access to the Morning After Pill (MAP). ”The Obama administration [...]
Green Party Watch

In a rather lengthy piece on Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and the Occupy Wall Street movement, reporter Kris Kitto obtains this nugget from Ralph Nader on Stein’s candidacy:

Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader says signature collection alone can consume a third-party campaign’s resources.

“By the time you finish, it’s Labor Day, and you’re exhausted, and you don’t have any money,” says Nader, adding that he sees promise in Stein. “She’s an M.D., which is a good advantage, since healthcare is a big issue … She has a good head on her shoulders.”

Nader’s comments certainly cannot be construed as an endorsement of Stein. Nevertheless, they are noteworthy given Nader’s history with the Green Party and its Presidential candidates. After serving as Green Party presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000 — and receiving 2.74% of the national popular vote in 2000 — Nader famously broke with the Green Party in 2004 and refused to seek its endorsement. The GP retaliated by nominating David Cobb for President rather than endorsing Nader’s independent ticket. The presence of an independent Nader candidacy on most state ballots in 2004 and 2008 significantly depressed Green Party presidential vote totals in those elections. Nader previously stated he would not be running again in 2012, but would instead be working to secure Democratic primary challengers for President Obama. However, little came of that effort. Nader’s positive comments about Stein in the Hill article may be his first positive comments about a Green Party presidential candidate since 2004.

Also of note in the article is Stein’s explanation of the origins of her campaign team:

After losing the 2002 race, she mounted losing campaigns in 2004, for the Massachusetts House of Representatives; in 2006, for Massachusetts Commonwealth secretary; and in 2010, again for the governorship. She won races for Lexington Town Meeting representative in 2005 and 2008.

“To my mind, low vote counts are not a reflection of a failed campaign,” she says.

What’s come out of her serial candidacy, Stein says, is an organization that will help her attack the monumental task that third-party candidates confront every presidential cycle: obtaining enough signatures to appear on the ballot.

In other words, Stein’s campaign team is not freshly created for this race; large portions of it have been with her through several campaigns since 2002.

Stein’s opponent for the Green Party nomination is Kent Mesplay. The party will choose its presidential nominee July 13-15, 2012, at its Baltimore convention.

Independent Political Report

From Draft Jill Stein for President at jillstein.org:

Jill Stein will launch her Presidential Campaign Thursday Oct. 24 at 12:30pm at the State House in Boston, MA.  She vows to end unemployment in America and to stop the Wall Street robbery of Main Street.
MEDIA ADVISORY
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Contacts:  Marnie Glickman, [...]
Green Party Watch

I have heard countless questions about who the Green Party is going to run for President in 2012. As Obama continues to fail on environmental issues, continues overseas wars over oil, and cuts social programs that support the poor and the elderly, voters are clearly looking for an alternative.
At this point, Dr. Kent Mesplay [...]
Green Party Watch