The 2016 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

caucuses A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

's nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

at the 2016 Green National Convention. The primaries, held in numerous states on various dates from January to July 2016, featured elections publicly funded and held as an alternative ballot, concurrent with the Democratic and Republican primaries, and elections privately funded by the Green Party, held non-concurrently with the major party primaries. Over 400 delegates to the Green National Convention were elected in these primaries, with a candidate needing a simple majority of these delegates to become the party's nominee for president. A total of six candidates stood in the primaries, including the preceding Green nominee for president in the 2012 presidential election,

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidat ...

, who sought the nomination for a second time. Other candidates included

Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry The 2020 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of primary elections, caucuses and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States at the 20 ...

, who had previously worked as a campaign manager for the

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

of the Green Party's 2008 nominee,

Cynthia McKinney Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is an American politician, academic, and conspiracy theorist. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American ...

, in addition to singer-songwriter and

Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar. Today there are Earth First! groups around ...

activist

Darryl Cherney Darryl Cherney (born 1956) is an American musician and environmental activist. He is a member of the Earth First! environmental movement. Born and raised in New York City, he lives in Humboldt County, California. Cherney has produced five albu ...

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

Kent Mesplay The 2016 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of primaries, caucuses and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States at the 2016 Green ...

, University of South Carolina professor William Kreml, and youth rights activist Elijah Manley. Formal recognition is a requirement to be the Green Party's nominee. On May 4, the Green Party of the United States formally recognized William Kreml and

as candidates for its presidential nomination. On June 15, the Stein campaign announced that it had received 203 delegates, enough to win the nomination on the first ballot at the National Convention. Jill Stein formally won the nomination on August 6, during the 2016 Green National Convention As the Green Party presidential candidate in the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

Stein received 1,457,222 votes or 1.06% of the popular vote. Stein received zero electoral college votes.

Background

The

will be the fourth to be contested by the Green Party of the United States since they split from the

Greens/Green Party USA The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA) was a political organization formed out of the Green Committees of Correspondence in 1991 and was recognized as a national political party by the FEC from 1991 to 2005. It was based in Chicago. '' Synthesis/ ...

(G/GPUSA) in 2001. The 2004 presidential election saw Green nominee David Cobb appear on ballots in 27 states plus the

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, and received 0.10% of the popular vote, losing out to many other candidates and parties on the ballot, including third-placed independent

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...

, who had been the presidential nominee of the G/GPUSA in the 1996 and 2000 elections. In the 2008 election,

was nominated as the Green Party's candidate for the presidency and had ballot access to 32 states plus DC. However, McKinney insignificantly improved upon Cobb's performance, capturing only 0.12% of the popular vote in an election that also saw Nader finish a strong third behind the Democratic and Republican parties. Having received minimal publicity in the previous elections, thus contributing to the low voting share that the party received, the Green Party gained significant exposure and media attention in the lead-up to the 2012 Green National Convention and the 2012 presidential election, starting with media personality

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...

's announcement of her presidential run with the Green Party. Using the publicity gained from the announcement, Barr praised the Green Party and championed their beliefs through interviews and public statements, which were often profane and harshly critical of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Barr, however, lost the nomination at the 2012 Green National Convention to physician and activist

, who had gained the support of Green Party delegates through her "

Green New Deal Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...

" platform of progressive economic policies centered on the prevention of future

financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...

es and the acceleration of

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Stein's campaign for the presidency focused mostly on keeping the publicity gained by the Green Party and gaining support from independents and dissenting Democratic and Republican voters, often echoing resentment towards the two parties. This included a court challenge against the

Commission on Presidential Debates The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is a nonprofit corporation established in 1987 under the joint sponsorship of the Democratic and Republican political parties in the United States. The CPD sponsors and produces debates for U.S. pre ...

by Stein that sought to include her in the official presidential election debates. Stein's campaign also gained media attention and exposure through a series of nonviolent protests, including those against the presidential debates, the

Keystone XL pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Albert ...

, and

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...

s, which had Stein arrested, and even jailed, numerous times. On election day, Stein oversaw a relatively sharp rise in the Green Party's popularity, earning 0.36% of the popular vote (469,628 votes), across the Green Party's ballot access in 36 states plus DC. The result was triple the amount Cynthia McKinney received in 2008, pushing the Green Party from a lower-tier third party to the second most popular third party, trailing behind the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

, who had nominated the popular former

Governor of New Mexico , insignia = Seal of the Governor of New Mexico.svg , insigniasize = 110px , insigniacaption = Seal of the Governor , image = File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg , imagesize = 200px , alt = , incumbent = Michelle Lujan Grisham , incu ...

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

as their presidential candidate, also setting numerous Libertarian Party and presidential third party records. The election also notably made Stein the most successful female presidential candidate in U.S. history, surpassing Lenora Fulani's bid for the presidency in the 1988 election, with the

New Alliance Party The New Alliance Party (NAP) was an American political party formed in New York City in 1979. Its immediate precursor was an umbrella organization known as the Labor Community Alliance for Change, whose member groups included the Coalition of G ...

, who had ballot access in all states plus DC and earned 217,219 votes that year. Despite her success, however, Stein's campaign was criticized by those who felt that she had failed to capitalise on her momentum and gain an even bigger success.

Candidates

The national

Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green party, Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democra ...

officially recognized two candidates,

and William Kreml, while four additional candidates have appeared on several state—or territory—ballots.

Debates

The Green Party of New Mexico an
Students Organizing Action for Peace
hosted a debate on April 9 at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

's Student Union Building. The debate was streamed online through Burque Media Productions. All five candidates recognized by the national party were invited.

Results

Map

References

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