The Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party is a political

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a V ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

created by Oliver Steinberg in 2014 to oppose

cannabis prohibition The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. These ...

. G—LC Is a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

party with a background branching from the

Grassroots Party The Grassroots Party was a political third party in the United States established in 1986 to oppose drug prohibition. The party shared many of the progressive values of the Farmer-Labor Party but with an emphasis on cannabis/hemp legalization is ...

established in 1986. Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party attained major party status in Minnesota in 2018 when their Attorney General candidate, who dropped out of the race to support the Democratic candidate, but whose name nevertheless remained on ballots, received 5.7 percent of the vote. In 2022, Minnesota G—LC resumed minor party status, when none of their candidates got 5% of votes, which is required for major party ballot access in the state. However their candidate for

Minnesota State Auditor The state auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha, a DFLer. Election and te ...

received more than 1% of votes, in 2022, maintaining minor party status for G—LC another four years.

History

Oliver Steinberg at Minnesota State Capitol in 2015

In 2014, the Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party was established by Oliver Steinberg because Steinberg and Chris Wright were unwilling to join the rest of the Grassroots Party when they merged with the

Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now is a political third party in the U.S. state of Minnesota established in 1998 to oppose drug prohibition. Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now became a major party in Minnesota in 2018 when their candidate for State Audit ...

. In the 2014 race for Governor, Wright received 31,259 votes. The party also ran a candidate for State Auditor, in 2014, who received 55,132 votes. The Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party nominated their candidates by petition in 2018 to run for Governor of Minnesota, as well as in the race for Minnesota Attorney General, the results of which earned the group major-party status in Minnesota. A few weeks before the election, the Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis candidate for Attorney General, Noah Johnson, dropped out of the race to support Democratic/Farmer-Labor candidate Keith Ellison who was embroiled in scandal, though Johnson's name remained on the ballot. Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party founder Oliver Steinberg, who previously ran as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate and a Grassroots candidate, had a background of violence discrediting the

peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

in the 1970s. Steinberg was the Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis candidate for

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

in 2020.

Perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

Republican candidate Rae Hart Anderson was nominated by Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party voters in the August 11 primary to run for

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Minnesota's 7th congressional district Minnesota's 7th congressional district covers the majority of western Minnesota. It is by far the state's largest district, and has a very rural character. Except for a few southern counties in the 1st district, the 7th includes almost all o ...

on November 3, 2020.

Gubernatorial candidates

The Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party nominated their candidates by petition in 2014 to run for Governor of Minnesota. In the race for Governor, Chris Wright received 31,259 votes. In 2018, Wright again was nominated by petition to run for Minnesota Governor, and received 68,664 votes in the November general election. Wright resigned as G—LC chairperson to seek

’s nomination for Governor in 2022.

Conflict with Democratic Party

Even though Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis candidates have dropped out of running to support Democratic candidates in some tight races and party leaders have withheld the state party's endorsement of some Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis candidates when they thought doing so might hurt the chances of winning for struggling DFLers, several times Democratic Party leaders have accused the Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party of making it hard for Democratic candidates in Minnesota. However, a '' St. Cloud Times'' analysis of votes cast in the November 2020 election found that Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis candidates took at least as many, if not more, votes from republicans than they took from DFL candidates.

2021—2022

In 2021, Kevin Shores told a FOX 9 television reporter that he was recruited to run for Congress from Minnesota's 7th district, where Democratic incumbent

Collin Peterson Collin Clark Peterson (born June 29, 1944) is an American accountant and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1991 to 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, or the DFL. he was chairman of the Ho ...

lost the race to Republican challenger

Michelle Fischbach Michelle Louise Helene Fischbach (; born November 3, 1965) is an American attorney and politician who is the U.S. representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district. The district, which is very rural, is Minnesota's largest congressiona ...

, in 2020, by a Republican strategist who Shores mistakenly thought was a G—LC representative. Shores, who is blind and suffers from

Gulf War syndrome Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness is a chronic and multi-symptomatic disorder affecting military veterans of both sides of the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to it, including fatigue ...

, lost to Hart Anderson in the Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party primary. When a Luverne man who had been endorsed by G—LC was unable to file before the deadline, attorney Haroun McClellan filed to run in the August 9, 2022, 1st congressional district special election as a last-minute replacement. McClellan, a graduate of

Georgia State University College of Law The Georgia State University College of Law is a law school located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1982, it is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. In addition to the J ...

and former

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapo ...

public defender, is contracts manager of a

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

construction firm.

Conflict with Democratic Party renewed

Before Minnesota’s May, 2022, deadline to file such a change, a DFL activist, Marcus Harcus, who was 2020 G—LC nominee for District 59A state representative, attempted to hold a G—LC party meeting for the purpose of changing the state party’s name to a name the activist thought might help the Democratic Party by attracting Republicans. In May 2022, G—LC chair Steinberg told a '' Star Tribune'' reporter about being worried that voters “perhaps aren’t quite as well-informed as it would be good for them to be.” Later in June, 2022, Steinberg said in an interview that he was frustrated about having former Libertarian candidates running under the G—LC party banner.

2022 gubernatorial primary

Minnesota G—LC Party held a gubernatorial primary on August 9, 2022, between Steve Patterson & Matt Huff and Darrell Paulsen & Ed Engelmann. Patterson was nominated by G—LC voters and defeated Paulsen, receiving 59% of the party's vote, to advance onto the November 8, 2022, state general election.

Resuming minor party status

The G—LC Party ran statewide candidates in 2020 and 2022 but none received 5% of votes required for major party ballot access in Minnesota. The party got enough votes, more than 1%, in the Minnesota State Auditor race, in 2022, to retain official minor party privileges, including state public funding.

Electoral history

Results in Minnesota state elections

Results in Minnesota gubernatorial elections

Results in federal elections

References

External links

* * Pugmire, Tim (October 15, 2018
Third party AG candidate throws support to DFLer Ellison

Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...

G—LC candidate Oliver Steinberg drops out of US Senate race to support Democratic incumbent

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

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