The 1996 presidential campaign of

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 ...

, consumer advocate and political activist, began after he was drafted as a candidate 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 ...

on 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 f ...

ticket during the 1996 presidential election. Nader was not formally nominated by the national party or the Green Party USA organization, which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties. In some states, he appeared on the ballot as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Background

Although Nader was not formally nominated by the national Green Party, a significant number of the party's members and supporters backed his presidential bid. Several of them actively campaigned for him. Nader qualified for ballot status in 22 states, garnering 685,297 votes or 0.71% of the popular vote (fourth place overall), although the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign, presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for

Federal Elections Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

reporting requirements; the unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but the committee was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself.

Criticism

Nader received some criticism from

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

supporters for calling gay rights "gonad politics" and stating that he was not interested in dealing with such matters. However, more recently, Nader has come out in support of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

Running mates

Instead of Nader having one running mate on all ballots on which he appeared, the women's caucus of the Green Party decided that a slate of women would run who would act as a cabinet of advisers for his campaign. Nader's multiple running mates included: Anne Goeke (14 states), Deborah Howes (Oregon),

Muriel Tillinghast Muriel Tillinghast is an American civil rights activist and former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) field secretary. Her efforts include volunteering for the Freedom Summer Project in Miss ...

(New York), Krista Paradise (Colorado), Madelyn Hoffman (New Jersey), Bill Boteler (Washington, D.C.), and

Winona LaDuke Winona LaDuke (born August 18, 1959) is an American economist, environmentalist, writer and industrial hemp grower, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development. In 1996 and 2000, she ran for Vice ...

(California and Texas). However most political election websites dispute this and have LaDuke as his running mate in most of the states he ran in.

Ballot access

Nader attained ballot status in 22 states.

Events

A long term Green catch-phrase came out of the 1996 nominating convention. During Nader's acceptance speech, the crowd started to chant "Go Ralph Go!" to which Nader, appearing uncomfortable, gestured for silence and said "the intonation should be 'Go we Go'." The crowd obliged and the phrase "gowego" became a part of Green history.''Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens'' By Greta Gaard, page 241

References