The 2020 presidential campaign of

Howie Hawkins } Howard Gresham Hawkins III (born December 8, 1952) is an American trade unionist, environmental activist, and perennial candidate from New York. A co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nominee ...

, both the co-founder of the

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

and thrice its gubernatorial candidate in New York, was informally launched on April 3, 2019, when Hawkins announced the formation of an

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

and formally announced his campaign on May 28, 2019, to seek the Green Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2020 presidential election and later the

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...

. On May 5, 2020, Hawkins announced that former

vice presidential candidate

Angela Nicole Walker Angela Nicole Walker (born January 19, 1974) is an American activist, professional driver, and labor organizer. Walker was the vice-presidential nominee of the Green Party of the United States and Socialist Party USA for the 2020 election alon ...

would be his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

. Hawkins and Walker were nominated by the Green Party on July 11, 2020. Hawkins also sought the nomination of the various state-based left-wing parties, including the Peace and Freedom Party,

Legal Marijuana Now Party The Legal Marijuana Now Party is a political third party in the United States. The party’s platform includes abolishing the Drug Enforcement Administration and legalizing hemp and marijuana. As of 2022, the party has ballot access in Minnes ...

Oregon Progressive Party The Oregon Progressive Party is a political party in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally called the Oregon Peace Party, it was accepted as the sixth minor statewide political party in Oregon on August 22, 2008. This allowed the party to nomi ...

, United Citizens Party,

Liberty Union Party The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party, known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a political party active in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a self-proclaimed "non-violent socialist party". The LUP was founded in 1970 by former ...

, and

Vermont Progressive Party The Vermont Progressive Party, formerly the Progressive Coalition, is a progressive political party in the United States founded in 1999 and active only in the state of Vermont. As of 2019, the party has two members in the Vermont Senate and se ...

Background

In the 1980s, Hawkins joined the green movement. In 1988, Howie and Murray Bookchin founded the Left Green Network "as a radical alternative to U.S. Green liberals", based around the principles of social ecology and

libertarian municipalism Murray Bookchin (January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ec ...

. In the early 1990s a press conference was held in Washington, D.C., that featured Charles Betz, Joni Whitmore, Hilda Mason, and Howie Hawkins to announce the formation of 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/ ...

. Later in December 1999, Mike Feinstein and Hawkins wrote the Plan for a Single National Green Party which was the plan to organize the ASGP and GPUSA into a single

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 ...

. Over the next decade he would run in multiple New York Senate and House races. In the

2010 New York gubernatorial election The 2010 New York gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as lieutenant governor in 2006 as the running mate of Eliot Spitzer, chose not to run for a full term. Democra ...

Hawkins surpassed the 50,000-vote requirement to stay on the ballot in the gubernatorial election. In the 2014 election, he received enough to move the Green Party line to Row D on the ballot as he had taken one-third more than the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Ne ...

and twice as much as the Independence Party. In the 2018 election, Hawkins received 80,000 fewer votes than he did in his 2014 run. As a result, the party was lowered one row down to Row E, but retained ballot access. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, Hawkins was approached over the possibility of running for the Green Party presidential nomination. He declined due to his employment commitments at UPS, which he maintained would interfere with a national campaign. Following his retirement from UPS, Hawkins was approached again to run by a draft movement via a public letter addressed to him. The letter was signed by former Green vice presidential nominees Cheri Honkala and Ajamu Baraka, former Green mayoral candidate and

Nader Nader is a masculine given name and surname of Arabic origin ( ''Nādir'', meaning "rare", "unique") and may refer to: Persons Given name * Nader Shah, former Shah of Iran (Persia) * Nader Ahmadi (born 1986), Iranian football player * Nader ...

's 2008 running mate

Matt Gonzalez Matthew Edward Gonzalez (born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, lawyer, and activist. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2001 and 2005 and was president of the Board. In 2003, Gonzalez, running as a member of the Gr ...

, and other prominent Green Party members.

Campaign

On April 3, 2019, Hawkins announced that he was forming an

to prepare for a potential candidacy for the Green Party

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

presidential nomination and formally launched his campaign on May 28, 2019, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. On June 21, 2020, Hawkins received enough delegates to win the Green Party's presidential nomination after winning delegates from the Green Party of Michigan and Lavender Caucus. On July 11, he received the Green Party's presidential nomination with 210 delegates at the party's virtual convention. On October 26, 2019, Hawkins won the nomination of the Socialist Party USA as part of his effort to unite smaller left-wing parties. In November, Hawkins was endorsed by Solidarity, a U.S.-based socialist organization. On March 3, 2020, Hawkins lost the Peace and Freedom Party primary to

Gloria La Riva Gloria Estela La Riva (born August 13, 1954) is an American perennial political candidate, and communist activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and the Peace and Freedom Party. She was the PSL's nominee and the Peace and Freed ...

. On August 13, 2020, he was endorsed by Socialist Alternative. Hawkins also received the nomination of the

. In August 2020, Solidarity withdrew their endorsement following a poll of its members, instead taking no official position on the presidential election.

Ballot access

On July 15, Hawkins sued Oklahoma over its $35,000 filing fee for president. On September 1, the

Green Party of Alaska The Green Party of Alaska (GPAK) was a political party in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was the Alaska affiliate of the Green Party of the United States from its founding until 2021. The Green Party of Alaska was the first state to gain Green Pa ...

nominated

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...

for president and Cynthia McKinney for vice-president instead of Hawkins and Walker. Hawkins appeared in the ballot in thirty states.

Rhode Island

On May 28, 2020, the Green Party of Rhode Island announced that it would not place a presidential candidate onto the ballot for the first time since 1996 citing the danger of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

winning reelection. Hawkins later announced that he would petition as an independent candidate under the partisan label "Independent Left" in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. However, Hawkins failed to qualify for the Rhode Island ballot after submitting only 897 valid signatures in his petition to run for office.

Pennsylvania

A challenge was filed against Hawkins in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

stating that the Green Party's stand-in candidates for president and vice-president had not submitted a declaration of candidacy. On September 9, Judge J. Andrew Crompton rejected a challenge to Hawkins being on the ballot in Pennsylvania although the challenge against Walker being on the ballot was accepted. Crompton ruled that Hawkins should appear on the ballot as the stand-in presidential candidate did submit a declaration of candidacy while the stand-in vice-presidential candidate had not. On September 10, the

Pennsylvania Democratic Party The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg and is the largest political party in the state. Its chair is Senator Sharif Street. Governor Tom Wo ...

appealed to the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...

to remove Hawkins from the ballot. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ordered election officials to not print ballots until the court made a decision on whether or not Hawkins would appear on the ballot. On September 17, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled five to two in favor of removing Hawkins from the ballot. All five Democratic members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court voted to remove Hawkins while both Republican members voted to keep him on the ballot.

Wisconsin

Hawkins' presidential petition in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

was challenged in August under the basis that Walker had changed her residence address within South Carolina. On August 19, the staff of the Wisconsin Elections Commission recommended that Hawkins be removed from the ballot due to his petitions not having enough signatures when the signatures for the out-of-date postal address for Walker were removed. On August 20, the commission voted three to three to remove Hawkins from the ballot; all of the Democratic members of the commission voted to remove Hawkins while the Republican members voted to keep him on the ballot. On September 3, Hawkins filed a lawsuit to the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

. On September 10, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered election officials to stop mailing out ballots until the court ruled on whether or not Hawkins and/or

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

could appear on the ballot. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled four to three in favor of the election commission on September 14, citing that Hawkins had waited too long to file a lawsuit and that it would cause too much disruption to place his name on the ballot.

Campaign finance

On August 23, 2019, the Hawkins campaign announced they had met the requisite federal matching funds for

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and New York. Only his campaign and that of Steve Bullock applied for primary season matching funds. On July 9, 2020, the Hawkins campaign announced they achieved federal matching fund requirements in 20 necessary states, claiming they had raised $220,000 from 4,000 donors in over 7,000 total contributions.

Political positions

Climate change

Hawkins supported the Green Party's version of the

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 ...

that would serve as a transitional plan to the exclusive use of renewable energy by 2030 utilizing a

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...

, jobs guarantee, free college,

single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...

and a focus on using public programs. He was a critic of the Democratic version of the Green New Deal written by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, stating that "unfortunately, they took the brand but watered down the content".

Democratic Party reform

Hawkins disagreed with the "party-within-the-party" approach to the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

advocated by organizations such as the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

or by individuals such as Bernie Sanders. Instead, he believed that socialists should build up an independent Left party.

Participatory democracy

Hawkins advocated for expansion of

town meeting Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...

s, expanding their powers to enact legislation and granting them the power to recall representatives.

Medicare for All

Hawkins viewed health care as a human right and a public good. His plan is to implement a single-payer National Health Insurance in which health care facilities are publicly owned, healthcare workers are salaried, and the system is governed by community boards elected by the public (two-thirds of the seats) and health care workers (one-third of the seats). The system would be funded by allocating current public healthcare dollars (about 70% of current spending) to the system. The rest of the funding would come from progressive taxes on individuals/families, both earned and unearned income, who earn more than 150% of the adjusted Federal Poverty Level and on large corporations.

Endorsements

Local officials

Former

, President of San Francisco Board of Supervisors (2003–2005), San Francisco Supervisor (2001–2005),

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 U ...

's running mate for vice president in

2008 United States presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator f ...

Party officials

* Margaret Flowers, co-chair of the

from 2018–Present; adviser to the board of

Physicians for a National Health Program Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is an advocacy organization of more than 20,000 American physicians, medical students, and health professionals that supports a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health insurance program. ...

; medical doctor

Notable individuals

* Ajamu Baraka, national organizer for Black Alliance for Peace, Green nominee for vice president in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

* Paul Le Blanc, historian, labor activist * Chris Hedges, author, recipient of the

Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear p ...

in 2002, former ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Middle East bureau chief * Cheri Honkala, founder of

Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) is a coalition of grassroots organizations, community groups, and non-profit organizations in the United States of America committed to uniting the poor across color lines as the basis for a ...

, Green nominee for vice president in

Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman (; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to ...

, programmer, software freedom activist, founder of FSF and

GNU Project The GNU Project () is a free software, mass collaboration project announced by Richard Stallman on September 27, 1983. Its goal is to give computer users freedom and control in their use of their computers and computing devices by collaborat ...

* Bhaskar Sunkara, publisher of '' Jacobin'' * Kevin Zeese, lawyer, political activist, Green nominee for

U.S. Senate 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 pow ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 2006 (''former press secretary for Howie Hawkins 2020'') (''Deceased'')

Organizations

Activist groups

* StudentLoanJustice.org *

Workers' Liberty The Alliance for Workers' Liberty (AWL), also known as Workers' Liberty, is a Trotskyism, Trotskyist group in Britain and Australia, which has been identified with the theorist Sean Matgamna throughout its history. It publishes the newspaper ''So ...

National political parties and organizations

* Independent Socialist Group *

''(received party's nomination)'' * Socialist Alternative ''(received party's endorsement)'' * Solidarity

State political parties

* Arizona Green Party * Connecticut Green Party * Green Party of Arkansas * Green Party of Florida *

Green Party of Hawaii The Green Party of Hawai'i (GPH) ( haw, ʻAoʻao ʻōmaʻomaʻo o Hawaiʻi) is the green party organization in the state of Hawaii, and an affiliate organization of the Green Party of the United States. The party's focus includes environmental ...

Green Party of Mississippi The Green Party of Mississippi is a state political party in Mississippi, United States. It is the Mississippi affiliate of the Green Party of the United States. The Green Party was officially recognized by the state government in April 2002 and g ...

* Green Party of Montana *

Green Party of New Jersey The Green Party of New Jersey is the state party organization for New Jersey of the Green Party of the United States. It was founded in January 1997 by Nick Mellis (chair from 2008 to 2009) and Steve Welzer. Activity The Green Party of New Jer ...

* Green Party of New Mexico *

Green Party of New York The Green Party of New York is the affiliate of the Green Party of the United States in the U.S. state of New York. It was founded in 1992 and is a part of the Green Party movement. The Party has had ballot access at various points in its histo ...

Green Party of Ohio The Green Party of Ohio is the state party organization for Ohio of the Green Party of the United States. History The Green Party of Ohio was founded as the Green Party of Northeast Ohio (the Northeast Ohio Greens) in the early 1990s. The Green ...

* Green Party of Pennsylvania * Green Party of Virginia *

Green Party of Washington State The Green Party of Washington State (GPWA) is the state party organization for Washington affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. As of 2017, GPWA has 9 affiliated local parties with at-large members and numerous locals in formati ...

Green-Rainbow Party The Green-Rainbow Party (GRP) is the Massachusetts affiliate of the Green Party of the United States and a political designation in Massachusetts officially recognized by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Up until 2020, it was a ...

* Kansas Green Party * Maine Green Independent Party *

Maryland Green Party The Maryland Green Party is the state party organization for Maryland of the Green Party of the United States. The Maryland Green Party qualified as a recognized political party on August 17, 2000, since that time the party has grown to 9,350 m ...

Mountain Party The Mountain Party is a political party in West Virginia, affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. It is a progressive and environmentalist party whose party platform primarily focuses on "Grassroots Democracy", "Social Justice & ...

* North Carolina Green Party *

Pacific Green Party The Pacific Green Party of Oregon (PGP) is a political party in the U.S. state of Oregon, recognized by the Oregon Secretary of State. It is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. The party has occasionally elected candidates to p ...

Socialist Party of New Jersey The Socialist Party of New Jersey (SPNJ) is the state chapter of the Socialist Party USA in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The Socialist Party of New Jersey engages in both electoral politics and non-electoral activism. Electoral campaigns inclu ...

* Socialist Party of New York * South Carolina Green Party * Vermont Green Party

Controversies

Allegations of irregularities in the Green Party primary

On October 16, 2019, a joint candidate letter called for reform in the party's primary process in response to the party's announcement that it would remove unrecognized candidates from its website list that November, an effort which the other Green candidates claimed was being to done to help Hawkins secure its nomination. This was followed by allegations of

conflicts of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, finance, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, t ...

among the party's leadership, who the candidates believed where helping party co-founder Hawkins, and an alleged overlooking of a violation of Green Party rules regarding Hawkins’ campaign for the Socialist Party's nomination. After the 2020 Green Party Nominating Convention named Hawkins as their presidential candidate, candidate Dario Hunter announced via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he would continue to pursue the presidency as an independent candidate. Hunter cited alleged irregularities and undemocratic processes throughout the Green Party presidential primary, stating that party leaders had committed “ethical lapses” to ensure Hawkins nomination, and criticizing Hawkins for what he saw as his "

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

perspective" and "CIA talking points.”

Dispute with Gloria La Riva

On February 20, 2020, Hawkins published a statement critical of his opponent in the Peace and Freedom Party nomination primary,

, alleging that she supported "a 'safe strategy' of supporting Bernie Sanders in the 'battleground' states" and stating "you didn't join the Peace and Freedom Party to support Democrats." LaRiva responded stating that it was "not an honest critique" and " r Hawkins to further imply that he is the stronger supporter of Peace and Freedom is not convincing." LaRiva won the Peace and Freedom Party's only primary contest in California, receiving 67% to Hawkins' 33%.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Socialist Party USA 2020 United States presidential campaigns Socialist Party USA presidential campaigns Green Party of the United States presidential campaigns Howie Hawkins