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Green Party candidate
Ralph Nader failed to win the 5 percent of the national vote needed
to earn the Greens federal matching money in 2004. But his role
in this year’s presidential race could not be more significant.
As the U.S. presidential election came down to the wire Wednesday
morning, Nader held more votes in Wisconsin, Oregon and Florida
than the narrow margins that divided Gore and Texas Governor George
W. Bush in those races.
In Florida, the state crucial to determining which major party candidate
will win the White House, Nader’s 2 percent or 96,560 votes
could deny Gore the 25 electoral votes he needs to eke out a victory
in the electoral college over Bush. After an extraordinary night
in which the state teetered between the two major candidates, the
final tally showed them separated by a mere 200 votes. The state
officials announced there would be an automatic recount.
In two other states also too close to call, Wisconsin and Oregon,
Bush held narrow leads, 49 percent versus Gore’s 46 percent
and Nader’s 4 percent in Oregon. Bush held just 193 more votes
than Gore in Wisconsin, with Nader bringing in more than 91,000,
or 4 percent of the vote.
Poll results show that Nader did not siphon enough votes from the
Democratic candidate in other swing states including Michigan, Pennsylvania,
Minnesota and Washington to defeat Gore outright.
When asked tonight if he was disappointed at earning just 3 percent
of the national vote, Nader declared the night a win for the Green
Party anyway.
"We're coming out of this election with millions of votes --
with the third-largest political party in America, replacing the
Reform Party," he said. "We become a viable watchdog party
on the two parties, telling them they need to shape up or they're
going to lose votes in the future."
Nader pointed to his strong showing in California, Washington and
Oregon, where he collected 5, 4 and 4 percent of the vote, respectively.
Nader campaigned in Florida repeatedly in October and November,
irking Democratic Party faithful. And despite pre-election polls
showing him with 3 percent support nationally, Nader had refused
to abandon his cause and urge voters in swing states to opt for
Gore.
"If you ask me," he said, "I wouldn’t vote for
Gore under any circumstances."
He had hoped to attract 5 percent of the vote and qualify the Green
Party for federal matching funds in 2004.
But instead of campaigning in solid Gore states like New York, Texas
and Arizona, where the outcome was preordained, Nader campaigned
in swing states including Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Nader has said that with one of every four Americans unable to earn
a living wage despite the good economic times, change is overdue.
The other candidates have betrayed the American people by opening
up the Pacific Northwest to logging, by favoring HMOs that serve
corporate interests instead of patients, and by allowing the "imperialist"
rise of the WTO and NAFTA.
Nader had urged progressives to give him a "vote of conscience."
He told supporters at a rally in Washington D.C. Sunday that even
if people pick the "lesser of two evils" they are "still
left with evil."
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