United States third party and independent presidential candidates, 2008

United States third party and independent presidential candidates, 2008

2004 ← → 2012

This article contains lists of official third party or independent candidates associated with the 2008 United States presidential election.

Third party is a term that is commonly used in the United States to refer to political parties other than the two major parties, which are the Democratic Party and Republican Party. The term is used as innumerate shorthand for all such parties, or sometimes only the largest of them.

An independent candidate is one who runs for office with no formal party affiliation.

Candidates who received, or ran for, the presidential nomination of a political party other than that of the two major parties in the 2008 presidential election, as well those who ran as independents, are listed below.

Candidates who qualified for minimum 270 electoral votes

The following nominees appeared on enough state ballots to theoretically obtain the minimum 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.

Constitution Party

Ticket

Presidential nominee Chuck Baldwin		Running mate Darrell Castle
	Main article: Chuck Baldwin presidential campaign, 2008 Pastor, conservative political activist, and Constitution Party 2004 Vice Presidential nominee. Nominated by the Constitution Party at its 2008 National Convention on April 26, 2008 with 383.8 delegates.[1] On Election Day, Baldwin received 199,314 votes, about 0.15% of the total popular vote. [2]		National Vice-Chair of the Constitution Party. Attorney, political activist and former Marine Corps Lieutenant from Tennessee.

Candidates

Candidate[1]	Image	Background	Delegates[1]
Alan Keyes		Main article: Alan Keyes presidential campaign, 2008 Political activist, former U.S. diplomat. Three-time candidate for the Republican presidential nomination (1996, 2000, 2008), and three-time candidate for the U.S. Senate (1988, 1992, and 2004).	125.7
Max "The Swashbuckler" Riekse		Former U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel.[3]	4.5
Susan Gail Ducey		Stay at home mom and registered nurse from Kansas. Started out 2008 presidential campaign running as a Republican then switched to independent prior to seeking the Constitution Party nomination. She was also a 1996 Republican presidential candidate and made a brief run for the United States Congress in 2000 as a Republican in Oklahoma.[4][5]	1
Daniel Imperato		Businessman from Florida and Libertarian Party presidential candidate.	1

Green Party

Ticket

Presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney		Running mate Rosa Clemente
	Main article: Cynthia McKinney presidential campaign, 2008 Former Congresswoman from Georgia (1993-2003, 2005-2007). McKinney clinched the Green Party nomination on July 12, 2008 at its 2008 National Convention in Chicago, IL with 324 delegates.[6] McKinney also received the endorsement of the Workers World Party in July. [7] McKinney received 161,603 votes for 0.12% of the vote. [2]		Commentator, political activist, community organizer and independent reporter from New York.

Candidates

Candidate	Image	Background	Delegates[6]
Kat Swift		State Party Co-Chair, progressive activist and newspaper credit manager from Texas.	38.5
Kent Mesplay		Biomedical engineer who sought Green presidential nomination in 2004 from California.	35
Jesse Johnson		Filmmaker, and 2006 Senate candidate and 2004 gubernatorial candidate for the Mountain Party from West Virginia.	32.5
Elaine Brown			9
Jared Ball		College professor, journalist from Maryland.[8]	8
Howie Hawkins			8

Libertarian Party

Ticket

Presidential nominee Bob Barr		Running mate Wayne Allyn Root
	Main article: Bob Barr presidential campaign, 2008 Former Congressman and U.S. Attorney from Georgia. Barr won the nomination of the Libertarian Party on May 25, 2008 at its 2008 National Convention, in Denver, Colorado with 324 votes on the sixth ballot. Barr received 523,686 votes, 0.4% of the national vote.[2]		Sports handicapper, businessman, author, and TV show host from Nevada.

Candidates

Candidate[9]	Image	Background	Delegates (1st Ballot)
Mary Ruwart		Author of Healing Our World, research scientist, activist, candidate for the Libertarian 1984 presidential nomination and 1992 vice-presidential nomination.	152
Wayne Allyn Root		Sports handicapper, businessman, author, and TV show host from Nevada.	123
Mike Gravel		Main article: Mike Gravel presidential campaign, 2008 Former U.S. Senator from Alaska. Previously a candidate for the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential nomination.	71
George Phillies		Professor of Physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute[10], 2002 candidate for chair of the Libertarian National Committee, and 1998 Congressional candidate from Massachusetts.	49
Steve Kubby		Businessman, marijuana legalization activist, and 1998 Gubernatorial candidate from California.	41
Mike Jingozian		Software company founder from Oregon.[11][12]	23
Christine Smith		Humanitarian activist, and writer from Colorado.[13][14]	6
Daniel Imperato		Businessman from Florida.	1
Robert Milnes		Activist from Camden, New Jersey.[15]	0

Independent

For independent candidates that did not achieve ballot access in enough states to win 270 electoral votes, see Independents section.

Presidential candidate Ralph Nader		Running mate Matt Gonzalez
	Main article: Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2008 Consumer advocate, Write-in candidate in 1992, Green Party presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000, and 2004 independent candidate. Announced candidacy February 24, 2008 on Meet the Press. Nader received 738,475 votes,[2] the third highest total in the popular vote count.		Prominent lawyer and activist in San Francisco, California politics. In 2003 while a city supervisor was elected by peers on the Board of Supervisors to the presidency of the board representing a city of nearly a million people. He was a close second in a mayoral bid that won him 47% of the vote despite being outspent 6.5 to 1. [16]

Other candidates

The nominees of the following parties appeared on fewer state ballots than needed to qualify for the minimum 270 electoral votes required to win the electoral college. These candidates could only theoretically have been elected in the unlikely event of a successful write-in campaign, or in the event that no candidate received at least 270 electoral votes. In the latter scenario, the election of the President would be determined by the House of Representatives.

Boston Tea Party

Presidential nominee
Charles Jay	Jay was selected as the nominee of the Boston Tea Party at its online Convention held June 15-16, 2008. He was the 2004 Presidential nominee of the Personal Choice Party, which also endorsed him in 2008. Jay received 2,422 votes.[2]

Vice Presidential nominee
Thomas L. Knapp	Blogger, political activist, of Missouri. He also ran for Congress as a Libertarian.

New American Independent Party

Presidential nominee
Frank McEnulty	President & Chief Financial Officer of Our Castle Homes from California. McEnulty won the New American Independent Party nomination in March 2008. He simultaneously ran as the vice-presidential nominee of the Reform Party in states where the NAIP was unable to obtain ballot status.[17] McEnulty received 828 votes in Colorado the only state he was on the ballot.[2]

Party for Socialism and Liberation

Presidential nominee
Gloria La Riva	Socialist, long-time anti-war and immigrant rights activist, of California. The Party for Socialism and Liberation announced the La Riva "People Over Profits" campaign on January 17, 2008. La Riva received the nomination of the Peace & Freedom Party in gubernatorial races in 1994 and 1998. She received 6,808 votes.[2]

Vice Presidential nominee
Eugene Puryear	Anti-war activist, social justice organizer, and Party for Socialism and Liberation National Committee member, of Washington, D.C.

Prohibition Party

Presidential nominee
Gene Amondson	Temperance lecturer, minister, artist, and 2004 Presidential Nominee. Nominated at the Prohibition Party National Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana, September 14, 2007. Amondson received 653 votes.[2]

Vice Presidential nominee
Leroy Pletten	Temperance movement activist from Michigan.

Reform Party

Presidential nominee
Ted Weill	Businessman, of Mississippi. Weill received the nomination of the Reform Party at its National Convention in Dallas, Texas on July 20, 2008.[17] Weill received 481 votes.[2]

Vice Presidential nominee
Frank McEnulty	Businessman, of California. McEnulty also ran as the presidential nominee of the New American Independent Party in the states where the Reform Party was unable to obtain ballot access.[17]

Candidates
Daniel Imperato	Businessman from Florida who eventually joined the Libertarian Party.

Socialist Party USA

Presidential nominee Main article: Brian Moore presidential campaign, 2008
Brian Moore		Antiwar activist, independent (Green Party endorsed) candidate for U.S. Senate in Florida in 2006. Moore received the Socialist Party USA's presidential nomination at its National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri on October 20, 2007. Moore received 6,528 votes nationally.[2]

Vice Presidential nominee
Stewart Alexander		Political activist and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate of California

Candidates
Eric Chester		Author and former economics professor. 1996 Socialist Party USA vice-presidential candidate, three-time candidate for SPUSA presidential nomination (2000, 2004, 2008).

Socialist Workers Party

Presidential nominee
Róger Calero	Socialist Workers Party candidate for President of the United States in 2004 and 2008, and for the United States Senate in New York in 2006. Calero received 5,127 votes(James Harris who stood in for Calero in several states received 2,424), giving the party 7,551.[2]

Vice Presidential nominee
Alyson Kennedy	Laborer and political activist of New Jersey.

Independents

Independents do not run for a party and as such can be diverse from each other in numerous ways. They had no need to run in a primary, as they were candidates for the 2008 election already.

Candidates
Alan Keyes Main article: Alan Keyes presidential campaign, 2008	Former Ambassador in the Ronald Reagan administration. Unsuccessfully sought the nominations of the Republican Party and the Constitution Party before beginning a campaign as an independent. Keyes received 47,694 votes, [2]. Brian Rohrbough of Colorado was Keyes' running mate.
Joe Schriner	Journalist and author from Ohio. Independent presidential candidate in 2000 and 2004.[18] Dale Way of Michigan was Schriner's running mate.

See also

• List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2008
• Democratic Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008
• Republican Party (United States) presidential candidates, 2008
• United States presidential election, 2008 timeline
• List of political parties in the United States

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Chuck Baldwin is Constitution Party Nominee for President". Ballot Access News. Richard Winger. April 26, 2008. http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/04/26/chuck-baldwin-is-constitution-party-nominee-for-president/. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} "2008 official presidential general election results". FEC. 2008-11-04. http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2008/2008presgeresults.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-03. 
3. ^ Gunn, Steve 'Mad Max' not the life of the Constitution Party, MLive.com. April 28, 2008
4. ^ "Presidency 2008", www.politics1.com.
5. ^ Duceyforpresident.com
6. ^ ^{a b} "2008 Presidential Convention Ballot Results". gp.org. United States Green Party. http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/2008-Presidential-Ballots_1.htm. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
7. ^ World Workers Party formally endoreses McKinney, Independent Political Report, July 17, 2008.
8. ^ Jared Ball Ends Campaign in Support of Cynthia McKinney www.jaredball.com, January 17, 2008
9. ^ "Presidential and VP Vote Totals - Updated Live!". LP.org. 2008-05-25. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20080527184318/http://www.lp.org/media/article_588.shtml. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
10. ^ Faculty Directory - George Phillies
11. ^ Mike Jingozian for President FEC disclosure report, FEC.gov
12. ^ Candidate profile:Mike Jingozian, at Project Vote Smart.
13. ^ Christine Smith for President FEC disclosure report, FEC.gov.
14. ^ Candidate profile:Christine Smith at Project Vote Smart.
15. ^ Libertarian Party of PA/NJ Presidential Debate (video)
16. ^ Matthew Hirsch. "Money rules: Public financing for mayoral candidates tops the list of electoral reforms the Ethics Commission is pursuing". San Francisco Bay Guardian. http://www.sfbg.com/40/07/news_finance.html. 
17. ^ ^{a b c} "Dallas Reform Party Meeting", www.ballot-access.org, July 7, 2008
18. ^ (May 15, 2008) An Average Joe For President OpEdNews.com.

External links

• Photo Gallery with Fun Facts of Third Party candidates
• Politics1 Presidency 2008 (includes Third Party and Independent candidates)