Green Party National Convention

Online www.gp.org/convention

July 9-12, 2020

(updated July 12, 2020; several links added Aug. 6, 2020) Greens held their convention by Zoom on July 9-11, 2020.  The first two days were workshops; selection of the presidential ticket took place on June 11.  The event was originally scheduled to be held at Wayne State University in Detroit, but shifted online due to the pandemic.

Howie Hawkins, who was an original co-founder of the Green Party back in 1991¹, entered the convention as the presumptive nominee, claiming 184 of the 176 delegates needed and wins in 31 of 36 primaries.²  Hawkins has run for office numerous times in New York (+), including three times as governor, most recently in 2018 (+).  His running mate is Angela Walker, originally from Milwaukee but now living in South Carolina; Walker was the Socialist Party USA vice presidential nominee in 2016.  Hawkins does have his critics; several of his opponents charged the primaries were rigged (1, 2, 3).  Hawkins' leading competitors were Dario Hunter, a former Youngstown, OH school board member now living in California, and David Rolde, a revolutionary communist anti-imperialist activist from Massachusetts.  There were several other candidates who did not meet the party's criteria for official recognition (+).  Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, experienced a brief buzz boomlet in April-May 2020, and although he appeared to withdraw from consideration, a draft effort continued to advance his name (+).  

Greens from 42 states, DC and four caucuses participated in the roll call vote.  Of 357 votes tallied, Hawkins won 210 votes or 58.8 percent.  In his acceptance speech he described the Hawkins-Walker ticket as "two workers for the White House."  (Hawkins is a former Teamster and Walker works as a truck driver).  Hawkins argued that, "The corporate two-party state has failed us."  He is advancing what he calls an "ecosocialist" agenda.  Indeed, Hawkins was the first candidate to run on the Green New Deal, in his 2010 gubernatorial race.  Many of the ideas Hawkins is advancing were advocated by Bernie Sanders in his recent campaign, but Hawkins said his appeal extends beyond "refugees from the Sanders campaign" to millions of people who do not vote and are alienated from the system.  Hawkins is also the nominee of the Socialist Party USA.

Third party candidates have long been marginalized in American politics and it will take a miracle for Hawkins' message to be heard on par with those of Trump and Biden.  Greens presently have ballot access in 25 states including DC.  Hawkins said he is aiming for ballot access in all 50 states and DC as well as the Guam advisory presidential vote; previous election cycles suggest 45 states is an optimistic target.  An even greater challenge in the next four months will be getting media coverage.  Hawkins is a cogent speaker with a clear and compelling platform.  He had strong words for the media, declaring "the Green Party is worth covering on these life and death issues." 

2020 will mark the seventh time Greens have run a presidential candidate.*

Year	Ticket	On the Ballot	Votes	%age
1996	Ralph Nader/Winona LaDuke	22 States + DC	685,297	0.71%
2000	Ralph Nader/Winona LaDuke	44 States + DC	2,882,955	2.74%
2004	David Cobb/Pat LaMarche	28 States + DC	119,859	0.10%
2008	Cynthia McKinna/Rosa Clemente	33 States + DC	161,797	0.12%
2012	Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala	37 States + DC	469,627	0.36%
2016	Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka	45 States + DC	1,457,216	1.07%

*Nader was drafted in 1996 and did not wage an active campaign.

Notes.
1. Richard Idriss, a critic active in the Draft Jesse movement, says Hawkins was "a representative of the Clamshell Alliance who joined the party."

2. The number of people who voted in Green Party primaries was tiny, in the thousands.  See Wikipedia "Results of the 2020 Green Party presidential primaries"