2004 Green National Convention Explained

Year:2004
Party:Green
Date:June 23 - 28, 2004
Venue:Midwest Express Center
City:Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Presidential Nominee:David Cobb
Presidential Nominee State:Texas
Vice Presidential Nominee:Pat LaMarche
Vice Presidential Nominee State:Maine
Totaldelegates:770
Votesneeded:386 (majority)
Previous Year:2000
Next Year:2008

The 2004 Green National Convention was held at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee and the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 23–28, 2004 to nominate the Green Party's candidates for president and vice president.

Ralph Nader, the Green Party nominee for president in 2000, did not seek the nomination of the Green Party, but instead sought the endorsement of his independent candidacy by the party. An endorsement of Nader's campaign would have allowed for each state party affiliated with the national Green Party to choose their own candidate.[1] On the opening day of the convention, Nader's running mate and former Green Party nominee for Governor of California Peter Camejo debated David Cobb of Texas, who was seeking the Green Party's nomination against the Nader candidacy.[2]

In that interview, Camejo called on the Green National Convention to endorse both Nader and David Cobb and allow individual parties to choose which candidate to put on their primary ballot. Cobb criticized the Nader-Camejo ticket for not seeking the Green Party's nomination and running independently of the party.[2]

Round 1 of presidential nomination voting

The voting at the national convention was complicated by the broad support for Ralph Nader, the 2000 nominee, in spite of his not seeking nor expressing interest in accepting the Green nomination in 2004. Several candidates, most notably Peter Camejo, presented themselves in various states as stand-ins for Nader. Many Nader supporters voted "no nominee" in order to free the convention and state parties to endorse Nader's independent candidacy. At the time of the convention, Nader had already been endorsed by the Reform Party of the United States of America.[3]

770 delegates voting; majority = 386 votes[4]

308

119.0

117.5

40.0

24.0

14.0

9.5

9.0

5.5

1

Round 2 of presidential nomination voting

According to the Green papers website, Peter Camejo, Carol Miller, Ralph Nader, and Lorna Salzman were eliminated because they did not indicate, in writing, that they would accept the nomination as the Green Party candidate for president.

770 delegates voting; majority = 386 votes

Vice-presidential candidate

The party also nominated former gubernatorial candidate Pat LaMarche of Maine as its candidate for vice president.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Nader And The Green Party’s Presidential Choice For 2004. Solomon. Norman. June 3, 2004. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. 29 August 2015.
  2. News: To Nader or Not to Nader?: A Green Party Debate. Goodman. Amy. June 23, 2004. Democracy Now!. 29 August 2015.
  3. News: On eve of Milwaukee convention: Green Party divided over Nader campaign. Martin. Patrick. June 28, 2004. World Socialist Web Site. 29 August 2015.
  4. News: Green Party National Convention - Roll Call Vote. June 28, 2004. The Green Papers. 29 August 2015.