Greens respond to Ralph Nader's decision not to seek the Green Party nomination
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
www.gp.org

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders expressed their disappointment in Ralph Nader's decision, announced on Thursday, not to seek the 2008 Green presidential nomination.

"A lot of Greens have supported Mr. Nader and wanted him to win the party's nomination. There has been an active effort by many Green leaders to 'draft' Mr. Nader as a Green candidate, and his success in recent Green primaries demonstrates that he remains a very popular figure within the Green Party. There is widespread disappointment among Greens that he chose to go a different route," said Phil Huckelberry, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Four candidates are seeking the Green nomination, which will be decided at the Green Party's National Convention in Chicago, July 10-13. Jesse Johnson, Cynthia McKinney, Kent Mesplay, and Kat Swift are touring the US and meeting Greens and other voters.

"The Green Party intends to run a ticket of Green nominees, and we're working hard to get their names on the ballot lines of every state and the District of Columbia. We look forward to party unity behind our nominees. We wish Ralph Nader and [running mate] Matt Gonzalez well in their independent campaign," said Clifford Thornton, also a co-chair of the Green Party.

Currently, 21 state Green Parties hold ballot access within their respective states, and Greens anticipate adding Arizona to the list soon. Five state Green Parties have participated in primaries; other Green Parties are measuring preference for presidential candidates through caucuses and statewide meetings.

Mr. Nader ran as the Green nominee in 1996 and 2000. In 2004, David Cobb won the Green nomination, while Mr. Nader ran as an independent.

The Green Party has opened a web page featuring videos of Green presidential candidates and debates <http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/presidential-videos.php>.

List of Green presidential candidates and their campaign web sites:

Jesse Johnson www.jesse08.org

Cynthia McKinney www.runcynthiarun.org

Kent Mesplay www.mesplay.org

Kat Swift www.voteswift.org

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Video of Green presidential candidates
www.gp.org/2008-elections/presidential-videos.php

Green candidate database for 2007 and other campaign information:
www.gp.org/elections.shtml

Green Party News Center
www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml

Green Party Speakers Bureau
www.gp.org/speakers

Green Party ballot access page
www.gp.org/2008-elections

2008 Green National Convention: Live Green,
Vote Green
www.gp.org/2008-elections/index.shtml

Media credentialing
www.gp.org/committees/media/kit.shtml