Over the years, many major party nominees have been elected to Congress who started out in electoral politics as members and candidates for a minor party. The newest example is Kyrsten Sinema, who has just been elected to the U.S. House from Arizona as a Democrat. In 2002, she was the Green Party nominee for Arizona State House, 15th district (Tucson). The Green Party listed her in 2002 as one of their star candidates who had a chance of being elected. As a Green, she polled 16.38% of the vote in 2002.
One of the advantages of minor parties in the U.S. is that they often serve as a training ground for aspiring young people who first run as minor party nominees. The experience of running can be educational for the candidate, and may increase self-confidence enough to then switch to a major party.
The information in this post is not correct. Although Kyrsten Sinema was a prominent member of the Arizona Green Party in 2002, she was not the Green Party nominee for the Arizona State House of Representatives from the Fifteenth Legislative District because the Arizona Green Party did not have ballot access at that time. She was an independent candidate, who was endorsed by the Arizona Green Party. Although independent candidates in Arizona can designate a party affiliation, she did not designate herself as being a Green Party candidate but designated her party as “Kyrsten Sinema.” With the hurdles faced by independent candidates in Arizona, it was a pretty shrewed move. Everyone that I know in the Arizona Green Party still loves Kyrsten Sinema and wishes her all the best in Congress.
Gerard Davis
Green Party nominee for the Arizona State House of Representatives from the Twenty-Fourth Legislative District
#1, I agree with all your facts, and I thank you for your comment. But I disagree with the concept that unqualified parties can’t have nominees. Unqualified parties do have nominees, and they nominate by convention or party meeting. The Green Party’s list of nominees from 2002 lists Sinema as a nominee.
“The experience of running can be educational for the candidate, and may increase self-confidence enough to then switch to a major party.”
I disagree with this statement. In my opinion, it takes more courage to run as a minor party or independent candidate, without the backing of a major party, as well as the deep-pocketed donors that follow suit.
“I disagree with this statement. In my opinion, it takes more courage to run as a minor party or independent candidate, without the backing of a major party, as well as the deep-pocketed donors that follow suit.”
THANK YOU.
I would never, ever run as a Democrat or Republican. What those two parties has done to our country is shameful, and I reject any notion of trying to change them from within. They’re too far gone. To hell with them.
I also disagree with “The experience of running can be educational for the candidate, and may increase self-confidence enough to then switch to a major party.”
It takes more confidence to run on true beliefs and values and to fight tooth and nail to even get on the ballot.
Perhaps it should have read that it is good experience, while the candidate still has values, and before they sell out.
#3 & #4 Great comments by both of you.
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My experience is that some people find that they have a knack for adjusting their rhetoric to the people they are addressing and find the ability intoxicating. Those folks are better suited to one of the main stream parties where they can use that talent for duplicity. The major parties realize that and pick them off with offers of corporate backing. Some of them go on to success most of them cease to be a thorn in the side of the Corporate parties.
All the more reason for eliminating Citizens United, Buckley v Vallejo and introducing rank choice voting.
Politicians for the most part in our system find it easier to b.s. the electorate rather than working to help them find their commonalities.
She’s not an independent. She’s a communist as this post proves.
She’s hot. I want to suck on her titties.