At the November 7, 2006 election, each political party received this number of votes for the top office on the ballot: Democratic 40,264,560 (49.28%); Republican 37,379,872 (45.75%), Green 949,185 (1.16%), Libertarian 778,395 (.95%), Constitution 193,063 (.24%), Reform 97,677 (.12%), other parties that had their own nominees 245,289 (.30%), Independent Candidates 1,797,050 (2.20%).
Top-most office means Governor, in the 36 states that elected a Governor. For the others, it means U.S. Senate. In the three states that didn’t elect either, it is U.S. House.
In most states, the figures are still unofficial, so these totals will eventually be somewhat different.
Using this benchmark (the vote in the nation for the top-most office), this was the best mid-term year the Green Party has ever had, and the second best mid-term year the Libertarian Party ever had (2002 was better for Libertarians than 2006, partly because the party was on the ballot in more states in 2002 than it was in 2006).
I hope my fellow Constitutionists will take note of this and realize that we need more candidates across the country. Where we had candidates we did, in most cases, quite well.
The CP, LP and GP should all be encouraged and renew and re-double their efforts to slay the two-headed dragon. The country will be much better off when the time comes that the public focuses its attention on the real and honest debates among our party’s candidates! I’m enough of an optimist to believe that day will come.
So is it fair to say that the Green Party is now the country’s largest third party?
Gary Odom is correct. Due to the serious nature that the CP, GP, and LP take themselves, they are making progress. They should be encouraged – although they all should be doing much better.
On the other hand, the Reform Party of the United States is slowly dying on the vine – due to all the divisions and bickering it has gone through. That is very sad; however, it is not uncommon for new political parties to go through that process.
I am of two minds with the Green Party and national minor parties and national micro parties and those really wierd entities, one state NATIONAL parties.
What is it about politics that makes people felony stupid? Doesn’t any one apply logic to their strategy?
We [third party types and true independents] constantly sling arrows at the duopoly. Let’s face it, the American power brokers have really blown it. For small term social gains the Democans and the Republicrats have taken the globe’s one and only super power to a point of being an extremely justified international joke!
Trickie Dick Nixon, Jerry [Beg Your Pardon] Ford, Jimmy [1980 Olympic Boycott] Carter, the Bushes, the Clintons, Gulf War Joe in Connecticut, California’s Recalled [for Ethical Defects] Gray Davis. The two establishment parties make mistake after mistake after mistake.
But then the minor and micro organizations seem to do not much more than stumble along. And the Greens don’t even have a veterans plank!
Who has done big time impressive things [Non Democratic and Non Republican] in 2004 and 2006? The weird one state national party groups have done exceding well. California’s dysfunctional Peace and Freedom Party, including a two day ‘death’ in January 2006 [via Adolph Schwartzen Faker hand pick elections Czar], did very well in head to head for state wide positions. In 2004 their candidate for President [a certified cop killer and federal death row felon] out polled [again, in one state] all other Socialist, or Feminist, or Ultra Left [what ever that means] groups in the nation!
In California the sloppy, antiquated, stuck in the 20th Century, stuck in the 1960s, Peace and Freedom Party out polled American Consumer Icon Ralph Nader in 2004. And yet Independent /Reform Party Nader out polled Green, Lib, and Constitution candidates nationally.
The Independence Party state parties [with out any nation structure —-or want of one] elected a state Assembly candidate in New York and did well in Minnesota and other states.
May be that is the way to go? Strong independent or semi autonomous state groups, and screw the national scene!