At least ten presidential nominating conventions will be held in August and September:
1. The Peace and Freedom Party meets in Sacramento, California, on August 2-3.
2. The Natural Law Party of Michigan meets on August 9.
3. The Independent Party of Delaware meets on August 16.
4. The Independent/Ecology Party formed this year by Ralph Nader meets in Los Angeles on August 16. This party is on the ballot in Hawaii, New Mexico and Florida.
5. The Democratic Party meets in Denver August 25-28.
6. The Independence Party of South Carolina meets on September 6.
7. The Republican Party meets in Minneapolis, September 1-4.
8. The New York Independence Party meets September 21.
It is not known when the New York Conservative Party, or the Oregon Independent Party, will meet. America’s Independent Party, the party being organized by Alan Keyes, will hold a national convention, but neither the date nor the location has been chosen. It will probably be in August.
I was hoping the Ecology Party of Florida would merge with Nader’s Independent Parties in order for Nader to make the ballot in Florida. I am glad to see this has happened and will it indeed be enough to get Nader on the FL ballot or could it still be challenged in court?
Richard any chance The Peace and Freedom Party will nominate Nader and give him a boost by being eligible in California ?
There is probably a 50-50 chance that PFP will choose Nader. Others may have a better feel for the odds than I do.
So does this mean for sure that Ralph Nader will be on the ballot in Florida with the Ecology party label?
That’s the plan (for Nader in Florida)
Who is expected to gain the Independence Party of NY nomination?
Is the date of the Natural Law Party of Michigan correct? I believe the deadline for nominees of third parties is August 5 (that coincides with the August Primary), and if the NLP has the meeting on Aug. 9, that seems too late.
How about the New Jersey Conservative Party?
Also, how about the other parties in New York? Right To Life, Conservative, Liberal? (If they can get on the ballot that is?)
I was just listing parties that are ballot-qualified. NY Right to Life, NY Liberal, New Jersey Conservative, are not ballot-qualified. The New Jersey presidential deadline was today and the New Jersey Conservatives didn’t petition for that office (they never have had a presidential candidate). NY Right to Life has no plans to do any petitioning this year except for County Judge in Westchester County. NY Liberal says it may try to run someone for New York city mayor in 2009, but nothing this year.
So Nader could perhaps secure up to seven ballot lines based on previous nominations. Natural Law, Ecology/Independent, Peace and Freedom, Independent Party of Delaware and NY Independence Party. The NY Independence Party seems like a long shot considering his past contacts are no longer in it though.
“Who is expected to gain the Independence Party of NY nomination?”
Robert Milnes?
I hope they don’t endorse McCainm because that would be pointless. For some reason it seems that way though.
You may remember that Newsday several weeks ago carried an article about a meeting between McCain and leaders of the NY Independence Party about the
possibility of cross-endorsement by IP, which McCain wanted. I don’t know the outcome. If anyone (other than McCain and IP) knows, it would
be Richard. How about it, Richard?
Richard wrote: “There is probably a 50-50 chance that PFP will choose Nader. Others may have a better feel for the odds than I do.”
Richard you can never be certain about these matters until after they happen. I’ve been down this road to many times before with the Greens to accept that “this candidate is a lock” reassurance. Your heart only winds up getting broke when you do that. Each and every day drags on knowing the Democrats still have time to sabotage the results. Saturday can’t get here fast enough.
Does anyone know where the Natural Law Party of Michigan will be holding its convention?
Bob Marston: That’s why Richard say 50-50 chance
if richard was certain it wouldn’t be 50-50 DUH
I don’t see how Michigan can require the Natural Law Party to choose its presidential candidate by August 5, when it has the same legal status as the Democratic and Republican Parties, and THEY aren’t choosing their tickets by then. (I realize that the Natural Law Party nominates by convention and the Democrats and Republicans nominate by primary, in Michigan, but I don’t think that is a meaningful distinction. In Michigan, and in all states, all qualified parties choose candidates for presidential elector in party meetings, not primaries, so the primary/convention differential only affects office other than president).
I have no idea whom the NY Independence Party will nominate for president; that will be fun to watch.
Richard Says:
July 28th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
There is probably a 50-50 chance that PFP will choose Nader. Others may have a better feel for the odds than I do.
Phil Sawyer responds:
That is probably about as good of a prediction as we can get right now. It is going to be a real fight! Hopefully, things will be much more harmonious than at certain conventions in the past. There is no good reason why that should not be the case, at any rate. Certainly, I am going to do everything in my power to promote peace and the obtaining of collective wisdom.
The fact that Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez are planning to attend the PFP meetings certainly helps their chance of getting that nomination and getting on the ballot in CA.
If Nader got the NY Independence Party nomination, would that lead to a Nader-Bloomberg alliance? There’s something to wish for!
The way that I see things, Mayor Bloomberg does not have a political plan. He does not really know what to do. Neither does the Independence Party of New York.
The Independent Party of Delaware will hold its 2008 Convention on Aug 13, from 6-9PM for registered members and candidates.
contact:
ipodosc@yahhoo.com
(302) 945-2646
Philip, Philip, Philip:
There is a long list of reasons why it is called ‘Politics’ and not ‘High Tea’!
Peace and serenity? Enough time for that when we are all taking ‘dirt naps’!
‘Politics’ : from POLY , the many, and TICKS, blood sucking pests!
Phil Sawyer Says:
July 28th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
The way that I see things, Mayor Bloomberg does not have a political plan. He does not really know what to do. Neither does the Independence Party of New York.
Phil Sawyer adds:
On giving this a little more thought, I am now guessing that Mayor Bloomberg is considering the possibility of running for president, as an independent, in 2012. My adive to his supporters, though, would be that they should not hold their collective breath waiting for that to happen. Still, if my prediction comes true (which I still think that it will) that the Republican Party will be a minor-sized party by that time, the Mayor might decide to go for it.
Re: #7 & #18 . . .
Michigan’s election code does require “minor” parties to complete their nominations, including nomination of a slate of Presidential electors in appropriate years, by the date of that year’s primary election. The paperwork is to be turned in the business day after the convention ends.
OTOH, state law doesn’t require state parties to certify their national ticket (if any) until the business day after the state convention *OR* the national convention, whichever is later.
For NLP-MI, this raises some interesting questions. This is (IIRC) the only purely NLP state party still on the ballot — so it could argue that any convention it holds is actually the *national* NLP convention. That would let it nominate Nader or Keyes or anyone else for the top of the ticket on August 9. But that would presumably be too late to nominate anybody else below the Presidential team.
For that matter, August 9 seems to be too late for NLP-MI to nominate *electors*. (As I expect some “major” party or other would mention prominently.) Now, I for one am used to voting for President with less-than-gigantic hope that my candidate will win. But voting for a candidate when my vote can’t even possibly help the candidate win electoral votes? That might stretch even my optimism.
But NLP-MI may have no choice — because they have to nominate *some*body in order to stay on the ballot, and (as noted above) August 9 seems to be too late for them to nominate anybody but President.
(But then, I’m not an attorney — not for another three months or more, at least, and then only if I passed the Bar exam Tuesday and Wednesday. Much less am I the Michigan Bureau of Elections.)
(Whoops, sorry — said who I’m not, but forgot to say who I *am*. I’m the Elections Co-ordinator for the Green Party of Michigan. That’s why I input GPMI’s Website.)