The 2020 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

es and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

's nominee for President of the United States at the 2020 Green National Convention. The primaries, were held in numerous U.S. states on various dates from early spring into early summer of 2020, and featured elections publicly funded, concurrent with the Democratic Party and Republican Party primaries, and elections privately funded by the Green Party, held non-concurrently with the major party primaries. There were 357 out of a possible 358 delegates elected to the Green National Convention, which took place over July 9 to July 12. A candidate needed a simple majority of these delegates to become the Green Party's nominee in the 2020 presidential election. Howie Hawkins became the

presumptive nominee Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

on June 20 after passing the simple majority of delegates needed to win the nomination. Hawkins was nominated as the Green Party's presidential candidate on July 11.

Background

Former nominees

The former Green Party presidential nominees, in chronological order, are consumer advocate

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

, political activist David Cobb, congresswoman

Cynthia McKinney Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is a former American politician. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American woman elected to represent G ...

, and political activist

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...

. Both Nader and Stein received the nomination for president twice from the Green Party. The former vice presidential nominees of the Green Party are environmentalist and economist Winona LaDuke, political activist

Pat LaMarche Patricia Helen LaMarche (born November 26, 1960) is an American political figure and activist with the Green Party of the United States; she was the party's Vice President of the United States, vice-presidential candidate in the 2004 United Stat ...

, organizer and hip-hop activist

Rosa Clemente Rosa Alicia Clemente (born April 18, 1972) is an American community organizer, independent journalist, and hip-hop activist. She was the vice presidential running mate of Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney in the 2008 U.S. pres ...

, National Coordinator of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign Cheri Honkala, and human rights activist Ajamu Baraka. In 2016, LaDuke became the first Native American woman and Green Party member to receive an Electoral College vote for vice president. The vice presidential nominees from the preceding 2016 and 2012 elections, Baraka and Honkala respectively, endorsed Howie Hawkins for president.

Candidates

This section lists candidates that have at some point been considered active by the party's Presidential Campaign Support Committee. Holding an active status does not mean the candidate has received official recognition from the party. On July 24, 2019, the

Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; ...

officially recognized Howie Hawkins' campaign. Nearly a month later, Dario Hunter's campaign was also recognized. In February 2020, David Rolde's campaign met the requirements for recognition. The remaining candidates did not obtain formal recognition by meeting the established criteria by the party's Presidential Campaign Support Committee. Popular vote counts presented here are incomplete, as many states have reported their delegates but not the corresponding popular vote.

Candidates

Withdrew before the primaries

Declined to be candidates

The following individuals were the subject of speculation as being possible candidates, but publicly denied interest in running. * Darryl Cherney, musician and environmental activist; Green candidate for president in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Lexington Town Meeting member 2005–2010; Green nominee for president in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

; Green nominee for

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, political commentator, actor, media personality, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

(1999–2003); Mayor of

Brooklyn Park, Minnesota Brooklyn Park is a suburban city on the west bank of the Mississippi River, upstream from (north of) the Twin Cities in northern Hennepin County. It is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 86,478 at the ...

(1991–1995)

Debates

The Green Party's Presidential Campaign Support Committee (PCSC) hosted a presidential forum on July 26 during the party's 2019 Annual National Meeting. All other debates and forums were organized by state Green Parties and caucuses.

Schedule

Participation

Timeline

2018

*December 14: Former Maryland Green Party co-chair Ian Schlakman became the first Green Party candidate filed with the FEC to announce their presidential bid for the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

election, the first presidential election he qualified for.

2019

*January 17: Howie Hawkins answered questions on public "Green Party Power Project" conference call on the Green New Deal, during this he announced that he was considering a run for the Green Party nomination *January 21: Rabbi and Youngstown Board of Education member Dario Hunter (then) of Ohio formed an

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

. *February 18: Dario Hunter officially announced his campaign and filed his candidacy with the FEC. *April 3: Howie Hawkins formed an exploratory committee. *May 10: U.S. Army Veteran Dennis Lambert announced his campaign. *May 28: Hawkins formally launched his campaign. *June 4: Howie Hawkins filed his candidacy with the FEC *July 14: David Rolde announced his campaign. *July 19: The

Green Party of Minnesota The Green Party of Minnesota is a green political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. History The Minnesota Greens Confederation, founded 1990–1991, fostered the development of lo ...

hosted the first green primary debate. *July 26: The second Green Party debate took place in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

. *July 29: Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry announced her campaign. *August 8: Moyowasifza-Curry filed her candidacy with the FEC. *August 9: Dennis Lambert filed his candidacy with the FEC. *August 11: The third Green Party debate took place in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. *August 18: The

Green National Committee The Green National Committee (GNC) is the central governing body of the Green Party of the United States. The committee is composed of over 150 delegates from every affiliated state party and recognized caucus. The GNC oversees all national part ...

decides to hold the 2020 Green National Convention in Detroit, Michigan on July 9–12. *August 19: Dennis Lambert filed his candidacy with the FEC. *August 27: David Rolde filed his candidacy with the FEC. *September 8: Chad Wilson announced his campaign. *September 20: The fourth Green Party debate took place in

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...

. *October 18: Schlakman suspends his campaign over disputes with the Green Party *October 19: The fifth Green Party debate took place in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. *December 7: The sixth Green Party debate took place in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

. *December 11: Chad Wilson filed his candidacy with the FEC. *December 14: Kent Mesplay announces his campaign.

2020

*February 25: Hunter won Minnesota caucus. *February 25: Hawkins won Ohio. *March 3:

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominatin ...

: Hawkins won California and North Carolina; Hunter is the winning candidate in a close race in Massachusetts (as declared by the MA Secretary of State), the no preference option received the most popular votes. Hunter announces Darlene Elias, parole officer and former Green Party Co-chair, as his running mate. *March 4: Howie Hawkins and Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry take part in the Free & Equal elections debate held in Chicago. *March 10: Hawkins won Missouri. *March 14: Hawkins won Illinois. *April 14:

submits his interest in running for president under the Green Party to the Presidential Campaign Support Committee. *April 17: Hawkins won Colorado. *April 18: Hawkins won Texas. *April 21: Hawkins won Wisconsin at popular vote, but at tie with Hunter at delegates. *April 25: Hawkins won New Mexico. *April 28: Hawkins won Pennsylvania and Utah. *May 2: Hawkins won South Carolina. *May 3: Hawkins won Arkansas. Hawkins declared winner of Pennsylvania. *May 5: Hawkins won Tennessee and announced Angela Walker as his running mate. *May 12: Hawkins won West Virginia. *May 16: Hawkins won New York. *May 17: Hawkins won Kansas. *May 23: Hunter won Hawaii. Washington primary TBA. *May 24: Hawkins won the Young Ecosocialists (YES) primary. *May 28: The Green Party of Rhode Island announces they will not endorse nor provide any ballot access efforts for any Green Party candidate in the 2020 election. *May 30: Hawkins won Florida, Maryland, and Mississippi primaries. Hunter won Idaho. *June 2: Hawkins won the District of Columbia as Montana votes no preference for their candidate. *June 6: Hawkins won Oregon. *June 9: Hawkins won Nevada. *June 12: Hunter won Maine. *June 12: Hawkins won Indiana. *June 14: Hawkins won Connecticut. *June 19: The Alaska Green Party endorses Sedinam Curry for President, and commits their delegates to her, despite not registering for the Green National Convention. *June 20: Hawkins won Michigan and the Lavender Greens primary.

Ballot access

Filing for the primaries began in October 2019. Green check

indicates that the candidate is on the ballot for the upcoming primary contest, Gold check mark

indicates that the candidate is a recognized

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

, and

indicates that the candidate will not appear on the ballot in that state's contest. Blanks indicate that a candidate is not yet known to be on the ballot but a final list of candidates eligible to appear on the ballot is not yet available. States that have not yet announced any candidates who are on the ballot are not included. The requirements to gain ballot access are determined either by the state government or the state party, depending on local election law.

Endorsements

Schedule and results

Campaign finance

This is an overview of the money used by each campaign as it is reported to the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

(FEC). Totals raised include loans from the candidate and transfers from other campaign committees.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020 Green Party presidential primaries

Background

Former nominees

Candidates

Candidates

Withdrew before the primaries

Declined to be candidates

Debates

Schedule

Participation

Timeline

2018

2019

2020

Ballot access

Endorsements

Schedule and results

Campaign finance

See also

Notes

References