The 2020 presidential campaign of Howie Hawkins, both the co-founder of 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; ...

and thrice its gubernatorial candidate in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, was informally launched on April 3, 2019, when Hawkins announced the formation of 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 ...

and formally announced his campaign on May 28, 2019, to seek the Green Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2020 presidential election and later the

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party of the United States of America (also Socialist Party USA or SPUSA) is a socialist political party in the United States. SPUSA formed in 1973, one year after the Socialist Party of America splintered into three: Social De ...

. On May 5, 2020, Hawkins announced that former

vice presidential candidate Angela Nicole Walker would be his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

. Hawkins and Walker were nominated by the Green Party on July 11, 2020. Hawkins also sought the nomination of the various state-based left-wing parties, including the

Peace and Freedom Party The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a socialist political party in the United States which operates mostly in California. It was formed in 1966 from anti–Vietnam War and pro–civil rights movements. PFP operates both as an organization unt ...

, Legal Marijuana Now Party, Oregon Progressive Party, United Citizens Party,

Liberty Union Party The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party (GMPJP), formerly known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a socialist political party in Vermont, United States. LUP was formed in 1970 by progressives to contest the 1970 Senate election. ...

, and Vermont Progressive Party.

Background

In the 1980s, Hawkins joined the

green movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It ...

. In 1988, Howie and

Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (; January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. Influenced by G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin, he was a pioneer in the environmental ...

founded the Left Green Network "as a radical alternative to U.S. Green liberals", based around the principles of

social ecology Social ecology may refer to: * Social ecology (academic field), the study of relationships between people and their environment, often the interdependence of people, collectives and institutions * Social ecological model, frameworks for depicting ...

and

libertarian municipalism Libertarian municipalism is a political theory that developed out of the writings of American social theorist and philosopher Murray Bookchin. It advocates for establishing direct democratic systems within municipalities, such as towns and cit ...

. In the early 1990s a press conference was held in Washington, D.C., that featured Charles Betz, Joni Whitmore, Hilda Mason, and Howie Hawkins to announce the formation of the

Greens/Green Party USA The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA) was a political organization formed out of the Green Committees of Correspondence in 1991 and was recognized as a national political party by the FEC from 1991 to 2005. It was based in Chicago. '' Synthesis/ ...

. Later in December 1999,

Mike Feinstein Mike Feinstein is an American politician and a member of the Green Party (United States), Green Party. Feinstein has been involved in political activism since 1988, after he attended a conference at the Findhorn Foundation, Findhorn community ...

and Hawkins wrote the Plan for a Single National Green Party which was the plan to organize the ASGP and GPUSA into a single

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 ...

. Over the next decade he would run in multiple New York

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

races. In the 2010 New York gubernatorial election Hawkins surpassed the 50,000-vote requirement to stay on the ballot in the gubernatorial election. In the 2014 election, he received enough to move the Green Party line to Row D on the ballot as he had taken one-third more than the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...

and twice as much as the Independence Party. In the 2018 election, Hawkins received 80,000 fewer votes than he did in his 2014 run. As a result, the party was lowered one row down to Row E, but retained ballot access. 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 ...

, Hawkins was approached over the possibility of running for the Green Party presidential nomination. He declined due to his employment commitments at UPS, which he maintained would interfere with a national campaign. Following his retirement from UPS, Hawkins was approached again to run by a draft movement via a public letter addressed to him. The letter was signed by former Green vice presidential nominees Cheri Honkala and Ajamu Baraka, former Green mayoral candidate and Nader's 2008 running mate

Matt Gonzalez Matthew Edward Gonzalez (born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, lawyer, and activist. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2001 to 2005 and was president of the Board. In 2003, Gonzalez, running as a member of the Gre ...

, and other prominent Green Party members.

Campaign

On April 3, 2019, Hawkins announced that he was forming an

to prepare for a potential candidacy for the Green Party

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 ...

presidential nomination In United States politics and government, the term presidential nominee has two different meanings: # A candidate for president of the United States who has been selected by the delegates of a political party at the party's national convention ...

and formally launched his campaign on May 28, 2019, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. On June 21, 2020, Hawkins received enough delegates to win the Green Party's presidential nomination after winning delegates from the

Green Party of Michigan The Green Party of Michigan is a political party in Michigan. It is the state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). The party has had ballot access in Michigan since November 2000, when their presidential candidate, Ralph Nad ...

and Lavender Caucus. On July 11, he received the Green Party's presidential nomination with 210 delegates at the party's virtual convention. On October 26, 2019, Hawkins won the nomination of the Socialist Party USA as part of his effort to unite smaller left-wing parties. In November, Hawkins was endorsed by

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

, a U.S.-based socialist organization. On March 3, 2020, Hawkins lost the

primary to Gloria La Riva. On August 13, 2020, he was endorsed by Socialist Alternative. Hawkins also received the nomination of the Legal Marijuana Now Party. In August 2020, Solidarity withdrew their endorsement following a poll of its members, instead taking no official position on the presidential election. A September 2020 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' article highlighted how Republican operatives worked to get the Green Party on presidential ballot lines in swing states by collecting signatures and advising on ballot access lawsuits, hoping that it would split votes away from Biden.

Ballot access

:A. Based on 2004 - 2008 electoral college apportionment. :B. Based on 1992 - 2000 electoral college apportionment. Green Party 2020 ballot access

On July 15, Hawkins sued

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

over its $35,000 filing fee for president. On September 1, the Green Party of Alaska nominated

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 ...

for president and Cynthia McKinney for vice-president instead of Hawkins and Walker. Hawkins appeared in the ballot in thirty states.

Rhode Island

On May 28, 2020, the Green Party of Rhode Island announced that it would not place a presidential candidate onto the ballot for the first time since

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

citing the danger of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

winning reelection. Hawkins later announced that he would petition as an independent candidate under the partisan label "Independent Left" in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. However, Hawkins failed to qualify for the Rhode Island ballot after submitting only 897 valid signatures in his petition to run for office.

Pennsylvania

A challenge was filed against Hawkins in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

stating that the Green Party's stand-in candidates for president and vice-president had not submitted a declaration of candidacy. On September 9, Judge J. Andrew Crompton rejected a challenge to Hawkins being on the ballot in Pennsylvania although the challenge against Walker being on the ballot was accepted. Crompton ruled that Hawkins should appear on the ballot as the stand-in presidential candidate did submit a declaration of candidacy while the stand-in vice-presidential candidate had not. On September 10, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party appealed to the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...

to remove Hawkins from the ballot. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ordered election officials to not print ballots until the court made a decision on whether or not Hawkins would appear on the ballot. On September 17, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled five to two in favor of removing Hawkins from the ballot. All five Democratic members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court voted to remove Hawkins while both Republican members voted to keep him on the ballot.

Wisconsin

Hawkins' presidential petition in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

was challenged in August under the basis that Walker had changed her residence address within South Carolina. On August 19, the staff of the Wisconsin Elections Commission recommended that Hawkins be removed from the ballot due to his petitions not having enough signatures when the signatures for the out-of-date postal address for Walker were removed. On August 20, the commission voted three to three to remove Hawkins from the ballot; all of the Democratic members of the commission voted to remove Hawkins while the Republican members voted to keep him on the ballot. On September 3, Hawkins filed a lawsuit to the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

. On September 10, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered election officials to stop mailing out ballots until the court ruled on whether or not Hawkins and/or

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

could appear on the ballot. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled four to three in favor of the election commission on September 14, citing that Hawkins had waited too long to file a lawsuit and that it would cause too much disruption to place his name on the ballot.

Campaign finance

On August 23, 2019, the Hawkins campaign announced they had met the requisite federal matching funds for

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

. Only his campaign and that of Steve Bullock applied for primary season matching funds. On July 9, 2020, the Hawkins campaign announced they achieved federal matching fund requirements in 20 necessary states, claiming they had raised $220,000 from 4,000 donors in over 7,000 total contributions.

Political positions

Climate change

Hawkins supported the Green Party's version of the

Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...

that would serve as a transitional plan to the exclusive use of renewable energy by 2030 utilizing a

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden Social cost of carbon, social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emis ...

jobs guarantee A job guarantee is an economic policy proposal that aims to create full employment and price stability by having the state promise to hire unemployed workers as an employer of last resort (ELR). It aims to provide a sustainable solution to infl ...

, free college,

single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

and a focus on using public programs. He was a critic of the Democratic version of the Green New Deal written by

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), also known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who has served since 2019 as the United States House of Representatives, US representative for New York's 14th congressional distric ...

, stating that "unfortunately, they took the brand but watered down the content".

Democratic Party reform

Hawkins disagreed with the "party-within-the-party" approach to the Democratic Party advocated by organizations such as the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...

or by individuals such as

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

. Instead, he believed that socialists should build up an independent Left party.

Participatory democracy

Hawkins advocated for expansion of

town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

s, expanding their powers to enact legislation and granting them the power to recall representatives.

Medicare for All

Hawkins viewed health care as a human right and a public good. His plan is to implement a single-payer National Health Insurance in which health care facilities are publicly owned, healthcare workers are salaried, and the system is governed by community boards elected by the public (two-thirds of the seats) and health care workers (one-third of the seats). The system would be funded by allocating current public healthcare dollars (about 70% of current spending) to the system. The rest of the funding would come from progressive taxes on individuals/families, both earned and unearned income, who earn more than 150% of the adjusted Federal Poverty Level and on large corporations.

Endorsements

Local officials

Former

, President of

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...

(2003–2005), San Francisco Supervisor (2001–2005),

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 '' ...

's running mate for vice president in

2008 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John Mc ...

Party officials

* Margaret Flowers, co-chair of the

from 2018–Present; adviser to the board of

Physicians for a National Health Program Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is an advocacy organization of more than 20,000 American physicians, Medical education in the United States, medical students, and health professionals that supports a universal, comprehensive sing ...

; medical doctor

Notable individuals

* Ajamu Baraka, national organizer for Black Alliance for Peace, Green nominee for vice 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 ...

* Paul Le Blanc, historian, labor activist *

Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, author, commentator and Presbyterian minister. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Monit ...

, author, recipient of the

Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear p ...

in 2002, former ''

'' Middle East bureau chief * Cheri Honkala, founder of Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, Green nominee for vice president in

Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman ( ; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to ...

, programmer, software freedom activist, founder of FSF and

GNU Project The GNU Project ( ) is a free software, mass collaboration project announced by Richard Stallman on September 27, 1983. Its goal is to give computer users freedom and control in their use of their computers and Computer hardware, computing dev ...

Bhaskar Sunkara Bhaskar Sunkara (born June 1989) is an American political writer. He is the founding editor of ''Jacobin,'' the president of ''The Nation,'' and publisher of ''Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy''. He is a former vice-chair of the Democr ...

, publisher of ''

Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...

'' * Kevin Zeese, lawyer, political activist, Green nominee for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

(''former press secretary for Howie Hawkins 2020'') (''Deceased'')

Organizations

Activist groups

* StudentLoanJustice.org * Workers' Liberty

National political parties and organizations

* Independent Socialist Group * Legal Marijuana Now Party ''(received party's nomination)'' * Socialist Alternative ''(received party's endorsement)'' *

State political parties

Arizona Green Party The Arizona Green Party (AZGP) is the officially recognized affiliate of the Green Party in the state of Arizona. It was founded by Carolyn Campbell alongside others in the 1990s. Sam Hales, whose term expires January 2025, serves as Co-Chairper ...

* Connecticut Green Party * Green Party of Arkansas * Green Party of Florida * Green Party of Hawaii * Green Party of Mississippi * Green Party of Montana * Green Party of New Jersey * Green Party of New Mexico * Green Party of New York * Green Party of Ohio * Green Party of Pennsylvania * Green Party of Virginia *

Green Party of Washington State The Green Party of Washington State (GPWA) is the state party organization for Washington affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. As of 2017, GPWA has 9 affiliated local parties with at-large members and numerous locals in forma ...

* Green-Rainbow Party * Kansas Green Party * Maine Green Independent Party * Maryland Green Party * Mountain Party * North Carolina Green Party * Pacific Green Party * Socialist Party of New Jersey * Socialist Party of New York * South Carolina Green Party * Vermont Green Party

Controversies

Allegations of irregularities in the Green Party primary

On October 16, 2019, a joint candidate letter called for reform in the party's primary process in response to the party's announcement that it would remove unrecognized candidates from its website list that November, an effort which the other Green candidates claimed was being to done to help Hawkins secure its nomination. This was followed by allegations of

conflicts of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations in whi ...

among the party's leadership, who the candidates believed where helping party co-founder Hawkins, and an alleged overlooking of a violation of Green Party rules regarding Hawkins’ campaign for the Socialist Party's nomination. After the 2020 Green Party Nominating Convention named Hawkins as their presidential candidate, candidate Dario Hunter announced via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that he would continue to pursue the presidency as an independent candidate. Hunter cited alleged irregularities and undemocratic processes throughout the Green Party presidential primary, stating that party leaders had committed “ethical lapses” to ensure Hawkins nomination, and criticizing Hawkins for what he saw as his "

imperialist Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism fo ...

perspective" and "CIA talking points.”

Dispute with Gloria La Riva

On February 20, 2020, Hawkins published a statement critical of his opponent in the

nomination primary, Gloria La Riva, alleging that she supported "a 'safe strategy' of supporting Bernie Sanders in the 'battleground' states" and stating "you didn't join the Peace and Freedom Party to support Democrats." LaRiva responded stating that it was "not an honest critique" and " r Hawkins to further imply that he is the stronger supporter of Peace and Freedom is not convincing." LaRiva won the Peace and Freedom Party's only primary contest in California, receiving 67% to Hawkins' 33%.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Socialist Party USA 2020 United States presidential campaigns Socialist Party USA presidential campaigns Green Party of the United States presidential campaigns Howie Hawkins