With all the fervor over the Democrat and Republican candidates in the 2024 General Election, I barely noticed the Green Party of Arizona candidates on the ballot.
On the national level, Jill Stein ran again and only got 0.54%of the votes for US President in Arizona. Not even 1% with only 18,319 votes, statewide.
Eduardo Quintana ran for U.S. Senate in Arizona and received 75,868 votes or 2.27% of that race. He got less votes than Congressman Ruben Gallegos’ winning lead over Republican Kari Lake (81,574). One wonders had he been allowed to participate on the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission debate would he have done better?
That debate got 1222 page views: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3afyMpkgrQ
Also on the state level, Mike Cease and Nina Luxemberg ran for AZ Corporation Commission and got 1.19 % and 1.3% of the vote respectively. But that’s still 101,473 votes for Cease, and 110,486 votes for Luxemberg. Cease is familiar here in Southern Arizona having run unsuccessfully for Pima County Recorder (2016), Tucson City Council (Ward 6 in 2017) and Mayor (2019) previously.
In CD 6, some say that the Green candidate/political newcomer Athena Eastwood was a spoiler for Dem Kirsten Engel’s campaign. Eastwood got 10,759 votes or 2.5 % of the vote. The final difference between incumbent Republican Juan Ciscomani and Kristen Engel was 10,822 votes. I also wonder what the result would have been had Eastwood been allowed to participate in the two CD 6 debates.
Couldn’t find photo of Eastwood on AZ Green Party website, but AZ Luminaria interviewed her and obtained a photo: https://azluminaria.org/2024/10/25/a-mysterious-candidate-a-wild-west-primary-and-a-battleground-district/
In Pima County political newcomer Howard Druan (G) was the only challenger to Dem incumbent Pima County Attorney Laura Conover, yet got 24 % of the vote or 94,383 votes. Some local reporters here in Southern AZ said it may have been a protest vote from those unhappy with the 2024 Dem Primary Election results. No photo available for him either on AZ Green Party website under candidates. He is a retired victim advocate and I did find his bio online: https://freethought-az.org/howard-druan.html#/
Arizona Green Party also ran candidates in CD 4, LDs 8, 13 and 14.
From their website https://www.azgp.org/:
“THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES, (“GPUS”), founded in August of 1984, is currently the 4th largest political party in the United States, with over 200,000 registered voters, and over 140 currently serving elected/appointed public officials nationwide. Green Parties exist in over 90+ countries around the world, many of whom are members of the Global Greens, and The Green Party of the United States is only one small part of a larger, international Green Movement.
THE ARIZONA GREEN PARTY, (“AZGP”), founded in May of 1990, is the officially recognized and accredited affiliate chapter of the Green Party of the United States for the State of Arizona. Our party is currently the 5th largest political party in AZ, with over 3,000 registered Green Party voters statewide and 3 local county chapters that are currently active in Maricopa, Pima, and Coconino Counties. Starting in 1992, the AZGP has run over 90 candidates in partisan and nonpartisan races every election cycle since our founding, and has had a total of 5 AZGP members thus far who have been either elected or appointed to public offices up and down the ballot in Arizona.”
Green Party of Pima County: https://www.pimagreens.org/. No Green Party candidates have run in Pima County or City of Tucson since 2019, except Howard Druan now for PC Attorney in 2024, and Athena Eastwood in CD 6 (comprises 5 AZ Counties).
Vote turnout was 78.49 % statewide.
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I am a prime target voter for the Greens: I align strongly with their platform. But the Green Party has long since lost any real appeal it had to progressive voters like me, and its agenda is largely coopted by Democrats in any case. There are some issues it still raises that are useful, but those conversations would be most useful to have INSIDE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
The Green’s main purpose over the last decade has been to throw elections to the GOP. That’s why the Greens get a great deal of their support from Russia and the GOP, not voters. They seem to not have played a decisive spoiler role in the Presidential election this cycle, but I am one of those who would allege Eastwood played spoiler in the CD6 election. She brought nothing to the race but to ensure victory for the pernicious MAGA candidate.
Greens should rebuild and try to win city, county, and state legislative races (especially where there are favorable election rules, such as open primaries and ranked-choice or fusion voting) and only run Congressionals and a Presidential candidate when they actually have built a credible base of local officeholder support, a credible and experienced bench of officeholders, and only in states where they will not foreseeably act as a spoiler. Greens are shitting in their own garden and calling it fertilizer, driving away possible supporters such as myself with nonsensical fantasy elections where they only capture a critical few percent of votes. Who does that help and who does that hurt? It ONLY damages any prospect to achieve their own agenda!
Jill Stein is a pernicious agent of foreign influence and must be left behind by the Greens if they are to regain any credibility. Until then, they are functionally only a spoiler rump, not a real political party. I will never vote Green outside of a local race until they reform.
Interestingly enough the European Green Parties strongly encouraged Jill Stein to drop out of the race. Did she listen? Hell no! Apparently obeisance to Putin is her primary motivator.
Thanks Michael for your thoughts. I used to like the Green Party back then, and even heard Ralph Nader speak in person at UA law school years ago (2000?).But he was more like a bureaucrat than a politician. There were also credible Green candidates back in Hawaii years ago, but no longer.
Please stop. You are only helping the Republicans win.
Eduardo Quintana didn’t help Republican Kari Lake to win, but the Green candidates probably took away votes from the Dems in the Az Corporation Commission races for 3 seats, and also in CD 6.