thirdpartytribune

[thirdpartytribune]

Prohibition Party selects 2020 candidate

The race for President is still some time away, but that isn’t stopping the Prohibition Party.

The party officially selected 2016 vice presidential candidate Bill Bayes of Mississippi as their candidate for the 2020 presidential campaign through a conference call between members of the party. His running mate is Connie Gammon of Tennessee.

According to 2016 presidential candidate James Hedges, who was involved in the process, there were about twenty people total in the call, but not all at once; a member of the American Solidarity Party was also present, but only as an observer. Three participants had proxies and voted, as they were up to date on paying their dues. 

The decision was not unanimous, however; members of the party disagree with the opinions of Bayes, claiming similar views to current President Donald Trump. Indeed, if one looks at the Bayes campaign’s Facebook, they will find posts against refugees - calling them “invaders”. This has led to the possibility of a split in the party, similar to what happened in 2004, when two separate Prohibition Parties ran. 

The party has seen improvement with voters in recent years, with the Hedges campaign gaining over 5,000 votes. This is the most since 1988, when the party received 8,002. Even so, it is unknown if this trend will continue.

[thirdpartytribune]

Editorial: the “spoiler” in political elections is nothing but propaganda.

It’s been heard in the news over and over - “the spoiler effect”; the idea that a third party candidate got enough votes to prevent a candidate from winning an election. It can be argued that the term came into prominence after the 2000 presidential election, when Green Party candidate Ralph Nader was accused of stealing votes from Democratic candidate Al Gore. Since then, it has been argued for many other candidates - Gary Johnson and Jill Stein in 2016 being one of the most recent examples.

It’s time we called foul on the concept of the spoiler effect. It is merely an excuse to scare people into voting for the major political machines. Bernie Sanders, in his book Our Revolution, mentions that he had heard many times over the years that people would have voted for him if they weren’t worried about it hurting whom they considered the lesser of two evils. It’s all wrong - why should we as voting citizens be forced into voting for some poster child that we may think fails to meet what we want as the American people?.

By giving the American people the idea that by voting third party they’re basically giving their vote to the person they don’t like is nothing but fear-mongering in order to keep their base. And when a third party candidate beats the odds and gets a considerable amount of votes, the media regurgitates it and pushes the idea back to “don’t let it happen again”, therefore hurting the odds of their being political diversity in the American political system on a major scale. 

It isn’t a democracy if the people are forced into a corner on voting.  

[thirdpartytribune]

Green Party candidate found with ties to Republican Congressman

Michael Zak, a candidate for the Green Party in New York’s 27th Congressional District, has been found to have ties to the current incumbent, Rep. Chris Collins (R).

The ties were discovered through Zak’s campaign petition, where the contact person is listed as Ross Kostecky, a former intern for the Congressman during his 2009 campaign and an alternate delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention, as noted in a photo he took when Donald Trump received the nomination. 

“Of course I know Ross Kostecky. I’ve known him for years. He’s a good Republican,” said Chris Grant, Collins’s campaign director. “As to why he did this, you’d have to ask him. Our campaign has absolutely nothing to do with [Michael Zak]. We don’t know this person.”

As of this writing, Zak has rescinded his campaign.

[thirdpartytribune]

Interview: Adam Kokesh, Libertarian presidential candidate for 2020

Biographies about you state that you were originally a Republican before becoming a Libertarian. What prompted you to change parties? Those biographies are incorrect. I’ve been a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party since 2004 when I returned from Iraq, but I registered as a Republican to support Ron Paul’s presidential campaigns. I also ran for Congress in 2010 in between his campaigns as well. What inspired you to run for President in 2020? Actually, it started out as a dare where I was asked what would I do if I was elected! My answer was “If I were President, I’d get rid of the federal government!” and people started asking me questions on how I would get it done, because there are no challenges harder than keeping the system going - but I had the answers. People wanted me to run in 2016, but I wasn’t old enough to do so. I wanted to show people that we don’t need to be united under one government to be united under American values. What are your thoughts on immigration? Well, in light of what just happened in Manhattan a few days ago, I see the government using freedom of movement to invoke fear as futile. When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate. Trusting the government with our security will always result in failure. What about gun control, which is a taboo topic in our society? I don’t think gun control is a taboo topic, but if people want a gun to hunt or protect themselves, that’s ok. People don’t have a say in it if it’s not their property. If the federal government backs off the people will figure it out. If you were elected and managed to abolish the federal government, how would we run programs under fields like education and health care? There is nothing the federal government does that can’t be done on the state level. How do you feel about the rise of fake news? If anything, we’re facing the fall of fake news as independent media gets stronger and stronger. Can you elaborate on that? Look at the mainstream news’ ad revenue. Terrestrial radio is on its way out as more and more people have access to the internet. People want reliability and find it in independent media rather than the mainstream media. What’s the most important issue in American society today, in your opinion? Freedom! It unites people and it’s the solution to our problems. How hard has it been to run a campaign as a third party? It hasn’t been hard, as we’re still in an exploratory phase and haven’t filed any paperwork. We do, however, have a lot of people who are signing up to be delegates for the Libertarian conventions in 2018 and 2020. What do you think of the problem with student loans in today’s world? It is definitely a problem, but it’s because the government has driven the price of education up. It’s a real travesty with federal policy on education, with more people becoming slaves to the financial industry. If you’re elected and you abolish the federal government, what would you be doing if everything is handled by the state? I’d be retired, building on my farm and playing guitar. I want to be a stay-at-home dad when I grow up. With how the Democratic and Republican parties are today, do you see a good opportunity for third parties to rise in power? I do. Americans are fed up with the two mainstream parties. My campaign is turning the election into a referendum by questioning the need for a federal government, and we’re getting people together to support us and our message. You were a protester. What made you want to go into protesting? I think that protesting is just one part of activism. As an Iraq veteran against the war I saw it as a crime with needless suffering due to the policies made in Washington. That’s what got me to start protesting and my other activist activities. Anything you’d like to say? While I think I’ve gone over everything, I’d just like to say that what my campaign and I are doing is fulfilling the American Revolution. Like them, we’re taking on the largest empire. This is our opportunity to lead Americans towards freedom. The Third Party Tribune would like to thank Mr. Kokesh for his time.

[thirdpartytribune]

The lone Libertarian in the race for Treasurer of Louisiana

In the state of Louisiana there is currently a special election for Treasurer of the state government. There is one Democrat and four Republicans running for the position, but there is also a Libertarian working towards the position. Joseph Little was born in Lake Charles and served in the Navy after high school. Now he has a degree in Economics and hopes to put the knowledge he's gained to work. Not much has been reported on this election, but what we do know is that it is due to happen on October 14th with a runoff planned for November 18th in case there is no winner. Anyone can vote for who they want regardless of the party they are affiliated with, which is part of the state's jungle primary system. If there is no winner on the 14th then the runoff vote will be done with only the top two candidates.

[thirdpartytribune]

Interview: Seth Kaper-Dale, Green Party candidate for governor of New Jersey

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a pastor at Reformed Church of Highland Park and a community organizer, who has started four non-profits including a 501c3 corporation helping people - refugees, veterans, and people re-entering society - with housing. I also started a restaurant run by refugees, with a chef from a different nation every day.

What made you decide to run for Governor?

I decided to run for governor four years ago when I was a Democrat and entered the voting booth. I saw that - rather than it being a two-horse race - it was a one-horse race with many individuals supporting Chris Christie. The second reason was in September of last year when the Democratic party bosses - all 22 of them - endorsed Phil Murphy, a former Goldman-Sachs employee. I found that to be out-of-touch with the Bernie Sanders side of the Democratic Party. If the party bosses were going to decide who we should be voting for I realized that I would need to create change.

Why the Green Party?

I didn’t want to run as an Independent, and I wanted to run for the Green Party for their mantra of peace and environmental awareness. 

What are your thoughts about the recent debates, which only had Phil Murphy (D) and Kim Guadagno [R]?

I’m not a complainer. I didn’t raise the $430,000 needed to participate - that’s how it goes. If elected, however, I would change the requirements so they weren’t as monetarily driven and raise the number of signatures needed if you want to be included, so that not just anyone can be up there. I think it’s a terrible thing for the debates to be pay-to-play.

What makes you stand out compared to the major party candidates and other third party candidates?

I’m a person from the people. My wife and I make a total of $60,000 a year, and we have choices and a family budget. We can relate to the people of New Jersey because we feel the same way that they do. Compare that to my major opponents; Phil Murphy made $7.3 million last year, and Kim Guadagno, the lieutenant governor, has been living well.

I also have real economic skill. I believe in single-payer Medicare, because the overpriced premiums here in New Jersey hurt the people. I also want to push for a $15 minimum wage.

Third, I believe that we need to start with the last first. We need to focus on getting voting participation up, as 61% of all the registered voters in New Jersey did not vote in 2013. We need to stop slave wages as well, which I mentioned earlier with the $15 minimum wage. How people in our prisons are being treated is a focus of mine as well - if people are locked up they shouldn’t lose their humanity. I would also work for driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. I want to bring the state back to being concerned for its people.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it to run a third party campaign?

That’s a tough question. There’s some things that make it easy and some that make it hard. On one hand, you’re competing with the major political parties and the stigma that a third party vote is a wasted vote. On the other hand, third party campaigns don’t usually get corporate sponsors, so they have more freedom to say what they think.

Will it be hard to fix what Christie has done in his terms as governor?

I think that anyone after Christie will have a “breath of fresh air” factor. However, he has put us in a lurch with the handouts he’s been giving corporations to stay in or come to the state, which creates a poor culture. Unless we create new incentives to bring jobs to New Jersey it will be hard. For example, Christie offered Amazon $5 billion to move here. I propose incentives - such as single-payer healthcare - to get them to come, because it still benefits them and helps the state. If we go down Christie’s path, how will the state government pay for other things?

Do you think the news media pays enough attention to third parties?

The media seems to be afraid to talk about third parties - who’s telling them to not talk about them? I have the media here all the time for the community service the church does, but during my campaign it’s been hard to get them.

Do you think that, with the Drumpf administration and the current state of the two main parties, that people will gravitate more towards third parties?

No. I think the chaos of Donald Drumpf and his administration has put people in the “lesser of all evils” idea - anything but Drumpf. This is why I’ve been focused on unaffiliated and inactive voters.

Anything you’d like to say to close this interview?

The last are first, meaning not just the resources, but also that the power goes to the last. If we start there, and believe that if we can make New Jersey a beautiful place again we need to start there.

The Third Party Tribune would like to thank Mr. Kaper-Dale for his time. Election Day is November 7th. 

[thirdpartytribune]

Interview: Vincent Ross, We the People candidate for governor.

1. Tell the readers a little about yourself. 

 I am a man from Edison, New Jersey who remembers when New Jersey was great and was run by competent governors. 

2. What do you plan on bringing to the table that the Democrats and Republicans won't? 

 When you look at the actions of the Democrats and Republicans you can see that they are just same and are funded by the same people. They will continue the status quo of high property taxes, decreasing our credit ranking and continuing their corruption. 

3. What makes you stand out compared to the other third party candidates? 

 I would consider myself to be the only moderate out of all of the other third party candidates with Riccardi being far right, Rohrman and Genovese being left wing and Kaper-Dale being far left but I believe that it would be great if New Jerseyans voted for them. 

4. What do you have planned if elected?

 To simply put it if I were to win the first thing I would do would to decrease our income taxes. Then I would get rid of Christie`s tax cuts to the rich that strain the middle class and stop the war on drugs in New Jersey by legalizing recreational marijuana so that we can tax it to make up for the decrease in income taxes.  

5. How do you feel about the state of politics in America today? 

 Like I said for the second question the Democrats and Republicans are the same and I believe that we solve our problems by electing third party candidates. 

6. As a third party candidate, what struggles do you have in your campaign?

Like most third party candidates we do not get media attention, we are excluded to the “other” section of polling data and most people would label us as spoilers but due to New Jersey`s small size it is easy to travel for campaigning. 

7. What's the biggest problem in New Jersey at the moment, in your honest opinion? How do you plan on handling it? 

The biggest problem in New Jersey is our growing pension debt because that problem will lead to an increase to our already high taxes to pay them off and an decrease to our credit rating. Some of things that I would do would to set a schedule to repay the pensions, take away pensions from some professions and to increase the age requirements for pensions.   

8. What inspired you to run for Governor? 

I have seen people who have lived here for decades leave due to the high income taxes here and I have seen this state that was once great turn into its current state through the incompetence of Chris Christie and his lapdog Kim Guadagno. 

9. A poll conducted several weeks ago showed that independent candidates would get about 6% of the vote in New Jersey. What are your thoughts on this?

I believe that it is a good step forward for a future independent or third party candidate to win and I believe that a third party candidate will do well in 2021 since we will either get Phil Murphy, a Goldman Sachs employee or Kim Guadagno, Christie`s lapdog as our governor. 

10. Is there anything you'd like to say? 

I would like to thank you for giving allowing me to do this interview while many media outlets ignore candidates like me. Unless we get a strong governor in this election or the next one New Jersey will fall apart due to the challenges that face us. Our credit ranking is falling, our politicians are becoming increasingly more corrupt and many New Jerseyans are leaving due to our high income taxes.

The Third Party Tribune would like to thank Mr. Ross for his time. 

[thirdpartytribune]

Interview: Nick Hensley, Reform Party Secretary

1. What is the Reform Party, for the uninformed?

The Reform Party is a moderate, centrist and populist party founded in 1995 by followers of Ross Perot. We take a moderate stance on fiscal issues and no stances on social issues.

Social issues, in modern politics are wedge issues. The Democrats and Republicans bring these issues up year after year, but do not follow through on promises. Parties use these issues only to motivate voting blocs, so they never pass legislation at the federal level to further these issues. When social issues are resolved, such as gay marriage, it is usually done by the nonpartisan courts. We wish to move American politics away from these tactics. Candidates however can pick where they stand on these issues, and we have both socially conservative and socially liberal members.

In addition to our economic platform, we call for the end of unrestricted free trade and opt for a balanced approach to foreign trade. We support American manufacturing. American workers have seen their jobs, communities, pensions and benefits packed into cargo containers and shipped overseas. As this has happened, top level corporate officers have seen their wages increase as the wages of working class Americans declined.

We want to keep Medicare and Social security solvent for future generations by making long term changes, and rooting out fraud in the system.

We advocate for outlawing gerrymandering, opening the ballots to all parties and candidates, and the public financing of all elections. With those platform issues, we hope to break the establishment's hold on political elections and open the door to electing real representation in Washington.

Lastly we wish to balance the budget by ending special interest tax loopholes to raise revenue, ending welfare for large corporations, and restructuring government entities and programs to streamline costs. At the same time we want to create a blueprint to restore the Federal government's financial state in the decades to come, and pass a balanced budget amendment.

2. The party gained 0.2% of the popular vote in last year's election. How does the party plan on capitalizing on this?

For a decade the Reform Party was seen to be on its death bed. Recent reforms in the Reform Party are slowly bringing it back to life. Over the past few years, we've regained our ballot access in several states, and tripled the number of officeholders we have nationwide. While doing so, we have seen an uptick in fundraising and exponentially increased the number of active organizers we have across the country. Last year, we received about 40,000 votes for our nominal presidential candidate, up from less than 1,000 in 2012.

Communications and outreach are always areas we are improving. Most of our growth has come from improvements in our internal and external communications. A few years ago, we invested in social media for the first time, and began issuing periodic press releases. We also have started reaching out to do more interviews. During this process, we've garnered attention and new supporters.




We are also looking to run candidates in more elections. Right now Paul Bachmann is running in Florida State House District 66, Rick Kasa is looking into a run for Franklin County Soil and Water Board, and we are eyeing several more races around the country.

3. What do you feel is holding third parties back, and how can we fix it?

The Democrats and Republicans stacked ballot access and redistricting laws in their favor. Independent and third party candidates have a higher degree of difficulty in obtaining a spot on the ballot. By changing our ballot access laws, on a state level, third party candidates would spend fewer resources on ballot access - like establishment candidates.

Gerrymandering is also a hindrance. Democrats and Republicans draw districts to favor their candidates. Having independent redistricting boards in every state would open elections to independent and third party candidates.

Campaign finance laws are written to favor large party candidates. Most candidates do not qualify for matching funds - like those of the Democratic and Republican Party. If there was a pool of public money for each election, that was split evenly between all ballot qualifying candidates, it would remove special interest money from elections and even the playing field for all candidates.

4. What makes the Reform Party stand out compared to the Democrats, Republicans, or other third parties?

The Reform Party is different from other third parties, because it proposes mainstream solutions. Many third parties are fringe alternatives, as the Reform Party was built to be a vehicle for moderates, which compose the the majority of American voters.

We differ from the Republicans and Democrats, because we are not beholden to special interest donors. The political establishment in the country has taken donations from corporate donors and PACs, and thus legislates to the benefit of a few monied power brokers.

5. What candidates should people be keeping an eye on in the various elections across the nation?



Right now Paul Bachmann is running in Florida State House District 66. He was a political activist for sometime before announcing for office. He has a good political network, raised all of his funds from small donors and will be facing a single opponent without a Democrat in the race. Paul Bachmann may be the non establishment candidate to watch in 2018.



It is rumored that Darcy Richardson of Florida is eyeing a race. I am not in a place to confirm or deny that rumor as I stay away from those things until they are set in stone. I will say that if he did run, he has years of political campaigning under his belt and could self finance to a point. He also has numerous allies that can help him across the political spectrum. He is a friend to great many Libertarians, Greens, Reformers, Democrats and Republicans. He is in a position to turn heads.

6. In a recent Reform Party tweet, the party wrote "#GopInCrisis". Do you feel that the current two party system is starting to crumble?



As far as the long term prospects of the Democrats and Republicans, I don't know what the future holds. In the present however, we have a Democratic Party without a message. The Democratic Party says "Don't support Trump" and that is not platform. They have no solid stances on any issue, and their masters advocate for many things that do not resonate with the American people. They seem out of touch to most.

The Republicans in recent months have shown they are no better for winning the 2018 elections. The White House has created numerous controversies, and President Trump is unpopular through large areas of the country. Meanwhile the Republican legislators are fighting amongst themselves, and have nothing to show for their electoral victories.

That is why America is stagnant.

7. What does the Reform Party think Congress should do about Obamacare?



Once you give voters a benefit, it is hard to take away. If a party was to dismantle Obamacare in its entirety, it would doom that party to the wilderness for a foreseeable future. There are numerous flaws with Obamacare. The main issue is that the cost of healthcare is still rising, and not falling. While looking at the issue of amending Obamacare, we need to stop looking at the cost of health insurance and instead look at the cost of healthcare services. There is a lot of administrative cost that can be cut through regulatory reform - that does not affect the quality of service. A good example of which is the cost of processing medicare, health insurance and other plans. A second example would be tort reform.

8. What about threats such as ISIS and North Korea?



Until recently North Korea was viewed as a joke. Even I thought that North Korea was a clown that talked a good game, and was unable to act. Sadly we were wrong. North Korea's ICBM tests were a wakeup call. However North Korea is protected by China. Diplomatically there is little we can do to with North Korea that doesn't include negotiations with China. It will take the strength of the world to persuade China to rein in its puppet. At this time however it is doable through diplomatic actions.



The United States has been at war in the Middle East for over 20 years. ISIS is a continuous of our military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. ISIS was created partly by mismanaging our past operations. Luckily recent gains on the battlefield have favored US backed forces. It looks like there may be a rise of an independent Kurdish state. If that is true, the Kurds have been a close ally to the US, and we should continue giving them military support and supplies.

9. Do you feel the mainstream media (FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.) does not pay enough attention to third parties?



No. Many media outlaws lean towards either the Democratic or the Republican Party, and profit off their actions. Right now the Democrats and Republicans are controlled by the far left and the far right, and media outlets profit off of supporting those groups. Sadly we live in an age where media outlets present opinions and not facts.

10. In 2000, Donald Trump temporarily vied for the Reform presidential candidate nomination. Is it weird to think about that now?



Yes and no. Donald Trump was a friend of Jesse Ventura and was supported by Jack Gargan's faction. Jack Gargan was an authoritative figure within the Reform Party, and was recalled during an emergency meeting in 2000. That meeting was in Nashville, and Jack Gargan supporters created a situation, and police were called to maintain order. Many of the people involved in this situation supported Trump during his campaign. This should have served as a warning to the Republican Party. They did not heed it, and now they have to deal with these people. We spent years marginalizing these people, and forcing them out of the Reform Party. I guess they found a new home.

11. What issue do you think is being ignored too much in politics?





All of them. During the 2016 elections, the current majority and President Trump made numerous promises to the American people. There were several great proposals that have been sidelined, because controversies have taken attention off of them. The American People were promised infrastructure reform. To date neither the Democrats nor Republicans have moved on the issue.

There has been little talk on budget reduction. Leaving positions unfilled does not significantly reduce the cost of operation for an organization the size of the United States. These unfilled positions have reduced America's spending by tens of millions of dollars when we have a budget deficit measured in the hundreds of billions.

Special interest control of the American political process is another issue that no one is talking about. Political Action Committees, lobbyists and corporate donors spend billions of dollars to influence lawmakers. As lawmakers are serving the wants of special interests, they are ignoring the needs of The People.

12. Anything you'd like to say?




I would like to thank the Third Party Tribune for allowing me to do this interview. Minor parties find themselves ignored by many media outlets, and the Third Party Tribune has given me a great opportunity.

Going forth into the future, the United States faces many challenges. We have a growing debt of nearly 20 trillion dollars. Our economy and worker wages have been stagnant for a decade. Americans' savings are lower compared to other nations. We have been in constant military conflict in the Middle East for two decades, and there is no end in sight. Meanwhile we look towards the political establishment, composed of Democrats and Republicans, to fix these issues. Issues they created.

In order to solve these issues, we must look elsewhere.

 The Reform Party wants to bring honest leadership and real solutions to American government. As we rebuild, we are looking for new members. We need volunteers and activists, like you, from across the center left and center right to accomplish our goals. Without an active membership, the Reform Party will not be able to break the political establishment. If you can't volunteer, donate and/or vote for our candidates on election day.

Thank you for reading this interview, and allowing me a few minutes of your time.

The Third Party Tribune would like to thank Mr. Hensley for his time.

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Open the Debates petition at almost 20,000 signatures

A movement, called Open the Debates, is making waves with its petition to let more political parties into the Presidential debates. The group, with the goal of "calling on the CPD to allow all candidates who qualify on enough state ballots to possibly win the presidency to participate in the presidential debates," ‪cu‬rrently has a little under twenty thousand signatures. The petition was caused by the disappointment in the 2016 Presidential Election, namely with the Republican and Democratic nominees. If this petition goes through, it will be sent to the CPD with the hopes of political reform. The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/commission-on-presidential-debates-include-all-qualified-candidates-in-presidential-debates

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Darcy Richardson considering run for Governor of Florida

Darcy Richardson, author and presidential candidate for the Democratic and Reform Parties, may be seeking a run for governor of Florida in 2018, a member of the Reform Party told the Third Party Tribune. The election, just starting out in Florida, already has a plethora of candidates for both major parties as well as the Libertarians (whom currently have one candidate). If he enters the race Richardson would be the first candidate for the party to announce his candidacy. Richardson's candidacy would also be the first time a Reform candidate has ran in the gubernatorial election since 2006, where Max Linn ran and won 3rd place with 92,000 votes. Currently, Richardson has not confirmed a candidacy, and only time will tell if he announces his run. The Third Party Tribune will keep you updated.

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Green Party to hold primary in Albany mayoral race

For the first time since 2001, there will be a Green Party primary for the candidacy in the race to become mayor of Albany, New York.

Bryan Jiminez, a 22 year-old resident, has thrown his hat in against 28 year-old Dan Plaat for the party’s nomination.

Both candidates agree on issues, but disagree on how these problems should be handled. Jimenez wants to abolish property tax in the city, funding the city’s budget with income tax. Plaat wants to tax based on land value. Regardless, the two are not hostile towards each other.

“Bryan and I are not attacking each other, or saying how one or the other is going about things wrong,” Plaat said. “I would say that building interparty relationships makes the party and myself, stronger. Having an open and noncompetitive conversation is healthy, and part of a sustainable future and more civil politics.”

The party has done well in Albany elections, winning nearly 6,000 votes in 2007.

It is generally agreed that the Green candidates would not have a spoiler effect on the Democratic candidate.

“History will tell you whoever wins the Democratic Primary has a 99 percent chance of winning the general election,” said Jack Flynn, Chairman for the Albany County Democratic Committee. “The Democrats are still very core to their values with the party. I don’t see people switching alliances.”

The election occurs on November 7th.

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Cliff Hyra, the only third party candidate in Virginia governor race

The race is on in Virgina, as politicians attempt to win the position of Governor as current governor Terry McAuliffe (D) has reached his term limit. Both major parties have picked candidates; however, there is one outsider in the race. His name is Cliff Hyra.

Hyra is a 34-year-old attorney from Virginia who is running on the Libertarian ticket. If elected, he plans on taking on the War on Drugs and handling the criminal justice system. He opposes the pipelines and will leave controversial issues, such as abortion, to the legislature.

So why isn't he as known?

"The problem is that we don’t actually have a level playing field." said Robert Sarvis, who ran for Governor in 2013, "We have to spend a lot of effort just to get on the ballot. Once we’re on the ballot, there’s an effort to keep us out of the debates."

Sarvis had won about 6.5% of the vote that year, and many worry that Hyra will be a spoiler on Ed Gillipse, the Republican candidate.

In comparison, while the major parties have raised millions of dollars for this race, Hyra has only raised less than $30,000 so far.

"I’m running for a more inclusive and innovative Virginia. I want to reform the tax and regulatory system. I want to reform the criminal justice system, and make things more fair for everybody here in Virginia." Hyra said as he spoke to voters recently.

The election will be held on November 7th.

[thirdpartytribune]

Independent candidates get 6% of voters, as reported in Monmouth Poll

Recently, Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ conducted a poll of 758 voters on the candidates in the race for governor to replace Chris Christie. Out of these 758 people, 6% (or 48 people) said that they would vote for one of the five independent candidates, with 14% being “unsure”.

This election, with seven candidates, is the smallest one since 1989, when six candidates ran for Governor. These small party candidates are:

- Peter Rohrman, a former US Marine running for the Libertarians.

- Seth Kaper-Dale, a Protestant pastor running for the Greens.

- Matthew Riccardi, candidate for the Constitution Party.

- Gina Genovese, candidate for the Reduce Property Taxes Party,

- Vincent Ross, candidate for the We the People Party.

The five, along with the major Democrat and Republican candidates, hope to take the seat held by Chris Christie since 2010. Christie is now the head of the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis, but his term as Governor ends in January of 2018.

There are about 7,100 members of the Libertarian Party of New Jersey, with a little over 3,250 members of the Green Party. The Third Party Tribune was unable to find any membership data on the three other independent parties.

The election takes place on November 7th.

Poll data: https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/MonmouthPoll_NJ_071217/