Minor Political Parties

Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton. These two candidates have dominated the media the past several months as they secured the nomination from their respective political parties. However, neither of the candidates have earned the full respect of the people. According to Clinton supporters, Trump is not suited to be president because of his refusal to release tax returns and the use of discriminatory rhetoric. On the other hand, Trump supporters believe that Clinton’s use of personal emails during her service as Secretary of State is a crime, and therefore must be “locked up”.

The controversies of both sides have undoubtedly decimated the trust between the people and politicians. As a result, individuals from both political affiliations have looked to different options in the minor parties, such as Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party and Jill Stein of the Green Party.

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate for president is arguably the more popular of the two aforementioned minor parties. His running mate, William Weld is a former governor of Massachusetts who served as a Republican from 1991 to 1997. Gary Johnson is a former governor of New Mexico. His popularity has largely accumulated from Republicans who have rejected the lack of diplomacy of of Donald Trump. Johnson’s policy is fiscally conservative and socially liberal, but rejects the imminent threat of climate change. He is currently polling at 5% nationally. On a liberal-conservative scale, Gary Johnson is represented as a moderate, standing in the dead center of the spectrum. For Republicans who oppose both Clinton and Trump, Gary Johnson is a very attractive alternative.

Jill Stein is the Green Party candidate for president. She has a master’s degree from Harvard Medical School and has been a candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010, as well as the Green Party presidential candidate in 2012. Her running mate is Ajamu Baraka, a human rights activist, who have recently participated in the recent protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline along with Jill Stein. Following Bernie Sanders’ exit from the presidential race, she has received approximately a third of Bernie’s supporters and have accumulated about 3% in the national polls. On a a liberal-conservative scale, she is represented as the most liberal and the most progressive. She is an advocate for eliminating student debt through quantitative easing. For students and former Bernie supporters, Jill Stein is certainly not a wasted vote.