Ralph Nader got over 700,000 votes

David Leip’s US Election Atlas has at least 705,875 votes counted as being cast for third place presidential finisher Ralph Nader thus far. Nader, and other candidates, will continue to have write-in and absentee votes counted for several more weeks. The complete results from Leip at this time:

Presidential Candidate	Vice Presidential Candidate	Political Party	Popular Vote		Electoral Vote
Barack H. Obama	Joseph R. Biden, Jr.	Democratic	67,029,946	52.68%	365	67.8%
John S. McCain, III	Sarah H. Palin	Republican	58,479,207	45.96%	162	30.1%
Ralph Nader	Matt Gonzalez	Independent	705,875	0.55%	0	0.0%
Bob Barr	Wayne Allyn Root	Libertarian	511,362	0.40%	0	0.0%
Charles O. Baldwin	Darrell L. Castle	Constitution	186,335	0.15%	0	0.0%
Cynthia A. McKinney	Rosa A. Clemente	Green	153,698	0.12%	0	0.0%
Write-ins	–	–	78,346	0.06%	0	0.0%
Alan Keyes	Wiley S. Drake, Sr.	Independent	42,003	0.03%	0	0.0%
Ron Paul	Barry Goldwater, Jr.	LA Taxpayers	20,959	0.02%	0	0.0%
RÛger Calero	Alyson Kennedy	Socialist Workers	9,882	0.01%	0	0.0%
Gloria LaRiva	Eugene Puryear	Socialism and Liberation	7,516	0.01%	0	0.0%
Brian Moore	Stewart A. Alexander	Socialist	6,499	0.01%	0	0.0%
None of these Candidates	–	–	6,251	0.00%	0	0.0%
Richard Duncan	Ricky Johnson	Independent	3,775	0.00%	0	0.0%
Charles Jay	Tom Knapp	Boston Tea Party	2,362	0.00%	0	0.0%
John Joseph Polachek	–	New	1,236	0.00%	0	0.0%
Frank E. McEnulty	David Mangan	New American Indpendent	781	0.00%	0	0.0%
Jeffrey J. Wamboldt	David J. Klimisch	We, the People	770	0.00%	0	0.0%
Thomas R. Stevens	Alden Link	Objectivist	731	0.00%	0	0.0%
Gene C. Amondson	Leroy J. Pletten	Prohibition	648	0.00%	0	0.0%
Jeffrey Boss	–	Vote Here	601	0.00%	0	0.0%
George D. J. Phillies	Chris Bennett	Libertarian	531	0.00%	0	0.0%
Ted C. Weill	Frank McEnulty	Reform	470	0.00%	0	0.0%
Jonathan E. Allen	Jeffrey D. Stath	Independent	372	0.00%	0	0.0%
Bradford Lyttle	–	US Pacifist	106	0.00%	0

Mike Gillis November 17, 2008

Dave,

You also don’t take into account the much-changed political landscape for third parties since 1996.

In 1996, we hadn’t had 8 years of anti-Nader/third party propaganda and we were in the middle of Ross Perot’s second run for office.

Also during the 90s, we saw a number of independent governors elected, plus the Ventura win and other factors that showed an electorate far more open to voting against the duopoly.

It was easy for even a well-known draft candidate like Nader to ride that wave without really trying.

And it’s worth mentioning that even a draft campaign like Nader ’96 outperformed every third party campaign aside from Perot’s.

Post-2000, even after all of the smears and the lawsuits and the one-sided and well financed attacks against Nader he STILL beat Barr, McKinney and other well-known third party candidates by a large margin.

And he beat all other third party candidates in 2004, despite being thrown off of ballots and sued into debt by political opponents and denied the CA ballot among others.

90% of his poor performance is totally out of his control, as there is a ceiling for third party vote totals after such a big anti-third party backlash after the 2000 election.

In the current political environment, only a billionaire capable of buying their own TV ads and infomercials can break through that ceiling.

I don’t think a majority of the blame for the low vote total for Nader, Barr and others is to be lain on the candidates or their campaigns.

I think that the environment is just so incredible hostile to third parties at this time that they simply wouldn’t have been able to do much better unless they’d been allowed to debate the major parties on television.

Had Nader run this campaign in 1996, his vote total would be far higher. Likewise with Barr.

The fact that Nader can top 700,000 and beat other third parties, despite having his name specifically dragged through the mud by Democratic zombies for eight years, is an accomplishment.

The vote totals for any third party campaign wasn’t what I hoped it would be, but comparing this to 1996 is just apples and oranges.

The LP BARELY topped their 1996 numbers in this election, and did so with a far better known candidate who raised more money and got more media.

9 Comments

Sivarticus November 17, 2008
Whiny Democrats have done the worst damage to all third parties since 2000. I think in the minds of many who came to hate Bush, Nader the “spoiler” came to symbolize all third parties, and is thus something to be avoided for most people for fear of electing the “greater evil.” Continued Democratic fearmongering has almost finished off what was left of the Greens (seemingly the only third party with momentum around 2000). Meanwhile, wherever they fail, they continue to bitch about parties that aren’t even that close to them in ideology, like the Independence Party here in Minnesota. You should’ve heard them bawling over Barkley and IPMN Congressional candidates. I’m convinced that Democrats are the greatest threat to third parties right now, especially since they have more power after the latest election, though I don’t know what to do about it.
Mike Gillis November 17, 2008
Dave,
You also don’t take into account the much-changed political landscape for third parties since 1996.
In 1996, we hadn’t had 8 years of anti-Nader/third party propaganda and we were in the middle of Ross Perot’s second run for office.
Also during the 90s, we saw a number of independent governors elected, plus the Ventura win and other factors that showed an electorate far more open to voting against the duopoly.
It was easy for even a well-known draft candidate like Nader to ride that wave without really trying.
And it’s worth mentioning that even a draft campaign like Nader ’96 outperformed every third party campaign aside from Perot’s.
Post-2000, even after all of the smears and the lawsuits and the one-sided and well financed attacks against Nader he STILL beat Barr, McKinney and other well-known third party candidates by a large margin.
And he beat all other third party candidates in 2004, despite being thrown off of ballots and sued into debt by political opponents and denied the CA ballot among others.
90% of his poor performance is totally out of his control, as there is a ceiling for third party vote totals after such a big anti-third party backlash after the 2000 election.
In the current political environment, only a billionaire capable of buying their own TV ads and infomercials can break through that ceiling.
I don’t think a majority of the blame for the low vote total for Nader, Barr and others is to be lain on the candidates or their campaigns.
I think that the environment is just so incredible hostile to third parties at this time that they simply wouldn’t have been able to do much better unless they’d been allowed to debate the major parties on television.
Had Nader run this campaign in 1996, his vote total would be far higher. Likewise with Barr.
The fact that Nader can top 700,000 and beat other third parties, despite having his name specifically dragged through the mud by Democratic zombies for eight years, is an accomplishment.
The vote totals for any third party campaign wasn’t what I hoped it would be, but comparing this to 1996 is just apples and oranges.
The LP BARELY topped their 1996 numbers in this election, and did so with a far better known candidate who raised more money and got more media.
Catholic Trotskyist November 17, 2008
Yes, I agree with Joseph again, Nader is pathetic, and did pathetically. But this was for the good of the country.
richardwinger November 17, 2008
Nader will break 100,000 in California when all the votes are counted.
daveweigel November 17, 2008
It’s pretty lousy when you consider that Nader was on 46 ballots + DC this time and roughly two dozen ballots in 1996. Twelve years ago he won 25,070 votes in Colorado. This year he won 12,542 votes. Twelve years ago he won 237,016 votes in California, and this year he didn’t even break 100,000. Despite spending more money and hiring more staff, he’s simply growing less and less popular. His 0.55% of the national vote is down from 0.71% in 1996.
paulie cannoli Post author | November 17, 2008
So could Brian Moore. He had registered write-in status in a lot of states, unlike other Socialists.
Ross Levin November 17, 2008
One of the socialists – Roger Calero – could break 10,000 votes.
richardwinger November 17, 2008
I don’t agree that it’s “pathetic” compared to his past returns. It is his 2nd highest vote total ever.
Libertarian Joseph November 17, 2008
Still a pathetic tally when you compare to his past performances.

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