It is possible that three presidential candidates, all of whom are seeking a minor party presidential nomination, will qualify for primary season matching funds this year. Buddy Roemer, who is seeking the Americans Elect nomination, was certified for primary season matching funds on February 2, 2012. Gary Johnson is seeking them and his campaign says so far he has raised the needed $5,000 in fourteen states. Twenty states are needed to satisfy the legal requirements. Jill Stein is seeking the funds and her campaign says so far she has raised the needed $5,000 in three states.
The primary season matching funds program has existed starting in 1976, and there has never been a presidential election in which three minor party presidential candidates received matching funds. The funds must be raised before the candidate has been nominated for President. Johnson must meet the qualifications before the Libertarian convention in early May, and Stein must meet them before the Green convention in mid-July. The money may be used for general election petitioning.
I hope the Green and Libertarian candidates are able to succeed in reaching their fundraising goals. It’s time we stopped looking to weak major parties for solutions they always promise and never deliver. More voices are needed. Fresh voices and fresh ideas.
Have any major party candidates filed for primary season matching funds this year? It seems that’s a practice that has gone by the wayside.
#2, the only presidential candidates who are seeking primary matching funds this year are the ones that are mentioned in the blog post.
It is likely that some of the Republicans running for the nomination last year might have filed, but many of them dropped out before January 1. The funds are never released earlier than January 1 in any event.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/taxpayer-dollars-at-work-libertarian-candidate-po Re Johnson looks like GOP dirty trickster Stone is involved. A lot of Libertarians will predict trouble.
“Johnson has a hand in this process from a veteran of this particular corner of politics: The flamboyant Republican operative Roger Stone, who legendarily helped the Rev. Al Sharpton qualify for $100,000 in matching funds in 2004. Sharpton was later forced to repay the money, after an FEC audit found he’d broken rules in contributing to his own campaign.
Stone said he’s “only helping” Johnson…”
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