Dr. Jill Stein recently beat out comedian and actress Roseanne Barr to become the Green Party’s candidate for president. Barr was running an aggressive campaign on Twitter, but it is 62-year-old Stein whose name will be on the ballot (in most states, anyway) in November. Accomplished though she is, Stein’s no Ralph Nader, and it’s unlikely she’ll have a major impact on the election this fall. Running on a third-party ticket is always a long shot, but Stein said in a recent interview that building the Green Party is a win for her, even if there’s no Oval Office at the end of her run.
So who is Jill Stein? Here’s the scoop:
1. She ran against Mitt Romney in the race for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, garnering just 3 percent of the vote. Stein has, however, been twice elected as a Town of Lexington town meeting representative.
2. The focus of her platform is a Green New Deal, a set of policies aiming to address workers’ issues, citizen empowerment and a sustainable economy. The concept of the Green New Deal is international, but Stein has given a People’s State of the Union, outlining her version of the proposal for the United States. In the video, Stein lambasts both major parties, saying, “The truth is, both sides — despite the rhetoric — are responsible for the harsh policies driving our economy and our democracy into deep crisis. Simply put, they place the interests of Wall Street ahead of the needs of everyday people and the long-term welfare of our nation.”
3. Stein and her running mate, Cheri Honkala, are the second pair of women Green Party presidential and vice presidential candidates in a row. Honkala ran for sheriff of Philadelphia in 2011.
4. Stein is currently on the ballot in 24 states.
5. About $1 million will be spent on Stein’s campaign. That’s in contrast to the approximately $338,500,000 that has already been spent this election cycle by the Obama and Romney campaigns. Stein may be outspent, but she’s still raising money.
6. Stein is a medical doctor and, like both Obama and Romney, graduated from Harvard. She practices and teaches internal medicine.
7. She was endorsed by MIT professor and linguist Noam Chomsky. In his letter of endorsement, Chomsky urged voters to “cast a vote for resurgent democracy. A democracy that thrives outside of the Democratic and Republican parties that are sponsored by and subservient to corporate America” by voting for the Green Party’s Stein.
