Third Party Candidates

Most voters in the upcoming presidential election are familiar with Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, and Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, as well as their respective party. In fact, many people are unaware or uninformed about the two prominent third party candidates: Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson.

The Green Party places a focus on environmentalism and social justice, as well as non-violence. Given the name of the party, it is clear that a major focus of theirs is the environment. They believe that humans need to understand that we are a part of nature, instead of a group existing separately from it. Therefore, the Green Party also believes that the environment should be protected and conserved. Social justice is another important issue for this party. One of their fundamental beliefs is that regardless of things like gender and race, people all deserve the same opportunities as each other.[1] As the Green Party nominee, Jill Stein represents these values. She places a focus on social justice, including support of the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBT+ rights, and feminism. She also places focus on sustainability and protecting the environment.[2] As a whole, Jill Stein and the Green Party represent more liberal ideologies.

The Libertarian Party’s main focus is on creating a small government and allowing the people to have more freedom while running their lives. They believe that if you have done nothing wrong, you shouldn’t have to fear punishment from the government and that the only purpose of the government is to protect the citizens of a country. They also place focus on reducing how intrusive the government can be.[3] As the main candidate for the Libertarian Party, Gary Johnson also holds many of these values. He also places a major focus on protecting the liberties of the people.[4]

[1] https://www.greenparty.org/values.php

[2] http://www.ontheissues.org/Jill_Stein.htm

[3] https://www.lp.org/about/

[4] http://www.ontheissues.org/Gary_Johnson.htm