Washington, D.C. – As Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz took the debate stage to make the case for electing Vice President Kamala Harris, Republicans continue to work hand-in-hand with third-party candidates to sow division and boost Donald Trump.
Jill Stein, in particular, is increasingly telegraphing her efforts to undermine Democrats and downplaying Republican attacks on our democracy. It seems MAGA views are starting to rub off on the Green party candidate: this week on a podcast, Stein said she is open to pardoning individuals who attacked the Capitol on January 6th at Trump’s direction and said the attempted overthrow of the 2020 election was “blown up for political reasons.” Disqualifying.
Not only do Stein and Trump share the same dangerous opinions about the deadly insurrection, according to four complaints filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), they’re also playing on the same team. The complaints, filed by End Citizens United (ECU), detail alleged illegal coordination and support between Republican operatives and Stein, Cornel West, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaigns. The complaints show that Republicans illegally helped third-party candidates deceive voters to gain ballot access, helped source phony ballot electors, and broke campaign finance laws.
In razor-thin elections, third-party candidates have been the difference in denying Democrats the White House (look no further than Trump’s victory in 2016). In an opinion piece printed in Newsweek, CNBC founder Tom Rogers reminds voters how Jill Stein wreaked havoc then and could now. In 2016, Stein’s vote tally alone made the difference in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – flipping the Electoral College from Hillary Clinton to Trump. We cannot allow history to repeat itself.
More happenings from third-party candidates this week: