The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is attempting to remove from a swing state ballot a Green Party presidential candidate – who, in 2016, received more votes than former President Trump’s margin of victory in the state.
An employee at the DNC filed a complaint against Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s placement on the ballot Wednesday, suggesting that since the Wisconsin Green Party doesn’t hold any statewide offices, Stein wouldn’t be able to be properly nominated as a candidate, according to a statement the DNC shared with Fox News Digital.
“We take the nomination process for President and Vice President very seriously and believe every candidate should follow the rules,” said Adrienne Watson, a senior adviser to the DNC. “Because the Wisconsin Green Party hasn’t fielded candidates for legislative or statewide office and doesn’t have any current incumbent legislative or statewide office holders, it cannot nominate candidates and should not be on the ballot in November.”
Stein’s campaign director pushed back on the complaint, telling Fox that the move is part of “anti-democratic shenanigans.”
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein waits to speak at a news conference on Fifth Avenue across the street from Trump Tower Dec. 5, 2016, in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“This is a fishing expedition conjured up by the DNC, and is in line with their statements back in March that they will hire an army of lawyers and infiltrators to find any angle of attack to prevent Green Party ballot access,” said Jason Call, Stein’s campaign manager. “We absolutely will be hiring counsel to defend our ballot line in Wisconsin.”
Trump won the state of Wisconsin in the 2016 presidential election, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by about 27,000 votes.
Stein, the Green Party candidate in 2016, garnered 30,980 votes in Wisconsin that year – a number that surpassed the margin of Trump’s triumph over Clinton in that state.
Similar results were mirrored in other crucial states won by Trump that cycle.
Former President Trump’s 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton resulted in liberal critics of the Electoral College to grow louder. (Mike Segar/Reuterrs)
Dave Wasserman, senior elections analyst for the Cook Political Report, made a Dec. 1, 2016, post on X, then-Twitter, highlighting Stein’s votes being greater than Trump’s margin of victory in three swing states that play a crucial role in determining presidential elections: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
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In Michigan, Trump defeated Clinton by about 10,000 votes. Stein received more than 50,000 votes in the state, once again exceeding his margin of victory.
Stein is expected to be virtually nominated as the Green Party’s nominee at their annual national meeting in August.