Editing Ralph Nader (section)

==== 1996 ====
{{Main|Ralph Nader 1996 presidential campaign}}
[[File:Ralph Nader 1996 button 00.png|thumb|left|Campaign button from 1996|150px]]
Nader was drafted as a candidate for President of the United States on the [[Green Party (United States)|Green Party]] ticket during the [[1996 U.S. presidential election|1996 presidential election]]. He was not formally nominated by the [[Greens/Green Party USA|Green Party USA]], which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties (in some states, he appeared on the ballot as an independent). However, many activists in the Green Party USA worked actively to campaign for Nader that year. Nader qualified for ballot status in 22 states,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politics1.com/nader04.htm |title=Politics1.com |publisher=Politics1.com |date=February 27, 1934 |access-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080316082743/http://politics1.com/nader04.htm |archive-date = March 16, 2008}}</ref> garnering 685,297 votes or 0.71% of the popular vote (fourth place overall),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1996 |title=Uselectionatlas.org |publisher=Uselectionatlas.org |access-date=May 24, 2010}}</ref> although the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jr |first=B. Drummond Ayres |date=August 20, 1996 |title=Ralph Nader Is Nominated for President, but Vows He Will Ignore His Party's Platform |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/20/us/ralph-nader-nominated-for-president-but-vows-he-will-ignore-his-party-s-platform.html |access-date=July 18, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for [[Federal Election Commission]] reporting requirements.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 23, 1996 |title=Candidate Nader runs quixotic campaign Unconventional effort has minimal budget and low expectations|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-09-23-1996267043-story.html |access-date=July 18, 2023 |website=Baltimore Sun}}</ref> The unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but the committee was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

Nader received some criticism from [[gay rights]] supporters for calling gay rights "[[gonad]]al politics" and stating that he was not interested in dealing with such matters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Nader.html |title=1.75 cheers for Ralph |work=Left Business Observer |date=October 1996 |access-date=May 24, 2010}}</ref> In July 2004, however, he publicly stated that he supported [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ralph_Nader_Civil_Rights.htm |title=On The Issues|publisher=Votenader.org |date=September 9, 2018|access-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref>

His 1996 running mates included: Anne Goeke (nine states), Deborah Howes (Oregon), [[Muriel Tillinghast]] (New York), Krista Paradise (Colorado), Madelyn Hoffman (New Jersey), Bill Boteler (Washington, D.C.), and [[Winona LaDuke]] (California and Texas).<ref>Gaard, Greta (May 11, 1998). ''Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens'', [[Temple University Press]]. page 240.</ref>