I have been following the campaign of Ray McKinney since it took off last year when he announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.  McKinney eventually quit the race for the presidency to make a run for the U.S. House of Represenatives from Georgia's 12 district.

The Geogria primary was this past Tuesday and McKinney lost the election to a seasoned politician, John Stone.  McKinney placed second out of the field of three with 32% of the vote.  Stone won with 57% and former radio talk show host Ben Crystal came in third with 11.5%.

However, earlier this year Ray McKinney was chosen to be a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention.

 
 

"Although the Nader/Gonzalez and Green Party platforms have many similarities, we are not competing for votes, but instead we are allies joined in a common struggle to tap the huge and growing numbers of millions of unsatisfied voters who want to vote for something better than the lesser of two-evils," says Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader in a statement on Cynthia McKinney winning the Green Party presidential nomination.

He went onto say:  "In Cynthia McKinney, the Greens have an energetic and courageous candidate unafraid to challenge America to be better for the millions who are marginalized, overcharged, underpaid and ignored by the two-party duopoly. Her vim and vigor offers the Green Party an excellent chance to break through in 2008 and provides voters one more viable alternative to the DemReps. I wish her and Ms. Clemente good luck."

Nader was the presidential nominee of the Green Party twice, in 1996 and 2000, but in 2004 as well as 2008 he chose to run as an independent.  Nader's 2008 running mate, Matt Gonzalez, served as an elected Green Party member on the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors from 2001-2005.

 
 

Former Sen. Dean Barkley will run for as a third party candidate for US Senate in Minnesota.

Barkley served in the Senate for just three months after then governor Jesse Ventura appointed him to fill the spot after Paul Wellstone's death.

Barkley declared his candidacy today, the last day to file as a candiate, after Ventura announced last night on Larry King Live that he was not a candidate. 

Barkley will be running in the September 9th primary for the nomination of the Independence Party, which has already endorsed Stephen Williams for the office.  Former Independence Party chairman and former Barkley aid Jack Ulrich also entered the race today.

 
 

This past Saturday Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader spoke at the Virginia Holocaust Museum.  While there one of the audience members asked him if he would debate him as a stand in for Bob Barr.  Nader declined the offer but said that he does want to actually debate Barr.

Nader declined to debate the other third party candidates in the 2004 election.

Video of the question: 

 
 

As expected, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney made an easy victory for the presidential nomination of the Green Party at the party's national convention this weekend in Chicago.  McKinney took 313 of the 532 votes.

McKinney at the convention:

 
 

The Kansas Reform Party, one of the few remaining affiliates of the party fonded by Ross Perot with ballot access, is turning into a more conservative party.

The the national Reform Party will be meating in Texas latter this month to choose its presidential ticket but the Kansas party has already chosen its candidates, Chuck Baldwin and Darrell Castle, who are the Constitution Party nominees.

The Kansas Reform Party also asked Susan Ducey to be their candidate for Congress in the 4th district, which she accepted.  Ducey is a "staunch conservative" who was running for president as an independent and also was a cadidate for the Constitution Party presidential nomination.

In 2004 Ralph Nader was on the ballot as the Reform Party candidate, getting over 300,000 more votes in Kansas than Constitution Party candidate Michael Peroutka, who was on the ballot as an independent.

Nader is expected to again get the nomination from the the national Reform Party but is being challenged New American Independent presidential candidate Frank McEnulty.

 
 

Presumptive Green Party presidential nominee former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has named her choice for Vice President, Rosa Clemente.

Clemente is a community organizer, journalist and Hip-Hop activist, who in 2003 helped form and coordinate the first National Hip Hop Political Convention which drew a crowd of 3,000 activists.  To find out more about Rosa Clemente visit her campaign website at www.rosaclemente.com.

The Green Party convention is taking place this weekend in Chicago, Illinois.

 
 

On July 6 Green Party presidential candidate Kat Swift sent out this message asking for funds for the upcoming Green Party:

"As of July 6, 2008, I need to raise about $1k this week to cover all outstanding expenses for the upcoming convention - hotel, transit passes, delegate travel costs, a table at the convention, and other such costs.  Please spare a few bucks and help me in this final push to Chicago!"

If you would like to contribute, visit Swift's website at www.voteswift.org.

 
 

Last week it was announced that Miller Politics will be hosting the first Third Party Presidential Candidates Debate of the general election.

Today I am announcing the candidates that will be in the debate that will air on July 24 at 7:30 PM (ET) from www.blogtalkradio.com/millerpolitics.com.  They are:  Brian Moore of the Socialist Party USA, Frank McEnulty of the New American Independent Party and Charles Jay of the Boston Tea Party.