2004 Green National Convention


The 2004 national convention of the Green Party of the United States was held at the Hyatt Regency and the Midwest Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 23–28, 2004.
Ralph Nader, the Green Party nominee for president in 2000, did not seek the nomination of the Green Party, but instead sought the endorsement of his independent candidacy by the party. An endorsement of Nader's campaign would have allowed for each state party affiliated with the national Green Party to choose their own candidate. On the opening day of the convention, Nader's running mate and former Green Party nominee for Governor of California Peter Camejo debated David Cobb of Texas, who was seeking the Green Party's nomination against the Nader candidacy.
In that interview, Camejo called on the Green National Convention to endorse both Nader and David Cobb and allow individual parties to choose which candidate to put on their primary ballot. Cobb criticized the Nader-Camejo ticket for not seeking the Green Party's nomination and running independently of the party.

Round 1 of presidential nomination voting

The voting at the national convention was complicated by the broad support for Ralph Nader, the 2000 nominee, in spite of his not seeking nor expressing interest in accepting the Green nomination in 2004. Several candidates, most notably Peter Camejo, presented themselves in various states as stand-ins for Nader. Many Nader supporters voted "no nominee" in order to free the convention and state parties to endorse Nader's independent candidacy. At the time of the convention, Nader had already been endorsed by the Reform Party of the United States of America.
770 delegates voting; majority = 386 votes
According to the Green papers website, Peter Camejo, Carol Miller, Ralph Nader, and Lorna Salzman were eliminated because they did not indicate, in writing, that they would accept the nomination as the Green Party candidate for president.
770 delegates voting; majority = 386 votes
The party also nominated former gubernatorial candidate Pat LaMarche of Maine as its candidate for vice president.