Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader Scheduled to Visit Mac

As of press time, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is scheduled to make a campaign stop at Macalester on Thursday, Sept. 16. It is one of 25 stops he will be making across the country this week. Nader comes to Macalester having been notified on Tuesday by the Office of the Secretary of State that he will be granted a spot on Minnesota ballots in November, according to State Coordinator Danene Provencher. Provencher said the campaign submitted the signatures of 4,781 registered voters, more than twice the needed 2,000.

Many Democrats blame Nader for Al Gore’s loss to President George W. Bush in the 2000 election, and fear that he may tip the election to Bush again in November. Nader is now on the ballot in 33 states, and is embroiled in litigation over the issue in several more.

Nader’s visit to Macalester will be the third by a presidential candidate in 2004. John Kerry held a rally in the Fieldhouse in February and Dennis Kucinich spoke to an audience of about 500 last Sunday (story on page one).

At press time, President Bush was scheduled to visit Rochester and St. Cloud on Thursday. Bush’s support in Minnesota has been building in recent months, according to polls conducted by the Star Tribune and CNN. The Star Tribune Minnesota Poll, conducted from Sept. 7-13, found that Bush has gained three percentage points among likely voters since March, when the last poll was taken. The poll shows Kerry leading with the support of 50% of likely voters, Bush with 41%, Nader with 1%. Eight percent of voters said they remain undecided.

In a Gallup Poll of likely Minnesota voters conducted by CNN, Bush and Kerry were tied at 45%, 5% of respondents supported Nader and 5% were undecided.

On Tuesday, Sept. 14, Minnesota held primary elections for Congress, the State House of Representatives and local elections. Results can be found at http://www.sos.state.mn.us/.