In keeping with our Presidential visits to Rochester series, on October 19th, 2012, former President Bill Clinton attended a rally for congressional Representatives Louise Slaughter and Kathy Hochul at the Main Street Armory.
According to the Democrat and Chronicle, about 3,000 attended Clinton’s rally for Democratic congressional Representatives Louise Slaughter and Kathy Hochul re-election campaigns.
Defeating Maggie Brooks, Slaughter would win her 14th term. Hochul lost to Christopher Collins. Hochul is currently the Lieutenant Governor of New York. Still going strong, Louise in currently running for her 16th term against Republican Mark Assini.
Having visited Rochester on August 22nd, 2012, President Obama would win a second term and Hillary Clinton would become Secretary of State.
A year earlier in 2011, Clinton spoke at the University of Rochester’s Meliora Weekend.
On April 4th, 2016, Clinton attended a rally for Hillary’s successful primary campaign.
The same day the D & C reported on Clinton’s 2012 visit, in “Presidential hopeful at Public Market” Erica Bryant looked at 2012 third party candidates, including Peta Lindsay, the Party for Socialism and Liberation‘s candidate for President. That day, Lindsay met voters at the Public Market. Depending on the source, Lindsay would receive either 7,791 or 9,388 votes.
Interestingly, Lindsay was ineligible to be President as she was only 27 years old. Her candidacy did become part of a constitutional legal dispute. During the 2012 election, California did not permit Lindsay’s name on the ballot. The two disputed issues were: (1) does someone have the right to run for office even if ineligible to serve and (2) only Congress, not individual states, could determine ballot eligibility. In Lindsay v. Bowen (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals). Lindsay lost on both accounts.
Rochester has known controversies surrounding voting eligibility. Although women at the time were prohibited from voting, on November 5, 1872 Susan B. Anthony cast a ballot in the presidential election for Victoria Woodhull, the Equal Right’s Party’s candidate. Two weeks later Anthony was arrested, and the following year, she was found guilty of illegal voting.
Woodhull was deemed eligible to run for office even though she could not vote for herself. In an odd twist, Woodhull also was too young to be eligible to serve as president. Had she won, Woodhull would not have turned 35 until six months into her administration.
As seen in the above vote totals, third party candidates were not a significant factor in the 2012 election. The Libertarian Party’s Gary Johnson received 0.99 %; while the Green Party’s Jill Stein received 0.36%.
This year Johnson and Stein are again running. Earlier in the campaign, both — especially Johnson — were polling noticeably higher than the historical norm for third party candidates.
Recently, their poll numbers have declined. Depending on the poll, Johnson stands at about 7 %; while Stein is at about 2%. Some pundits think if a Clinton victory is virtually assured, a greater number of voters will choose Johnson, Stein or another third party candidate.
I did find a home in West Brighton that appears to support both Johnson and Stein.
SEE ALSO
The Presidential Visits Series in its entirety: James Monroe to Joseph Biden