In the 24 hours following Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of rival Hillary Clinton, Jill Stein, candidate for the Green Party, saw a nearly 1000% increase in donations to her campaign.
Stein expressed her disappointment in Sanders’ decision to endorse Clinton:
@DrJillStein @SomeBlueDevilFL Who are you again?
— esd2000 (@esd2000) July 12, 2016
I wish Hillary believed what you believe, @BernieSanders. But it just doesn’t pass the laugh test.
— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) July 12, 2016
Stein reassured non-Hillary supporters (and presumably Bernie Sanders supporters) that the revolution will continue:
If you don’t want to vote for a war monger or racist billionaire, there are more options. The political revolution will keep going.
— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) July 12, 2016
As of Tuesday morning, the Green Party had received over $80,000 in contributions. More than half of these were from first-time donors.
Stein told US Uncut, “There’s been an explosion of Berners coming in through every portal of the campaign, and it’s really exciting. There is so much courage out there to stand up to the marching orders handed down by the usual suspects.”
Google searches also exploded for the search term “Jill Stein”
Furthermore, Stein’s social media has blown up, with her Facebook page being viewed 300,000 times in less than a day and growing by 44,000 in less than a week; her Twitter account has increased by tens of thousands in the last week; and her email has gained over 10,000 new sign ups in a few days.
Stein’s campaign supports things like free public higher education, which she also supported during her last presidential bid four years ago, as well as cutting military spending by 50 percent, abolishing nuclear weapons, and cancelling student debt.
The Green Party candidate says that the Greens are the only national party not “poisoned by corporate money, lobbyists, and Super PACs.”
Currently Stein’s campaign has secured ballot access in 23 states, with petition signatures being sought for ballot access in 27 others. They are also working towards a goal of 15 percent for Stein in national polls, which would allow her to secure a spot on the general election debate stage with Clinton and Trump.
Stein previously offered Bernie Sanders a spot in the Green Party, prior to his announcement of endorsement for Clinton:
“I’ve invited Bernie to sit down and explore collaboration. Everything is on the table. If he saw that you can’t have a revolutionary campaign in a counter-revolutionary party, he’d be welcomed to the Green Party. He could lead the ticket and build a political movement.”
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