Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, a Georgia Democrat who later became the Green Party’s 2008 presidential nominee, has declared her candidacy for Georgia’s 14th congressional district, seeking a return to Congress this November as a Green candidate.
McKinney announced her bid this week, saying her campaign would prioritize healthcare and education, economic justice, and constitutional rights. “I am running to represent the people of Georgia’s 14th District because our country is at a crossroads,” she stated, adding that voters “deserve leadership that listens to working families, defends human rights, and relentlessly pursues accountability and peace.”
While McKinney does not explicitly identify herself as a Green Party candidate in the announcement, her campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission list her as such. Her campaign website also further explains her decision to seek a return, stating that she was encouraged to run by her campaign manager in response to what she calls the pervasive corruption and a lack of accountability within the federal government.
McKinney represented Georgia’s 11th congressional district as a Democrat from 1992 through 1996, and then its 4th district through 2002 after the Supreme Court ruled the former a racial gerrymander. While in office, she gained national attention for her frequent criticism of U.S. foreign policy and the Bush administration’s handling of Iraq following the September 11 attacks as well as her views on Israel and Palestine, factors that contributed to her defeat in the 2002 Democratic primary. She returned to Congress in 2004 for another term before losing in a Democratic primary runoff.
After leaving Congress, McKinney joined the Green Party and later became its 2008 presidential nominee alongside Rosa Clemente. She made her first attempt to return to Congress as a Green in 2012, again in the 4th district, but failed to secure ballot access. She was also selected as the Green Party of Alaska’s vice presidential nominee in 2020 along with Jesse Ventura after the state party opted to field an alternative ticket rather than support the national Green ticket of Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker.
If elected later this year, McKinney specifically notes she would call for the full declassification of investigative records related to Jeffrey Epstein, independent investigations into government agencies and contractors accused of facilitating or covering up human trafficking, and permanent whistleblower protections for individuals who expose abuse. She has also proposed ending federal contracts with corporations tied to exploitation or obstruction of justice and establishing a victims-first restitution fund financed through clawbacks from convicted traffickers and complicit institutions.
On foreign policy, McKinney reiterated her views on U.S. involvement in the Middle East, calling for an end to U.S. military and financial aid to Israel and greater enforcement of domestic and international human rights laws. She supports reducing the influence of foreign lobbying in U.S. politics, endorses the Palestinian right of return and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, and calls for lifting Israel’s blockade of Gaza to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid and civilian movement.
As the Green Party is not a recognized party in Georgia, McKinney will be required to either petition or pay a filing fee equal to three percent of the office’s annual salary to appear on the ballot. Georgia law requires independent and third party candidates for U.S. House to collect signatures equal to five percent of the number of registered voters eligible to vote in the most recent general election for the office, which would be next month’s special election to fill the vacancy left by former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 4 hours ago
I’m looking for warriors whose top priority is crushing MAGA, and fully purging it from our government and our society. Only after that, can we talk about fixing our many other long-neglected problems.
But if MAGA is still allowed to exist, they will only keep America from redeeming itself in the eyes of our Citizens, the World, and History. MAGA needs to be ENDED.