Politics
As the race between Harris and Trump tightens, other candidates could disrupt the status quo

Published
5 months agoon
By
Ekwutos Blog
Either Democratic nominee Kamala Harris or Republican nominee Donald Trump will be the next US president after an election that is predicted to be incredibly close. But what of the country’s third-party and independent candidates?
The format of US elections up and down the ballot overwhelmingly reinforces the unofficial but de facto two-party system, but that doesn’t stop other candidates from running. In 2020, the third-place contender was Libertarian Party candidate Jo Jorgensen with 1.9 million votes, or about 1.2% of the national popular vote. Behind her was the Green Party’s Howie Hawkins, with 0.3%.
It’s virtually impossible that any of the 2024 third-party or independent candidates will come near winning the presidency, or even a state. None of them are even on every state’s ballot.
But in a country where state-by-state results matter and margins of victory are often extremely close, these contenders may have the ability to siphon off enough votes to decide whether Trump and Harris wins any of this year’s 7 swing states.
Here’s a look at the major third-party candidates and what they claim to represent.
The Libertarian Party: Chase Oliver
The Libertarian Party usually places a distant third in presidential races. The party’s ideals centre around rolling back the state, particularly the US federal government.
Chase Oliver is the 2024 Libertarian Party candidate. A Democrat until 2009, he worked in the restaurant business for 13 years before joining the corporate maritime industry.
His most notable foray into politics was during the highly-contentious 2022 senate election in Georgia. As a Libertarian, Oliver received over 2% of the popular vote.
Although he was eliminated, Democratic and Republican political opponents blamed Oliver for forcing a runoff election by stealing votes. He refused to endorse either of the two remaining candidates afterwards.
Oliver is also openly gay, and joined the Libertarian party after speaking with members at a pride festival in Atlanta.
His campaign platform involves policies that weaken the power of government, such as the deregulation of businesses, abolition of the Department of Education, and simplification of the immigration process.
Many political scientists and campaign officials believe that the Libertarian Party’s policies appeal more heavily to Republican voters than Democrats. In the upcoming election, Oliver may garner support from people who would have preferred Trump.
Oliver and running mate Mike ter Maat aren’t listed on the ballot in every state, but he is the best-represented of any non-major-party candidate: they have qualified for the ballot in 47 states, just missing out on Illinois, New York, and Tennessee — none of which are swing states.
The Green Party: Jill Stein
Typically placing fourth behind the Libertarians is the Green Party. Its leaders claim to be more progressive than Democrats in many areas, with policies that priorities environmentalism and social justice.
This election’s Green candidate is Jill Stein, who before becoming a perennial candidate was a doctor and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Stein previously represented the Green Party as a presidential nominee in 2012 and 2016. Some Americans blame her for helping Trump win the election in 2016, as her total vote count in the swing state of Wisconsin was larger than Trump’s razor-thin margin of victory.
The 2024 Stein platform includes the usual Green Party policies, but also emphasises support for Palestine in the current conflict with Israel. Stein has been a vocal critic of Harris and the current administration’s handling of the war.
The Green Party has historically denied criticisms that its candidates make it harder for Democrats to win key states. Instead, its leaders claim that they attract disengaged left-wing voters.
“We think we’re bringing people off their couch to vote for a candidate that matches up with their values,” a Stein campaign spokesperson told Euronews.
“The idea that the two major parties have a right to the White House and we would be spoiling one of their candidacies just doesn’t make sense to us.”
But many of Stein’s critics within the Democratic Party do not just regard her as an inconsiderate spoiler. In 2019, Hillary Clinton described her as a “Russian asset” — and in a recent statement, a Democratic National Committee spokesman described her as “a useful idiot for Russia”, saying that “after parroting Kremlin talking points and being propped up by bad actors in 2016 she’s at it again”.
Stein denies these claims, but she has previously been pictured dining with Vladimir Putin and key Trump ally Michael Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts.
Stein and running mate Butch Ware appear on the ballot in 39 states. These include every predicted swing state except Nevada.
Independents: RFK Jr. and Cornel West
Alongside the third parties are independent candidates representing no political party — and in an unusual turn of events, the independent featured on more state ballots than any other is no longer running
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist whose father was assassinated while running for president in 1968, was polling at around 5% nationally before he dropped out of the race in August.
His campaign was marred by bizarre scandals, among them the revelation that he once dumped a bear carcass in New York’s Central Park and disguised it as the victim of a cycling accident.
There was also the news that a worm had consumed part of the candidate’s brain more than a decade ago.

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event in October 2023 in Philadelphia. AP Photo/Matt Rourke
It was initially unclear from polling whether Kennedy would pull more votes from the Democrats or the Republicans, but he ultimately dropped out and endorsed Trump.
He then attempted to remove his name from the ballot in several states, but because he dropped out after some states’ legal deadlines for ballot alterations, Kennedy remains on 30 ballots across the country. Among them are two swing states: Wisconsin and Michigan.
The other noteworthy independent candidate is Cornel West, an academic who has taught at universities in the US and France.
A staunch anti-war left-winger, West has previously supported the Democratic Socialists of America and 2016 Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. His platform includes justice for minorities and wealth redistribution through policies such as Universal Basic Income and a national $27 (€24.90) minimum wage.
West and running mate Melina Abdullah are on the ballot in 15 states, among them North Carolina and Wisconsin.
The campaigns for Oliver and West did not respond to requests for comment.
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Politics
US will stay in NATO, but it must be ‘stronger’, Marco Rubio tells his 31 counterparts

Published
14 minutes agoon
April 3, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reassured NATO allies of the US’ commitment to the military transatlantic alliance at his first meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers, while recalling Donald Trump’s message that the European countries and Canada need to further increase defence spending.
“The United States President Trump’s made clear he supports NATO, we’re going to remain in NATO,” Rubio told reporters in Brussels, stressing that the US wants the alliance to be stronger against any potential threat.
“The only way NATO can get stronger and more viable is if our partners, the nation states that comprise this important alliance, have more capability,” he added.
The top US diplomat said he expects to leave Brussels with a clear commitment from allies to spend 5% of their GDP on defence—an increase from the current 2%, which some European countries, such as Belgium, Italy, and Spain, still fail to meet.
“I understand there’s domestic politics after decades of building up vast social safety net that maybe don’t want to take away from that and invest more in national security, but a full-scale ground war in the heart of Europe is a reminder that hard power is still necessary as a deterrent,” he said.
Rubio’s comments come after Donald Trump said last month that the US would not defend its allies unless they increased burden-sharing within the alliance. “It’s common sense, right,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in early March. “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.”
The transatlantic alliance is currently assessing its capability gaps before committing to a new defence spending target, but a final figure is not expected until the annual NATO summit in June in The Hague.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed that European NATO members have recently committed to the largest increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, though he agreed with the US that more must be done.
“It’s my assumption that what we need to spend, the Canadians and Europeans together, will be north of 3%,” the former Dutch prime minister said on his way in to the two-day meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in Brussels.
Rubio stressed that raising defence spending to 5% cannot be done “in one year or two”, but the US now demands a real way forward from its allies to build a stronger NATO capable of defending its territories.
The NATO chief also warned that the global security threats facing the Alliance are increasingly interconnected and that the Russian threat will persist for many years.
“We are seeing what China is doing. We’re seeing how these two theatres, the inner Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic are getting more and more connected by the fact that the Russians are working together with the North Koreans, with the Chinese, with Iran, so we have to look at all these theatres in conjunction and that will be our focus,” he said.
European NATO members are also expecting clear messages or a roadmap from Rubio regarding the US withdrawal of troops from Europe, where around 100,000 American soldiers are stationed. However, the US secretary of state has not yet addressed the issue, and Rutte indicated that no immediate drawdown is planned.
“There are no plans for them (the US) to all of a sudden draw down their presence here in Europe, but we know that for America being the superpower they are they have to attend to more theatres than one,” Rutte said.
Some NATO members consider that the US could reduce its presence by some 20,000 to 50,000 troops.
The NATO secretary general acknowledged that the US has long sought to pivot its attention toward the Indo-Pacific but assured that it will be done “in a very coordinated manner.”
Politics
Security: Abia govt to keep close watch on traditional rulers, confirms kidnap victim’s release

Published
1 hour agoon
April 3, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
Abia State government has again, warned traditional rulers in the state against harbouring criminals in their communities, saying that they would be placed under watch.
The warning was sounded at Government House Umuahia by the Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, on Wednesday, while briefing Journalists on the outcome of this week’s executive council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.
The State government also cautioned town union leaders to be vigilant and report all cases of suspicious movements involving criminal elements in their areas to security agents.
The Commissioner who disclosed that a popular businessman who was kidnapped in Ukwa East LGA a few weeks ago has been released, said that the State government would be using security agencies to beam light on all traditional rulers, to ascertain those who harbour criminals in their domains.
“As is usual with security matters, I may not want to go into details of what happened to the businessman, but the state government is advising Abians to remain vigilant. Town unions and traditional rulers must be alive to their duties of keeping watch over their domains.
“The state government is frowning seriously at this and the warning is that if you are caught in the act of harbouring criminals, you will be treated as one”, said Kanu.
He advised all commercial vehicle operators who have registered their vehicles in the ongoing registration policy to do so as strict enforcement of the initiative would soon start.
Politics
Recall: INEC declares petition against Natasha inadequate

Published
3 hours agoon
April 3, 2025By
Ekwutos Blog
ABUJA: The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC on Thursday said the petition to recall the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has not met the requirements of the constitution.
INEC in a tweet on its ‘X’ handle said; “The petition for the recall of the Senator representing the Kogi Central Senatorial District has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)”.

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