Jill Stein announced on Thursday that she is entering the 2024 presidential race as a candidate seeking to represent the Green Party, criticising the two major parties for their handling of issues like climate change and inequality.
“The political system is broken,” she said in an announcement video on social media. “The two Wall Street parties are bought and paid for. Over 60 per cent of us now say the bispartisan establishment has failed us and we need a party that serves the people.”
“We’ll put solutions to the crises we face,” she added. “Crushing inequality, endless war, and climate collapse...The ruling parties that got us into this mess aren’t getting us out.”
She joins other outsider candidates including Robert F Kennedy Jr, who is running as an independent, and Dr Cornel West, who announced his independent 2024 ambitions earlier this year.
Ms Stein, a medical doctor, ran for president in 2016 with the Green Party and received roughly 1.4m votes nationally.
Some analyses have argued that had her supporters voted for Hillary Clinton in key battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, the Democrats would’ve won the 2016 election.
In her 2024 run, Ms Stein said in her announcement that she’s seeking an “economic bill of rights” for the US including guaranteed employment, health care, housing, food and education.”
Jill Stein previously ran for president in 2016— (Getty Images)
The prominence of outsider candidates so far may speak to a wider desire among voters to avoid a Trump-Biden rematch.
Less than half of Americans view either man favourably, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released earlier this week. A third viewed President Biden as favourable, while less than 30 per cent felt the same way about his predecessor.
If Donald Trump and Joe Biden indeed face off again in 2024, the incumbent could be in trouble.
A recent CNN/SSRS survey found Donald Trump leading Mr Biden 49 to 45 per cent in support from registered voters.
Within the Republican side, Mr Trump is the clear frontrunner, with triple the support of his nearest rival, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, according to a FiveThirtyEight average of national polls.
