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David Cobb | |
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| Born | David Keith Cobb |
| Alma mater | University of Houston |
| Occupations |
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| Organization | Move to Amend |
| Political party |
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David Keith Cobb (born December 24, 1962) is an American politicalactivist who was theGreen Partypresidential candidate for the2004 election. Cobb later became the campaign manager for fellow GreenJill Stein for herpresidential run in2016.
With the announcement in late December 2003 that Nader would not seek the Green Party nomination for president in 2004, Cobb became a front-runner for the nomination. On January 13, 2004, David Cobb won the first Greenprimary in the nation, that of theDistrict of Columbia, beating local activistSheila Bilyeu and several write-in candidates and gaining an early lead in the nomination scramble.
Nader eventually announced an independent campaign for president and sought the endorsement of the Green Party and other minor parties; his supporters continued to push for a Nader victory in the various Green Party primary elections in states across the country. Shortly before,[1] the Green Party presidential nominating convention, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in June 2004, Nader selected Green Party memberPeter Camejo as his running mate. On June 26, on the second ballot, the convention selected Cobb as the Green presidential candidate – a process rocked by controversy as Nader had won the vast majority of actual Green Party votes in nearly all state primary elections (Cobb received only 12.2 percent support). The party also nominatedPat LaMarche as its candidate for vice-president.
Cobb stated his intention to run a campaign focused on building the Green Party and pursuing a "strategic states" or "smart states" strategy which would take into account the wishes of Greens in each state, and which otherwise would focus on states that traditionally are "safely" won by the Democratic candidate, or "safely" won by the Republican candidate, with a large margin of victory. Such so-called "safe states" are also referred to in campaign literature as "neglected states" because the Democratic and Republican candidates traditionally put most of their campaign energy into more competitive "swing states." Cobb's campaign said that each state's campaign would aim to follow the wishes expressed by local Greens. While some of Cobb's supporters urgedswing state residents to vote forDemocratJohn Kerry in order to stop the re-election of PresidentGeorge W. Bush, other Cobb supporters encouraged votes for Cobb and LaMarche everywhere. The candidates themselves used the phrase "vote your conscience," campaigning both in swing states such as Wisconsin and safe states such as California.
On October 8, 2004, Cobb was arrested in an act ofcivil disobedience, breaking a police line while protesting theCommission on Presidential Debates for excluding third-party candidates from the nationally televised debates inSt. Louis, Missouri.[2] Also arrested wasLibertarian candidateMichael Badnarik.[2]
In the November 2004 presidential election, Cobb placed sixth in the popular vote total nationwide, earning over119,859 votes (0.10 percent), but received no electoral votes. This represented a decline of over 90 percent support compared to the votes garnered by Nader.
Since running for president, Cobb has become a member of theBoard of Directors for the Green Institute,[3] and of theSierra Club's national Corporate Accountability Committee,[4] a Fellow with the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution,[5] on the Steering Committee of Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County,[6] along with being the group's campaigns director,[7] and is a Principal withProgram on Corporations, Law, and Democracy (POCLAD).[8]
Cobb facilitated the founding convention of theGreen Party of Louisiana during a two-day convention which took place on August 31 and September 1, 2002, in New Orleans.[9]
Cobb co-foundedCooperation Humboldt.[10]
Cobb was the campaign manager for Green candidateJill Stein in the2016 U.S. presidential election.[11]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Greg Abbott | 2,542,184 | 56.72 | ||
| Democratic | Kirk Watson | 1,841,359 | 41.08 | ||
| Libertarian | Jon Roland | 56,880 | 1.26 | ||
| Green | David Keith Cobb | 41,560 | 0.92 | ||
| Turnout | 4,481,983 | ||||
| Republicanhold | |||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (accessed 15 December 2006)
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Green nominee forPresident of the United States 2004 | Succeeded by |