Could Jill Stein Cost Hillary Clinton The Election?

Jill Stein is probably one of the most underappreciated rising-star candidates in the 2016 election cycle who is running on the Green Party platform, which is considered a liberal left party. The problem is that as a third-party candidate for liberals in this country, Stein’s candidacy and growing popularity could take votes away from Hillary Clinton, who is a Democrat and also considered to be part of the liberal left.

Here is where the problem lies: The Green Party (and other liberal independent parties) in the past has run candidates on presidential platforms before and, sometimes, it has cost Democrats the election. Just consider what happened back in 2004 when John Kerry was beaten by George W. Bush when Ralph Nader started to gain popularity with the liberal left, as reported by The Huffington Post. That was something people like Hillary Clinton and the entire Democratic base have long regretted, which some would say led to the 2008 economic crash under the leadership of Bush.

Nothing like being with the people. The establishment will not force their corruption on us.?#DemsInPhilly pic.twitter.com/FGaIlxG57x

— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) July 26, 2016

Now that Jill Stein and her Green Party are starting to pick up steam following the endorsement of Hillary Clinton by Bernie Sanders, there is a good chance that Stein could cost Hillary Clinton the 2016 election in November. Here is the reason why.

Let’s just assume for a minute that the 2016 general election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was a simple two-person race for the White House. In this scenario, the election was held between those two only and Hillary Clinton won with 52 million to Donald Trump’s 48 million. That is still somewhat close, even though Clinton would win by four million votes.

But then, Jill Stein is added to the ballot in the 2016 general election, and she picks up six million votes but does not carry any states in the Electoral College. One would have to assume that all six million of those votes came from Hillary Clinton’s base, so that would leave the popular vote with more skewed results. The tally would then leave Hillary Clinton with 46 million, Donald Trump with 48 million, and Jill Stein with six million.

In that scenario, there would still be 52 million people who voted for the liberal left in the election and 48 million people who voted for the conservative right. But the conservative right candidate, Donald Trump of the GOP, would be declared the winner because the liberal left vote was split between Hillary Clinton and Jill Stein, with a margin of error resting in the states that Stein pulled the votes from and how many Electoral College votes would go to Trump.

For those who have been paying attention to the Democratic National Convention, Bernie Sanders still has a large list of left-leaning voters who will only vote for him or, possibly, Jill Stein, as reported by Rolling Stone. That stems from a few social media hashtags that have been trending for quite some time now, #NeverHillary and #BernieOrBust.

It is not to hard to figure out that the GOP and Donald Trump welcome Jill Stein to the 2016 general election ballot and encourage Bernie Sanders voters to turn out for Stein on the ballot. That’s because the GOP knows that if they can get enough people to vote for Jill Stein, that could put them over Hillary Clinton in the general election and, thus, force a Donald Trump presidency.

As unnerving as that may sound, Donald Trump is counting on the Bernie Sanders base to put him in the White House over Hilary Clinton. It is an easy and well-used tactic that the GOP has used in the past to achieve their political gains and remain in power, considering the country is rapidly growing into a more liberal society and more people are joining the movement.

Even though sticking with Bernie Sanders no matter what all the way to November is a valiant and noble dedication to the cause, there is a price that could be paid, and for those people who have dreaded the day that they see Donald Trump in the White House, that is more of a reality than you may think. Especially if the gigantic base of Bernie Sanders voters turn out in November for Jill Stein and do not join up with Hillary Clinton and her camp.

Meet the woman who’s giving Sanders supporters hope: @DrJillStein https://t.co/ILrFdGFd8w

— Meghan Keneally (@mkeneally) July 25, 2016

Voters should remember that American politics in the oldest democracy in the world can still be corrupted to the core if politicians play their hands right. The two-party system in America certainly isn’t fair, but it isn’t illegal either. It will likely survive for many generations to come, and sometimes, voters need to realize that the best way to change it is by transforming a party, not by sinking it.

[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]