From yesterday’s edition of our sister publication Opposition News.

Candidate listing

‘Independents and Opposition/Third Party Candidates Only,’ the Opposition News Candidates Page proclaims, ‘No Democrats or Republicans – they have their own media outlets.’ What the publisher is referencing is the fact that nearly all corporate-owned news outlets in the US, aka the mainstream media, only include nominees from the two establishment political parties in their voter guides and candidate lists.

But just as Opposition News only covers independents and alternative parties, our Candidates Page only includes independents and third party candidates. So far, after the first 48 hours in existence, the candidate list includes 2016 election hopefuls from 10 different political parties. They include:

Independent American Party

Veterans Party

Socialist Party

Party for Socialism and Liberation

Reform Party

American Freedom Party

Peace and Freedom Party

Constitution Party

Green Party

Libertarian Party

Candidates Page is already popular

Readers will notice the parties are listed on the election reference page from smallest to largest. “We did that on purpose,” Opposition News author/editor Mark Wachtler explained, “The Libertarians and Greens will each have hundreds of candidates by spring. We didn’t want readers and voters getting board scrolling through pages and pages of the same party’s candidates. It looks pretty cool seeing the candidates from a half-dozen political parties on the first page, complete with banners using each party’s respective colors.”

So far, there are 40 candidates from 10 political parties listed on the 2016 Opposition News Candidates Page. The Libertarians lead the way with 13 declared candidates while the Greens have 6 so far. The biggest surprise is the Veterans Party. The VPA already has 7 declared candidates for the 2016 Election, second-most of any of the parties. That will surely change in the coming months as the Libertarians, Greens and the Constitution Party begin fielding hundreds of candidates for everything from local School Board to US President.

A who’s who of candidates

Some of the more notable names on the 2016 Candidates Page are Roseanne Barr, seeking a second Presidential nomination by the Peace and Freedom Party. The Green Party’s Jill Stein is also seeking a second nomination for President. Both were their Parties’ nominees in 2012. Regular readers of Opposition News will also see some names they recognize.

Joining Jill Stein and two other US Presidential hopefuls are well known Green Party leaders Kent Mesplay and Derryl Cherney. Derryl W. Perry is seeking the Libertarian Party’s Presidential nomination, along with six other candidates. And Alaska’s JR Myers joins 3 others in seeking the Constitution Party’s nomination.

The Candidates Page is conveniently divided into two sections. One lists all third party candidates by State, while the other lists them by Party. The listed candidates also have the opportunity to stand out by including a link to their campaign website or social media page. Being included on the list of candidates is free. But adding a link costs $10. The publisher says that since Opposition News received almost no support during its recent first-ever fundraiser, the outlet had to do something to raise some desperately needed resources.

Helping each other

“I’ve been in third party politics for 25 years and nobody’s ever been in it for the money,” Opposition News publisher Mark Wachtler explained, “There is no money for third parties, and third parties like it that way. They’re not for sale like the two establishment parties. But the fact is, it takes at least a little bit of money to run a news outlet that covers independents and third party candidates exclusively. Hopefully with our Candidates Page, we can help the candidates and at the same time, they can help us.”

The other item readers will notice on the Opposition News Candidates Page is that the outlet provides a link to Bluehost web hosting. Candidates need a campaign website to be taken seriously by both voters and reporters alike. Opposition News has been hosted by Bluehost for years and we’ve never had any complaints. The cost is only $3.95 per month and do-it-yourself design programs are available for free. Click on the ad to the left for more information.

Candidates can request to have their names added to the Opposition News Candidates Page for free by contacting the email address listed on the page. Visit OppositionNews.org/Candidates to view the list of 2016 declared candidates. Check back often because names are added daily.