The 2024 Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now presidential primary took place on March 5, 2024, for the 2024 presidential election. The contest was held on Super Tuesday alongside primaries in 14 other states and territories.[1] The race was the first Legal Marijuana Now Party presidential primary, and the first third party presidential primary run by the state of Minnesota since 1916.[2] Krystal Gabel, an activist from Colorado, earned a plurality of votes in the election, despite having withdrawn from the race, asking people to not vote for her.[3]
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Candidates
editThe following candidates appeared on the ballot:
- Edward Forchion, activist and candidate for governor of New Jersey in 2021
- Krystal Gabel, activist and candidate for governor of Nebraska in 2018 (withdrew January 26, 2024)[4]
- Rudy Reyes, archeologist and Legal Marijuana Now Party chairperson
- Dennis Schuller, Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party chairperson; former Richfield, Minnesota, municipal planning commission member (2011–2014)[5]
- Vermin Supreme, performance artist, activist, and perennial candidate from Massachusetts; former Libertarian Party Judicial Committee member (2020–2022) (Also sought the 2024 Democratic nomination)[6]
Campaign
editKrystal Gabel, who had been national chairperson of the Legal Marijuana Now Party from 2021 through 2023, withdrew from the race during the party's candidate filing discussions. In 2024, when Gabel asked to be removed from the ballot after early voting had started on January 19, the Minnesota Secretary of State's office stated that changes cannot be made to the list of candidates after being certified at the beginning of January, and Gabel's name remained on ballots.[7][8]
Write-in
editOf Minnesota's three major political parties, all of which included a write in option for their 2024 nominating primaries, only the Legal Marijuana Now party submitted a write in name to be counted, Willie Nelson, to the Secretary of State.[9]
Results
editThough Krystal Gabel won the primary, due to her withdrawal, second-place winner Dennis Schuller was awarded the nomination. The party lost its ballot standing soon after the primary election in a court ruling on a challenge by the Minnesota Democratic Party.[10] Shuller is running as a write-in candidate for President along with his running mate, Rudy Reyes.[11]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Delegates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krystal Gabel (withdrawn) | 759 | 28.84% | - | ||
| Dennis Schuller | 459 | 17.44% | 7 | ||
| Vermin Supreme | 397 | 15.08% | 6 | ||
| Rudy Reyes | 365 | 13.87% | 5 | ||
| Edward Forchion | 168 | 6.38% | 2 | ||
| Willie Nelson (write-in) | 19 | 0.72% | 0 | ||
| Other write-ins | 465 | 17.67% | - | ||
| Total: | 2,632 | 100.00% | 20 | ||
| Source:[12] | |||||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Derosier, Alex (January 19, 2024). "Early voting gets underway today: Early voting in Minnesota's presidential primary starts Friday". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ Winger, Richard (January 2, 2024). "Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party Will Hold State's First Presidential Primary for a Third Party in Over 100 Years". Ballot Access News. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- ^ Winger, Richard (March 5, 2024). "Krystal Gabel Wins Legal Marijuana Now Presidential Primary in Minnesota". Ballot Access News. Archived from the original on March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Estabrook, Rachel; Warner, Ryan (January 29, 2024). "'Don't vote for me,' says Colorado woman on Minnesota's presidential primary ballot". Colorado Public Radio. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ Kuhens, Kimberly (March 1, 2011). "Richfield Planning Commission Approves, Discusses Bylaws". Patch Media. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Porter, Steven (October 30, 2023). "Eccentric candidates 'part of the color' of N.H. primary process". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Barfield, Lukas (April 26, 2021). "Legal Marijuana Now Becomes Official Political Party in Nebraska". Ganjapreneur. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ "Colorado woman says she didn't consent to being on Minnesota's presidential primary ballot. Now she can't get off it.", Star Tribune, January 29, 2024, archived from the original on February 7, 2024, retrieved February 10, 2024
- ^ Swanson, Stephen (March 4, 2024). "Who can vote in the 2024 Minnesota Primary? What to know about tomorrow's election". WCCO-TV. Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
- ^ Woodward, Sam (May 14, 2024). "Legal Marijuana Now lost major party status in MN Supreme Court ruling". SC Times. Gannett Co., Inc. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
- ^ "Legal Marijuana Now Party (LMN) - End Cannabis Prohibition". Legal Marijuana Now Party. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
- ^ "Certification of Results of 2024 Presidential Nomination Primary". Minnesota Secretary of State. March 12, 2024. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
External links
edit- Official campaign websites