by Brian Moore
from The Socialist Jan./Feb. 2009

Our total vote count as of November 21, 2008, is 7, 610. However, the Socialist Party USA did qualify for write-in status in 22 states, potentially increasing our vote totals. We hope to achieve 8,000 to 9,000 when the final results are in.

Overall, the results for third parties were very sobering, since our totals where significantly down from the elections of 2000 and 2004. The Obama vote was, in some sense, an aberration, due in part to the fact that electing a person of color moved liberals and independents back into the Democratic Party category, no matter what their expectations were of the outcome of an Obama presidency. The other influencing factor was the strong anti-Bush/anti-Republican vote. This was fueled, in part, by fear on the part of Democrats, Independents and progressive voters, which led to a retreat back into voting for the "lesser of two evils," because it was "still better than what we had." For many voters, Obama seemed like a "safe" vote, no matter how they looked at it. I am still confident that there were many Americans who did not like either candidate, but took the easy way out.

Despite the conditions referenced above, I feel the Moore/Alexander '08 ticket did well. We enhanced the Socialist Party's status, credibility, and acceptance with many Americans. Our appearances on television programs were crucial to circulating our ideas: The Colbert Report, Fox News' Neil Cavuto Report three separate times, a 30 minutes C-Span interview, and two CNN reports on our candidacy were more than we expected from the national media.

The United States government bailout of Wall Street financial institutions, and McCain's accusations of Obama being a "Socialist" also enhanced our opportunities to explain or defend our positions as Socialists. Our interviews on internet radio, on about 30 radio programs, many of which were broadcast nation-wide, was another contributing factor in making an enhanced impact on the national scene. We also had substantial articles in major newspapers like the St. Petersburg Times, the Tampa Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, the Milwaukee Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and many local and regional newspapers, magazines and newsletters. Internet blogs, like the Ballot Access News, the Third Party Report and the Independent Political News, along with Daily Kos and Wikipedia and Politics1.com all reported on our ticket and the Socialist Party.

We gained ballot access in eight states, below our goal of 15 or 20 and we benefited from legal assistance from a law professor at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, who helped us qualify in Ohio, and come close to qualifying on the ballots in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. He did a great job for us.

We were able to raise tens of thousands of dollars thanks to generous donations from SP members and non-members who were excited by the campaign. So many people were very generous and made significant sacrifices considering their personal circumstances. Some people are still making contributions, after the election, to help us cover a campaign deficit of approximately $9,000 to $10,000.

We were thrilled by the support of members in many states who worked diligently to get us on the ballot through petitioning, or to qualify us as write-in candidates. Volunteers assisted us in 31 states to qualify while another group of people worked long and hard but were not able to gain us a ballot status in their states despite their efforts.

In other states, where we did not even attempt to qualify, due to the difficult requirements, we still had volunteers who passed out our literature or called the press and local groups to promote our cause despite the lack of our presence. We gained volunteers via the internet, through our website and the party's website, and the campaign committee's ongoing publicity efforts. The potential for something bigger was there.

All-in-all, it was a valiant effort by the Socialist Party, as we did the best that we could, and we feel we made progress, and achieved enough successes to increase the party's national membership and national recognition in the coming months and years. We also built upon the work of our noble predecessors, and have moved upward in teaching the populace and workers in this country of our party's rich heritage and interest in their welfare.