Nader will run again

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader announced Sunday that he would again run for the White House, arguing that the major candidates would represent big business and not the American people.

It will be Nader’s third consecutive presidential run. In 2000, he received 2.7 percent of the popular vote, and many believe that his showing in key states, especially Florida, helped lift George W. Bush to the presidency. Nader again ran in 2004 but received negligible support.

{mosads}With the enthusiastic support Democratic voters have shown for their top two candidates, showing up in much greater numbers at their primaries and caucuses than Republicans, it appears that it will be difficult for Nader to siphon off a significant number of liberal votes.

However, his candidacy will likely help the Republican nominee, as Nader is running to the left of both Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). In 2004, Democrats spent some of their resources to keep Nader off ballots and he ended up running in only 34 states.

Obama, who talked about the prospect of another Nader run, characterized the consumer advocate as a historically important figure, but also said that he has “a pretty high opinion of his own work.”

Nader, who announced his candidacy on NBC’s Meet the Press, said he is running to “shift the power from the few to the many.”