Orange County State Senator James Skoufis recently ended his campaign for Democratic National Committee Chair. What can be learned from his effort? 

In early January, Skoufis posted on X, exhibiting a self-delusion about Green voters common to many Democrats. Referring to the 2024 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race in which the Republican won with 48.82%, followed by the Democrat (48.60%), Libertarian (1.29%), Green (0.95%) and Constitution Party candidate (0.34%), Skoufis wrote “The Green Party spoiled another major race for us just the latest on a very long list.”

The News of the Highlands
By Michael Feinstein
January 30, 2025

Democrats like Skoufis apparently believe that votes Green candidates receive ‘belong’ to the Democrat Party — and if there was no Green Party on the ballot to contrast with them, it wouldn’t matter what policy positions Democrats hold. 

The Pennsylvania Green candidate Leila Hazou, a Palestinian-American, ran against the Biden Administration’s Gaza policy of selling arms to Israel, which Democratic incumbent Robert Casey supported - a policy that enabled Israel’s widespread killing of innocent people and its destruction of Palestinian homes and infrastructure.

This policy difference was determinative for many voters. In a close race, voters are aware of the consequences of their choices. Those who voted Green were never going to vote Democrat. The ones that held their nose for the lesser of evil already did.

In the same post, Skoufis continued “As @DNC Chair I’ll go on permanent offense not just taking up the legal fight during ballot access. We’ll dismantle these Republican-enablers’ infrastructure. The gloves come off.”

In 2024, national Democrats attacked Green Party ballot lines across the United States. This turned off many independent-minded voters, because of Democrats’ hypocrisy saying Republicans practice voter suppression, while Democrats practice party suppression, which denies voters the ability to vote for candidates of their choice.

Under Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York Democrats already changed state law in 2020 to knock the Green Party off the state ballot. Yet with no Greens on the ballot in 2022, New York Democrats lost four Congressional seats to Republicans. In 2024, the Green presidential ticket in New York received the second highest write-in total in any state in U.S. history, showing voters want more choice, not less. 

Skoufis also posted “The job of the DNC [is] to win elections. Nothing more nothing less.” Actually, political parties exist to advance public policy. Ironically, while Skoufis views Greens as an enemy, a Green Party on the ballot in a viable multiple party system with ranked choice voting (RCV) and proportional representation would actually would build a larger constituency for green-friendly positions Skoufis himself holds on the environment, workers rights and corporate welfare.

The DNC chair candidate Skoufis has endorsed, Ken Martin of Minnesota, is a long time RCV supporter for elections in Minnesota, while Skoufis has endorsed RCV within the DNC to pick its chair.  

Michael Feinstein is a former Santa Monica, CA Mayor and City Councilmember, a co-founder of the Green Party of California, a former Co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and a 2018 candidate for California Secretary of State.