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By JENNIFER BUNDY
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Mountain Party supporters celebrated Wednesday because gubernatorial candidate Jesse Johnson received more than enough votes to keep the party alive for at least another four years.
Johnson received 18,113 votes, 2 percent of the ballots cast in the governor's race. He needed at least 1 percent for the party to maintain its "official'' status, meaning its candidates do not have to petition for ballot access as the first Mountain Party gubernatorial candidate, Denise Giardina, did in 2000.
The party was founded that year to oppose mountaintop removal coal mining and give progressive voters a voice.
Johnson said Wednesday he did well considering he campaigned only for six months. Johnson was chosen at the party's May convention. The Mountain Party did not have a primary.
There was talk at the convention of nominating Ralph Nader as the party's presidential candidate. Nader ended up getting on the West Virginia ballot as an Independent and received 3,951 votes, or 1 percent of those cast for president.
"I am assuming I got the most votes per dollar spent,'' Johnson said.
The winner, Democrat Joe Manchin, spent $3.3 million compared to Republican Monty Warner's $883,867 as of reports filed Oct. 15. Johnson spent $2,853.
Johnson said he had hoped to get more votes, in part because he was the only gubernatorial candidate to support abortion rights.
"I thought that the people I was out there and taking it on the chin for, I thought they might show up, trial lawyers and the pro-choice and the anti-death penalty folks. I believe a lot of them ... voted a straight Democratic ticket,'' Johnson said.
Johnson said his campaign was hampered because the media did not pay enough attention to him and he didn't have enough money to buy ads.
"There are so many people, right up until the last day, who didn't know I was running. I had people who said they didn't even notice me on the ballot, which is kind of funny,'' Johnson said.
Johnson said Tuesday night if he runs again, he would start earlier and raise more money.
"I certainly will continue to be an activist. I may run for office again,'' said Johnson, 45, an actor and filmmaker.
Mountain Party Chairman Gary Zuckett said he had hoped more people would vote for Johnson since the governor's race was not expected to be close. Manchin won with 63 percent of the vote, compared to Warner's 34 percent.
Still, Johnson's effort gives the party another four years to organize.
"We really feel we gave voters a choice this time they wouldn't have had otherwise, putting forth a candidate that supported a woman's right to choose, supported the environment and that was the most labor-friendly candidate also,'' Zuckett said.
"As a party we need to do our homework and be better prepared for the '06 elections,'' Zuckett said. "That's going to be our focus the next two years, developing candidates and keeping our issues out in the political arena.''
State Democratic Chairman Nick Casey did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday.
GOP Chairman Kris Warner said Johnson's campaign needlessly distracted voters, especially in the debates in which he appeared.
"It's my personal opinion the way you effect change is by being involved with one of the major parties,'' Warner said.
When told Johnson was a lifelong Republican before switching to the Mountain Party, Warner said he would have been welcomed in a Republican primary.
Although Johnson probably would not have gotten any more votes than he did Tuesday, "At least we would have been able to keep a focus on discussing the tough problems facing West Virginia. We are in horrible shape now,'' Warner said.
"The people of West Virginia are not well served by having every little last organization of the Green Party and the Mountain Party on the same stage talking tough, tough issues that face us.''
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