Nader May Join Presidential Race as Independent

Ralph Nader, the candidate many Democrats blame for former Vice President Al Gore’s loss in 2000, will announce Sunday whether he will make another bid for the White House, with all signs pointing to the consumer advocate joining the race as an independent.

If Nader decides to run, his late start, lack of party affiliation -- he won’t be on the Green Party ticket this time -- and the challenge of getting his name on ballots in 50 states weigh against his candidacy.

So does the palpable anger among many Democrats after nearly four years of a Republican in the White House.

Calling Nader “egomaniacal,” veteran Democratic strategist Dane Strother said the independent would “have the same impact he had last time. He would hand the presidency to George Bush.”

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said he met with Nader several times urging him not to run because he could pull votes from the Democratic nominee.

“I don’t want Ralph Nader’s legacy that he got George Bush for eight years in this country,” McAuliffe said on CNN. “I’m urging everybody to talk to Ralph Nader. I’d love him to take a role with our party, to energize people, to get out there and get the message out.” After weeks of postponing his decision, Nader will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” to make the announcement, said Linda Schade, a spokeswoman for Nader’s presidential exploratory committee.

Schade declined to say what the decision would be but said Nader would be available for interviews after the television appearance and that he planned to hold a news conference Monday.

The prominent staging of his announcement, after months of active fundraising, suggests Nader, who turns 70 next week, is ready to take his progressive agenda directly to the voters.

As the Green Party’s nominee in 2000, he appeared on the ballot in 43 states and District of Columbia, garnering just 2.7% of the vote. But in Florida and New Hampshire, Bush won such narrow victories that had Gore received the bulk of Nader’s votes in those states, he would have won the general election.

Nader for months has been gauging support for another run through a website and exploratory committee. On Thursday, he sent website subscribers an e-mail asking them for their thoughts on whether he should seek the presidency.

Nader shrugs off the spoiler moniker, saying a large portion of his supporters would not have voted at all and some would have gone for Bush.

The two major Democratic candidates -- Sens. John F. Kerry and John Edwards -- downplayed any concerns they might have about Nader’s potential effect on the general election.

Kerry and Edwards said they had much in common with Nader’s views and that they were confident voters would not see a need to stray from the Democratic ticket.

“There are important values and issues where Ralph Nader and John Kerry stand together, such as affordable healthcare, tax fairness for all Americans, a clean and safe environment, and a foreign policy that lives up to America’s ideals,” Kerry said through his spokesman, David Wade.

To beat Bush in November, Kerry added, “it is important that we remain united in November and rally behind the Democratic nominee, whoever that may be.”

Edwards, speaking to reporters after a campaign appearance in Largo, Md., on Friday, said he had not seen reports that Nader was hinting he would enter the campaign as an independent.

“I’ve known Ralph Nader for years. I think he speaks to some important issues,” Edwards said. “If we have a candidate at the top of the ticket that’s appealing to independents, appealing to the kind of people that might be attracted to a Nader campaign, then we’ll be fine. And I think I’m exactly that kind of candidate.”

Nader has decided not to seek the Green Party’s nomination this time.

Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, a monthly publication that discusses state ballot access laws, said an independent candidate would need about 700,000 signatures to get on the ballots of all 50 states, a massive undertaking requiring millions of dollars and hundreds of grass-roots supporters. Nader had raised about $100,000 by the end of December.

But it is possible. John Anderson, who ran as an independent in 1980, didn’t decide to do so until April 23 of that year, and he managed to get on the ballot in all 50 states. This year, the Green Party expects to get on 35 to 40 state ballots, said Ben Manski, a party co-chairman.

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Times staff writers Maria L. La Ganga and Scott Martelle contributed to this report.