Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein arrives to speak to supporters at a local coffee shop Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats are spending about $500,000 for a last-minute push to persuade voters in battleground states to reject third-party candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West, warning a vote for them will help Republican Donald Trump.

The Democratic National Committee said Monday that the digital ads will run on Instagram and YouTube, targeting younger voters and college campuses. They use video of Trump from a June rally in Philadelphia, when he said: “Cornel West. He’s one of my favorite candidates, Cornel West. And I like her also, Jill Stein, I like her very much. You know why? She takes 100% from them. He takes 100%.”

Stung by narrow losses in 2000 and 2016 that they blame in part on support for Green Party nominees, Democrats have put a major emphasis this year on discouraging left-leaning voters from backing third-party candidates. They pushed back aggressively against No Labels, a nascent third-party movement, and the independent candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before turning attention to Stein and West.

Stein was the Green Party nominee in 2016 and won 132,000 votes across Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Democrat Hillary Clinton lost by a combined 77,000 votes in those states. This year, Stein has broadened the Green Party's traditional pro-environment base by fiercely denouncing Israel and its military strikes in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere.

Critiques of Israel and support for Palestinians made up the bulk of her 45-minute appearance at a coffee shop in suburban Phoenix on Monday.

Stein urged dozens of supporters not to be intimidated by pressure to vote for the “lesser evil" between Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, alleging both are “ genocidal candidates” because of their support for Israel.

“If we are to be a democracy we have to stand up for what we want,” Stein said. “We have to vote for what we want.”

“There is absolutely nothing to gain by voting for either one of them and there's everything to lose,” she added. She called the Democratic campaign against her a threat to free speech.

Her campaign manager, Jason Call, was more blunt.

“We want them to lose,” Call said of the Democratic ticket. “Genocide deserves losing.” He added that “nobody wants Trump to win,” but argued the consequences of sending another Democrat to the White House “will be worse than Trump.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2024