Clemente says that this year the Green Party is focused less on traditional progressive voters. The campaign will increasingly seek out support from potential voting blocks that have yet to get involved in the electoral process.

“The so-called new youth voters, they’ve been a phenomenon since 2004. That comes off the heels of the founding of the National Political Hip-Hop Convention where we formulated a political agenda and merged grassroots organizing with political politics. Although the youth voter registration of course is increasing but that’s a very middle class, college vote. 1 out of 14 African American and Latino youth that are not in college are registered to vote in this country.”

Clemente continued, “The Green Party, and me in particular as a hip-hop political activist, is going for those aren’t registered to vote—I don’t care about the Democrats. I’m as poor as they come and as middle class as they come with a degree from Cornell and a Master’s. I know Obama is targeting my preppy young people, he would be targeting me, Rosa Clemente, a middle-class Latino voter. The Green Party is going after all young voters—the gang-bangers, the immigrants that haven’t registered, the ex-felons that don’t even know they have a right to vote again. That’s who we’re reaching. It’s a completely new demographic, even within the hip-hop generation.”

WASHINGTON, DC -- As the Democratic National Convention continued, Green Party leaders called attention to sharp differences between the Democratic ticket and Green nominees Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente.

Greens congratulated Mr. Obama on his historic nomination as the first African American presidential candidate of an established party in the US. But Greens noted that the nomination of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente in July is also historically significant -- the first time a national political party has chosen two women of color. Ms. McKinney is African American and Ms. Clemente is Black Puerto Rican.

Washington, DC -- Rosa Clemente, the recently nominated vice-presidential candidate running with former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney on the Green Party ticket, will join Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzalez, Val Kilmer, Sean Penn, Cindy Sheehan, Tom Morello, Jello Biafra, Nellie McKay, and Ike Reilly at the "Open the Debates" Super Rally on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. at the University of Denver Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders challenged the media and campaign hype of the Democratic National Convention by comparing the positions taken by Barack Obama and Joe Biden with the Green presidential nominees, Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente.

"McKinney's track record has been one of leadership and fighting for people. Obama's track record has been all style and little substance," said Jody Grage, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States.

"On health care, the social safety net, and other major economic issues, Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente are far more in tune with the ideals of most voters than the Democratic candidates are. This is why Rosa Clemente, in her vice-presidential nomination speech at the Green National Convention in July, talked about the Green Imperative -- the need for a major party that represents We The People. The corporations already own two parties," Ms. Grage added.

In the poll's horserace question, Obama got a small bump out of the announcement, and now leads McCain, 46% to 44%, in a two-way contest, and leads 45% to 42% in a five-way contest including Libertarian candidate Bob Barr of Georgia, who won 4%, Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney and liberal independent candidate Ralph Nader, both of whom won 1% support.

In various matchups, 10-20% of likely voters seen as a toss-up.

McKinney spoke passionately to a capacity-plus crowd of supporters, and she wanted to make sure all of the Democrats downtown for the Democratic National Convention knew she was here.

“We must have an opposition party in this country, and the Green Party with over 200 elected officials on the local level can be that opposition, but we have to expand and broaden the Green Party to reflect the entire fabric of all of the communities that are in this country,” McKinney said.

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) — Controversial former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is in Denver this week, but she isn’t exactly here to attend the Democratic National Convention.

In fact we found her at a protest against US government detainment of “political prisoners."

These days McKinney is the Green Party nominee for President, and she’s blasting the Democrats in Congress for not cutting off funding to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I've been liberated from the values that I believe are the failed values of the Democratic party. I'm proud to be outside,” she said.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders called for the organizers of the September 18 presidential debate in New Orleans to admit other candidates along with the Democratic and Republican nominees, including Green nominee Cynthia McKinney.

The debate sponsors, Google and You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p6Iwu4xMaY), require a 15% showing in three national polls to determine which candidates may participate in the debate.

"Cynthia McKinney deserves a place in the New Orleans debate. Any presidential candidate who has qualified for enough ballot lines to achieve the necessary electoral votes to win to be elected -- regardless of poll numbers -- has earned a place in the debates. The 15% threshold is being used to exclude all candidates outside of the corporate party nominees, John McCain and Barack Obama," said Cliff Thornton, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

“The Green Party in the United States has taken their progressive stands on racial issues, gender issues, and value issues in support of people of color and in support of women,” McKinney said. “So, it’s a natural outflowing of the Green Party’s stated values that they would eventually have a ticket that was comprised of women of color, people of color. The more women run, the more women will win.

McKinney said her goal is to take at least 5 percent of the vote during the presidential elections in November.

She said her hope is that by taking the largest margin of victory the Green Party has ever taken at the federal level. will begin to add further legitimacy to the party’s goals and values.

Iowa's two official third parties both qualified their presidential candidates for the state's ballot on Wednesday. In a coincidence, both parties are running former U.S. House members from Georgia.

Bob Barr was a Republican in Congress, but now he's the Libertarian presidential nominee. Cynthia McKinney, a former Democrat, is the Green candidate.