Green Party candidate Jill Stein is back. And she’s making a stunning confession about who she wants are her running mate.
And it could impact Kamala Harris’ campaign.
According to NBC News, has been recruiting Palestinian Americans to be her vice presidential running mate as the left-wing presidential candidate looks to exploit the community’s frustrations with Democrats’ support for Israel during its war in Gaza.
Three potential candidates told NBC News Friday they had multiple conversations with Stein about the job. A spokesperson for a third potential candidate, the Democratic mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, Abdullah Hammoud, confirmed Stein asked him if he was willing to be considered for the job — before realizing Hammoud is too young to be constitutionally eligible.
According to NBS News, Stein is planning to announce her running mate on Friday. It’s unclear whom she has chosen or if she has made her decision yet.
Noura Erakat, a prominent human rights attorney and Rutgers University professor with a large following on social media, confirmed discussing the position with Stein and said she was disappointed by the way Vice President Kamala Harris shut down pro-Palestinian protesters in Detroit last Wednesday.
President Joe Biden’s steadfast support for Israel turned off many Arab and Muslim voters, who comprise sizable portions of several battleground states, especially Michigan.
“To tell the base that she’s come here to win over that they need to shut up was awful,” Erakat said. “She went in there and offered them nothing but bullying.”
Erakat said some disaffected voters in her community are already lost to Democrats and planning to vote Green or for another third party, while another group “wants to support the Democratic ticket and just need the bare minimum” recognition.
Ahead of the Detroit rally, Harris spoke with members of the so-called Uncommitted Movement, which grew out of Democratic primary voters withholding their support as a means to protest the war in Gaza.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian American and represents Detroit, is one of just a few congressional Democrats who has not endorsed Harris.
Stein also approached Abed Ayoub, the executive director of the Washington-based American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which calls itself as the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the U.S.
“It’s an honor to be considered for the position and something that I strongly considered and weighed heavily,” said Ayoub. “It’s not that Jill Stein is coming in to, quote un-quote, steal votes. She’s coming in to earn votes… Is it the politically smart thing to do? Obviously.”
Ayoub, who said he had “multiple conversations” with Stein about joining her ticket, said her outreach showed the growing power of the community, which has become more politically organized in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians and the Israeli military response that followed.