Democrats are pursuing Jill Stein and Cornel West in digital ads aimed at young voters

PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats are spending about $500,000 on a last-minute push to persuade voters in battleground states to reject third-party candidates Jill Stone And Cornel Westwarned that voting for her would help Republicans Donald Trump.

The Democratic National Committee announced Monday that the digital ads will run on Instagram and YouTube and will target younger voters and colleges. They use a 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 too, Jill Stein, I like her a lot. Do you know why? It takes 100% away from them. He takes 100%.”

Democrats were hit by narrow losses in 2000 and 2016, which they attribute in part to support for Green Party candidates Main focus This year was about discouraging left-leaning voters from supporting third-party candidates. They fought back aggressively No labelsan emerging third party movement, and the independent candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before we turn to Stein and West.

Stein was the Green Party candidate in 2016 and won 132,000 votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Democrat Hillary Clinton lost in these states by a total of 77,000 votes. This year, Stein has broadened the Green Party's traditional environmental base by strongly condemning Israel and its government Military strikes in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere.

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

Stein urged dozens of supporters not to be intimidated by the pressure to vote for the “lesser evil” between Trump and the Democrats Kamala Harrisclaiming that both were ” genocide candidates” because of their support for Israel.

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

“There is absolutely nothing to gain by voting for either, but you have everything to lose,” she added. She called the Democrats' 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 nominee. “Genocide deserves defeat.” He added that “nobody wants Trump to win,” but argued that the consequences of putting another Democrat in the White House would be “worse than Trump.”