Sitcom star Roseanne Barr chosen as presidential nominee of Peace and Freedom Party

August 6, 2012

, star of the popular '90s sitcom , won the presidential nomination of the California-based Peace and Freedom Party on Saturday, guaranteeing her in California, the most populous U.S. state. activist of California was selected as her.

Barr first announced her intentions to run for president during an August 2011 appearance on the . On the show, Barr told she would run under the banner of the "Green Tea Party", a political entity she created that combined elements of the  and Tea Party movements. She named the American taxpayer as her running mate, and said her first act as president would be the of. Several months later, Barr announced that she would instead seek the Green Party's presidential nomination. After losing at the last month to physician, Barr searched for other ways to continue her campaign and settled on seeking the Peace and Freedom Party nomination.

At the convention, presidential nominee  and  presidential nominee  were the only opponents for Barr. Justice Party presidential nominee Rocky Anderson, who won the California Peace and Freedom Party presidential primary in June, withdrew from the race several days prior to avoid what Uncovered Politics called an "embarrassingly lopsided defeat"; presidential nominee  dropped out before the convention vote to endorse Barr.

In the initial vote, Barr failed to win an outright majority. She received the support of 29 delegates, while 18 went for Durham, 12 supported Alexander, and four abstained from voting. Per party rules requiring majority support, a second vote was held in which Barr did receive a majority with 37 delegates versus 16 for Durham, six for Alexander, and five abstaining.

For the vice presidential nomination, Sheehan, who had said she would accept if Barr was nominated, won on the first ballot with 50 votes against 14 abstaining. Sheehan is best known for her active opposition to the after her son Casey died there in 2004. Notably, in 2005, she set up camp outside President George W. Bush's ranch in, Texas to protest the war. In, she challenged then-House Nancy Pelosi for Congress as the nominee of the Green Party.

The Peace and Freedom Party was founded in 1967 and promotes, , and. In 2008, consumer advocate won the party's presidential nomination and appeared with the party on both the California and Iowa ballots. The party will now attempt to qualify the ticket for ballot access in Florida.