McKinney named Green Party candidate

CHICAGO, July 12 (UPI) -- Delegates to the Green Party's national convention in Chicago Saturday picked former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., as their presidential nominee.

McKinney, 53, who has named hip-hop artist Rosa Clemente, 36, as her running mate, had been expected to win the environment-themed political party's nomination going into the convention -- having a 10-to-1 edge in delegates over Jesse Johnson of West Virginia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"I am asking you to vote your conscience, vote your dreams, vote your future, vote Green," McKinney implored an estimated 350 convention delegates.

McKinney's platform includes planks providing for single-payer universal healthcare, the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the creation of a Department of Peace and reparations for African-Americans.