Nader to Make Another White House Run in 2004

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ralph Nader, whose third-party White House bid in 2000 was blamed by some Democrats for helping elect President Bush, said on Sunday he will try again this year, running as an independent.

Ignoring the pleas of Democrats who have asked him to stay out of the race, the veteran consumer advocate said he was running out of a strong desire to evict Bush from the White House.

"I've decided to run as an independent candidate for president," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Nader's Green Party bid picked up nearly 2.9 million votes in 2000 and was blamed for siphoning support from Democrat Al Gore -- particularly in Florida, where Nader won 97,488 votes and Gore's loss by a bitterly contested 537 votes cost him the presidency.

Nader started an exploratory committee late last year to raise money for a presidential run. He had ruled out another bid for the Green Party, which was split on his candidacy and will not pick its nominee until this summer.