Six make Idaho presidential ballot

BOISE - Idaho’s presidential ballot has been finalized, and it doesn’t just have Republican Mitt Romney and Democratic incumbent Barack Obama on it. Instead, there are six candidates, all representing various parties (though two are running as independents in Idaho, as neither the Justice Party nor the Green Party has ballot status in Idaho). That’s two fewer than Washington’s ballot; that state has eight candidates on the ballot, including the nominees from the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialism & Liberation Party. Here’s the roundup of the four lesser-known candidates on Idaho’s presidential ballot: Rocky Anderson, former two-term mayor of Salt Lake City, lawyer and human rights activist, is the Justice Party candidate for president. It’s a new party that says its guiding principles are “integrity, justice, and liberty for all.” Anderson was a longtime Democrat who resigned from the party in 2011, calling it “a gutless, unprincipled party, bought and paid for by the same interests that buy and pay for the Republican Party.” Virgil H. Goode Jr., the Constitution Party candidate, a former congressman from Virginia. Goode was first elected to Congress as a Democrat, then after two terms switched to independent and won a third term. Before winning his fourth term, he switched to the Republican Party; he was known as a strong supporter of the tobacco industry. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, is the former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, serving from 1995 to 2003. He was known as “Gov. Veto,” having issued more vetoes - more than 750 - than all previous New Mexico governors combined. He also built and owned a major construction company and is an avid skier, mountain climber, cyclist and adventurer. Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, is a physician and environmental health advocate with two Harvard degrees; she’s the author of the 2000 report “In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development.” She is the co-founder of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities. She was the Green Party candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2010 and in 2002, when she lost to Romney.