Nader won’t back off White House run even if top candidates tied

RALPH NADER, blamed by Democrats for attracting votes that would have seen Al Gore beat George W Bush to the White House, said yesterday he won’t back off from his latest campaign for president even if the major candidates are tied in polls going into election day.

A possible repeat of the 2000 election, where Mr Bush defeated Mr Al Gore by razor-thin margins in states where Mr Nader polled thousands of votes, did not deter Mr Nader from declaring his candidacy.

He suggested a close race might be more detrimental to the president than the Democratic nominee.