Watch the third parties: Greens meet in Houston

A national political convention comes to Texas this weekend.

True, it’s the Green Party meeting in Houston, not one of the major parties that come to town bringing brass bands and big security fences.

But the impact of third parties this year might reach far beyond the few hundred delegates gathering in the University of Houston student center.

The Libertarian and Green parties are pulling more than 10 percent of the vote in some states, enough to change a swing state. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson of Utah is close to the margin of error to participate in the presidential debates.

The Green Party will go into its convention with Massachusetts physician Jill Stein expected to win the formal nomination. Her running mate is Washington human-rights activist Ajamu Baraka.

If you think third parties don’t make a difference, look at past results.

In 2000, more than 130,000 votes were cast for Green, Libertarian and Reform Party candidates in the Florida primary. Officially, George W. Bush won by 537 votes.

This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Watch the third parties: Greens meet in Houston."