TOPEKA � Surrounded by a tight circle of supporters Saturday, Jill Stein, presumptive presidential nominee for the Green Party, delivered a message during an intimate Topeka campaign stop that this is the year for a third-party candidate.



Stein aggressively has courted disgruntled supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., since his campaign began to wind down. Her message, shared at the Downtown Ramada Hotel and Convention Center, was clear: Though likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is the �lesser of two evils� compared to Republican Donald Trump, Clinton still is the wrong candidate for liberals and moderates.



�It�s time to forget the lesser evil and stand up for the good of the people,� Stein said.



Stein�s platform is similar to that of the progressive Sanders campaign. It hinges on what she calls an �emergency Green New Deal,� which she claims will reverse climate change and revive the economy with a World War II-scale national mobilization. She also calls for significant health care reform and transition to free higher education, akin to Sanders� talking points.



Stein�s �New Deal� would supply 20 million jobs, according to her campaign, and create total reliance on renewable energy by 2030 with a focus on hyperlocal economies. Through a combination of small businesses, cooperatives and government jobs, employment can be created at the local level if communities focus on stainability, she said.



It is a model Stein said she believes conservatives in Kansas can get behind.



�Republicans traditionally are very much a party of democracy and a party of local, grassroots control,� she said in an interview with the Topeka Capital-Journal. �I think we all come together on basic democracy issues.�



Stein called for �political therapy,� saying the current system has failed most Americans.



�People are desperate for an everyday human being,� she said. �They want a candidate they can talk to.�



Stein�s road to the White House largely will be an uphill battle. The 66-year-old Massachusetts physician was her party�s nominee in 2012, when she received less than 1 percent of the popular vote. In Kansas, she received 714 votes, according to the Kansas Secretary of State�s Office.



An average of all polls on Real Clear Politics from Thursday showed Stein in last place with less than 4 percent, behind libertarian Gary Johnson, who had more than 6 percent.



Kansas doesn�t recognize the Green Party, so Stein�s visit to Topeka and earlier stops in Lawrence and the Kansas City metro served largely to gain signatures for a petition to place her on the state�s November ballot. The party must obtain 5,000 signatures by Aug. 1 for inclusion on the ballot, said Teresa Wilke, a campaign volunteer. At the last tally, the petition had almost reached the halfway mark, though Wilke said the campaign would like to obtain closer to 6,000 signatures.



Topeka volunteer Liatis Studer said the state�s historically conservative politics are one hurdle to gaining support in Kansas. Another is anti-Trump Democrats who will only support Clinton.



�There�s a fear a third-party candidate will tip the election and create what happened with Ralph Nader,� Studer said, referring to George W. Bush�s close victory over Al Gore in 2000.



That election was the Green Party�s last big showing. Nader took approximately 3 percent of the vote.



Of approximately 20 people who attended the event, most were new to the Green Party or previously supported Sanders. Bill Langsdorf wore a Sanders T-shirt and said he was familiar with the Green Party. He collected petiion signatures Friday night during the NOTO Arts District�s First Friday event.



�My main impetus for getting involved is that we need another party on the ballot,� he said. �We need more choice.�