The Green-Rainbow Party is one of four political parties officially recognized by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The party is a local state affiliate for the wider Green Party of the United States of America. Originally the Massachusetts Green Party, it was formed in 1996 and recognized in 2000. It merged with the Rainbow Coalition Party in 2002 and rebranded as the Green-Rainbow Party. The party has supported candidates on the national level such as Ralph Nader, David Cobb, and Jill Stein. It has also run candidates and pushed for political support at the state and municipal level. As of February 2012 the official party's membership ranks stood at roughly 5,300, which makes up about 0.12% of the Commonwealth's eligible electorate; though the number of votes for party