Living in the town where the first shot of the American Revolution took place seems appropriate to Jill Stein.

Stein, 62, of Lexington, Mass., hit the political radar in her Green Party bid for president last week following a well-publicized night in jail for a sit-in at a bank.

The Harvard-educated physician has not missed a beat in her campaign since the Philadelphia incident, still touring the country and picking up more state ballot slots.

"I'm running because we are in a crisis," she said on the phone Friday from Seattle. "People are losing their jobs, decent wages, their homes by the millions, affordable health care and higher education."

Stein is on the ballot in 32 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and expects to be on at least 45 by Nov.the unpopularity of Washington, the dissatisfaction with how government is working, there is an appetite for a third-party candidate," he said.

The historic role of third parties in American elections is to bring an issue into the debate, according to G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College.

For example, Madonna said, Ross Perot's 1992 independent campaign brought the issue of the deficit to the forefront.

"If those issues catch on, one or both of the major parties co-op that issue," Madonna said. "... Once they do that, there is no reason for the third party to exist."

Other candidates

Stein joins nine other candidates for president in New Jersey and four others in Pennsylvania.

Getting on the ballot in the Keystone State is notoriously