Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney's (D-Ga.) trek back from defeat takes her to Chicago this week and an improbable political rebirth.

She is expected to be nominated as the presidential candidate for the Green Party of the United States and could appear on the ballot in as many as 36 states as the extreme long-shot rival to Republican John McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama, making McKinney the second black presidential candidate in the November race.

McKinney will not be on the ballot in Georgia, where the Green Party failed this week to deliver a petition to the Secretary of State's office with enough signatures by the July 8 deadline.

McKinney, 53, a lightning-rod figure in her six terms as a 4th District congresswoman, was defeated for re-election in 2006 by Hank Johnson after a much-publicized run- in with a U.S. Capitol police officer and her accusations that the Bush administration was covering up information about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

She has campaigned since last fall for the Green Party nomination, traveling to 30 states with a small entourage, with little money, a slogan of "Power To The People" and a "10-Point Manifesto" for change that includes the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan; universal health care; the establishment of a Department of Peace; and paying reparations to blacks who are victims of discrimination and economic disparity.

Going into the convention vote Saturday, McKinney has a more than 10-to-1 delegate lead over her closest rival, Jesse Johnson of West Virginia.

"She's the presumptive nominee," said Green Party political director Brent McMillan on Tuesday. "But our conventions aren't like Republican and Democratic conventions, which are a coronation. So you never know."

McKinney, who declined to be interviewed for this story, is expected to name her running mate during a press conference Friday in Chicago, said McMillan.

She joins another former Georgia member of Congress in mounting a long-shot presidential bid this year. Former 7th District U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) —- McKinney's political ideological opposite —- is running for president on the Libertarian ticket.

Some political analysts say Barr could take as much as 8 percent of the vote nationally. McKinney's prospects are less clear, said Washington-based independent party political consultant Joseph Oddo, who doubts McKinney will pull in as much as 3 percent of the vote.

"People are talking about Green issues now in the way they weren't 10 years ago," said Oddo. "But that hasn't translated into votes. So I don't hold out much hope for her."

Consumer activist Ralph Nader, who is running as an independent this year, topped the Green Party ticket in 1996 and 2000, when he captured 2.7 percent of the vote. But, in 2004, David Cobb was on the ballot in 29 states and only got 0.1 percent of the vote.

Four of eight Green Party delegates from Georgia will attend the convention, and McKinney will get hometown support from her father and former state Rep. Billy McKinney.

"The Green Party will benefit from her running and America will benefit from her running," said Billy McKinney. "Americans are dissatisfied with being spied on and this war, and there's nobody to represent those views, and she does."

McKinney moved to California last year to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and from there she launched her political comeback.

"I think she's an amazing, brilliant, well-spoken woman," said Sanda Everett, 64, the San Mateo, Calif., co-coordinator of McKinney delegates, about 60 strong, who will attend the nomination convention Saturday in Chicago, along with about 800 other delegates.

"She shares our values. She is anti-war and pro-peace. The Democrats claim they are anti-war, but they are still voting for lots of money going to Iraq."

Johnson, McKinney's chief rival to the nomination, said Wednesday he expects McKinney to win the nomination unless Nader supporters from four states show up in enough strength to prevent her from winning on the first ballot.