Verne La Rue Reynolds, March 7, 1884 (Kansas) - September 16, 1959 (Phoenix, Ariz.)
VP candidate for Socialist Labor Party (1924)
Running mate with nominee: Frank T. Johns (1889-1928)
Popular vote: 28,633 (0.10%)
Electoral vote: 0/531
The campaign:
Frank Johns was regarded as the "bridge-builder" and Verne Reynolds the "agitator," and both of them were considered "new blood" candidates helping to re-energize the Socialist Labor Party.
The SLP aimed most of their campaign attacks on La Follette's Progressive Party while their rivals the Socialist Party of America had actually endorsed the La Follette/Wheeler ticket. During the campaign Johns accurately predicted that a second World War was imminent.
On the ballot in 18 states the SLP's best results was a paltry 0.34% in Connecticut, followed by 0.33% in Johns' home state of Oregon. In spite of this poor showing, the SLP was generally quite pleased with the Johns/Reynolds team and would nominate them again in 1928, but Fate would step in.
Election history:
1922 - US House of Representatives (Md.) (Labor Party) - defeated
1923 - Governor of Maryland (Labor Party) - defeated
1928 - US President (Socialist Labor Party) - defeated
1932 - US President (Socialist Labor Party) - defeated
Other occupations: steamfitter, newspaper ad salesman, oil field worker, insurance agent, traveling salesman, farmer, author, boarding house cook, fireman on an oil tramp
Buried: ?
Notes:
Lived in Texas, Oklahoma, California, Baltimore (1918), New York City (1920s), Michigan,
Phoenix.
Father of science fiction writer Mack Reynolds (1917-1983)
Was the son of Seventh Day Adventist missionaries.
Wife Pauline died Nov. 30, 1991 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. at age 102
Atheist.
*Washington State trivia! - Johns was the third person on a presidential ticket who once lived in the
Evergreen State. The first was Ulysses S. Grant who was stationed at Vancouver 1852-1854. The
second was Emil Seidel (Socialist Party of America VP nominee 1912) who was sent by the SPA to
live in Redmond, Wash. in 1901. Johns spent his teen years in Spokane, graduating from high school
there.
