Francis Benjamin Hemenway, June 21, 1885 (Aplington, Iowa) - July 22, 1949 (Tacoma, Wash.)
VP candidate for Liberty Party (1932)
Running mate with nominee: William Hope "Coin" Harvey (1851-1936)
Popular vote: 53,425 (0.13%)
Electoral vote: 0/531
The campaign:
In Aug. 1931 80-year old William Hope "Coin" Harvey held the first convention for the Liberty Party at his Arkansas resort, Monte Ne. It was on this same site he was constructing a pyramid (never completed) as a time capsule and place of refuge when the End of the World arrived. Today most of Monte Ne is under an artificial lake.
The platform reflected Harvey's populist bi-metal philosophy, gained during his years as a silver mine developer and Bryan supporter in Ouray, Colo.
The Party selected Andrea B. Nordskog of Los Angeles as the running mate. Within a few months Harvey wanted Nordskog to step down, charging him with ethical lapses. Nordskog refused. There was discussion in the Party of overthrowing Harvey.
On July 4, a brief fusion movement took place, generated by Liberty Party Chairman and anti-Harveyist Roland Bruner, to create a new third party by combining all the various populist-themed organizations in the 1932 election season. Jacob Coxey had declared interest in being the standard bearer. What resulted was the creation of a rump-Liberty Party that nominated Frank Webb (1928 Farmer-Labor presidential nominee) and Nordskog. Some news reports called this the New Liberty Party or the Liberal Party.
Meanwhile at a second convention of the Harvey Liberty Party in August, where Frank B. Hemenway was nominated as the replacement running mate, there was some talk of merging with the Jobless Party, but big egos combined with an anti-Catholicism streak don't mix well.
In September, Frank Webb threatened Harvey with a lawsuit if he refused to step aside. This was echoed by Chairman Bruner and Liberty Party National Secretary Otis Spurgeon, who claimed Harvey's nomination was illegal. Harvey stayed in the race but on some ballots he was listed as an independent.
Frank B. Hemenway was also on the Washington State ballot running for State Insurance Commissioner as a member of the Liberty Party. In fact, in The Evergreen State the Liberty Party ran a strong campaign for every statewide office, causing some genuine concern among the two major parties.
The Harvey/Hemenway ticket finished with an impressive 4.93% in Washington and 1.16% in South Dakota. In the other states where they were on the ballot they failed to crack the 1% mark: Arkansas, California, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Texas. In Indiana they merged with and endorsed John Zahnd and his National Party.
And then-- they vanished.
Election history:
1932 - Washington State Insurance Commissioner (Liberty Party) - defeated
Other occupations: real estate
Buried: cremated
Notes:
If elected, would have become President upon the death of Harvey on Feb. 11, 1936.
Lived in Manitoba ca. 1911.
Unitarian
