Marlene Kornblatt Barrett, February 15, 1933 (Missouri) -
VP candidate for Independent (1976)
Running mate with nominee: Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005)
Popular vote: 37,214 (0.05%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
After US Sen. Eugene McCarthy (D-MN) failed to secure the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 1968, a number of his followers campaigned for him as a third party candidate. McCarthy himself did not approve and in many but not all cases was able to have his name removed from the ballot. Different states ran his name under various party names with a variety of running mates, some of whom who were also not too thrilled to be listed: Coretta Scott King, Paul Newman, Dick Gregory, Paul O'Dwyer, and John Lindsay.
McCarthy made a brief foray into the Democratic Party primaries of 1972 but did not generate a lot of excitement. At some point after he dropped out of the race he left the Party, declared himself an Independent, and began a political journey to what could be described as libertarian centrism. As an Independent Presidential candidate in 1976 he is frequently better remembered for his high-profile legal battles to gain ballot access for third parties than for his political platform.
His 1976 VP situation made 1968 look tame. He was on the ballot in 29 states and a registered write-in in a few others. He had over 20 running mates. McCarthy himself said, "Vice-presidential candidates just clutter up the campaign. We should not ask the country to make two judgments. Everyone knows vice presidents have no influence on presidents once elected. Presidents' wives have much more influence. Perhaps we should have candidates' wives debate."
McCarthy's running-mate in Missouri and Kansas was Marlene K. Barrett of University City, Mo. where they ran under the Independent label. She was also a statewide campaign coordinator and was one of the leaders in launching the legal challenge to list their ticket on the Missouri ballot.
Barrett told one reporter, "Four years ago McCarthy, who has always been many years ahead of his time, predicted that the Democrats and the Republicans would come up with two candidates who were not very different and who would not really raise the issues. During our petition drive we found many people who were unhappy with either Ford or Reagan on one side or Carter on the other."
As far as her own political status was concerned, Barrett wrote to the FEC: "My 'candidacy' never quite seemed to me to be a candidacy in the sense I am accustomed to thinking of those things. Though legally I certainly was a Vice-Presidential candidate, subjectively I was just me working for a better political process."
McCarthy/Barrett won 1.38% of the vote in Kansas and 1.23% in Missouri. Nationally McCarthy won 0.91% of the popular poll.
Election history:
1978 - US House of Representatives (Mo.) (Democratic) - primary - withdrew
Other occupations: Washington University administrator
Notes:
Jewish
Worked on McCarthy's campaign in 1968.
Parents immigrated from Russia.
Described in 1979 as a divorced mother of four.
