James Roosevelt II, December 23, 1907 (New York, NY) – August 13, 1991 (Newport Beach, Calif.)
VP candidate for Democrats of America Inc. (1988)
Running mate with nominee: Walter Ralph Buchanan (1909-1988)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
The small ad in The Los Angeles Times read: At a meeting of Democrats of America Inc., a Calif. non-profit corporation held Tues., April 14, 1987 at the Ambassador Hotel, Bishop Walter R. "Buck" Buchanan D.D. Pres. Bucky Buchanans Universal Life Missionary church Inc., a Calif. non-profit corp. announced he would be a presidential Democratic candidate in 1988 and James Roosevelt son of former pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt will run with him for vice president.
A few days later Roosevelt denied he was running. He told the press, "These guys must be having some bad dreams at night." But how far Roosevelt went to stop this electioneering is not clear.
Still, a ticket called Buchanan/Roosevelt sure sounds very Presidential.
Walter R. "Buck" Buchanan, a retired law enforcement officer, ex-Marine and ex-boxer in the Los Angeles area had been running for office since 1934 usually as a Democrat. He had run for a wide variety of offices, including in the Democratic Presidential primaries since at least 1960 if not earlier. In 1988 unlike previous elections he appears to have planned to campaign beyond the Democratic primaries running as a third party "independent Democrat" under his Democrats of America Inc. banner. One of Buchanan's main issues was stopping air pollution.
Roosevelt wasn't exactly a true Democrat anymore. He joined the Democrats for Nixon in 1972 and endorsed Reagan 1980 and 1984. It actually makes sense that Buchanan would have selected another "independent Democrat" as his VP.
Buchanan and Roosevelt did have previous connections. Buchanan served under Roosevelt's command during WWII in the US Marine Corps. And when Roosevelt resigned from his congressional seat to accept an appointment to UNESCO in 1965, Buchanan tried and failed to get the endorsement of the Democratic Party to fill the vacancy.
Their entire Presidential campaign ground to a halt when Buchanan died on Mar. 22, 1988. Also it was not a great year for Roosevelt as he was being investigated for questionable practices regarding his National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
Some obvious problems with this ticket. First, the small detail that the standard bearer was dead. Second, both nominees were from the same state. Third, even if Buchanan had lived and if they were elected, Roosevelt would have died before the term was over. Their combined ages made them one the oldest tickets in Presidential campaign history.
Election history:
1946 - Governor of California (Democratic) - defeated
1950 - Governor of California (Democratic) - defeated
1955-1965 - US House of Representatives (Calif.) (Democratic)
1965 - Mayor of Los Angeles, Calif. (Nonpartisan) - defeated
Other occupations: insurance executive, Presidential Secretary, US Marine Corps, film producer, UNESCO delegate, executive with the Investors Overseas Service, author, founder National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960
Buried: Pacific View Memorial Park (Corona del Mar, Calif.)
Notes:
Business associate at one time with Joseph Kennedy.
Was stabbed 8 times by his third wife in 1969.
Last surviving child of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Buried in the same cemetery as Kobe Bryant, Jeanne Cagney, William Cagney, and John Wayne.
Ran as a write-in in 1946, winner was Earl Warren.
Winner in 1950 was Earl Warren.
Winner of the 1965 race for Mayor was Sam Yorty.
