Joan Elizabeth Andrews, 1948 (Lewisburg, Tenn.) -
VP candidate for Right to Life Party (aka New York Right to Life Party) (1988)
Running mate with nominee: William A. Marra (1928-1998)
Popular vote: 20,504 (0.02%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
After they first appeared in a national race in 1980, the Right to Life Party decided not to present a candidate or endorse anyone else for President in 1984. As a result, 1988 would be their second race in a Presidential election.
The RTL Presidential nominee was William A. Marra, a professor of philosophy and lecturer who opposed abortion, atheism, and sex education. Dedicated to bringing principles of the Catholic faith as he understood them into the political realm, Marra anticipated the later American Solidarity Party. He initially ran in the primaries of both major parties, eventually moving on to the third party option.
Marra began his RTL campaign by participating in a protest march in Tallahassee, Fla. in support of his running-mate, who he said was "among the greatest living Americans."
Joan Andrews of Newark, Del. was already something of a legend in the RTL in her role as a perennial lawbreaker and frequent jail/prison inmate before she was tapped as the VP in Aug. 1988. When she was nominated Andrews was serving hard time in a Florida prison for acts of civil disobedience while protesting abortion. The Florida Governor commuted her sentence in Oct. 1988. Andrews joined the small historical subset of incarcerated candidates running for public office from jail or prison.
From Florida she was sent to Pennsylvania to face a judge for some unfinished business there. She was given three years probation on the condition that she refrain from further protests, but Judge Novak remarked, "I suspect we will meet each other again." He was right.
In the limited time Marra and Andrews had to campaign together they visited the Human Life International Conference-- in Toronto! Although Andrews had been covered quite generously by the media in 1988, there was hardly any mention that she was also a Vice-Presidential candidate.
Only on the ballot in the State of New York, the Marra/Andrews team finished with an impressive third place in the Empire State with 0.32% of the vote.
1988 was the final time the Right to Life Party ran their own candidates for President in the 20th century. In 1992 they endorsed the Republican Bush/Quayle ticket, in 1996 the U.S. Taxpayers Party Phillips/Titus ticket, and in 2000 the Reform Party Buchanan/Foster ticket.
Andrews would continue to be arrested and jailed countless times for public protests regarding abortion or, in at least one or two cases, a satanic "black mass."
Election history: none.
Other occupations: author, lecturer, anti-abortion activist, co-manager Good Counsel Homes for unwed mothers
Notes:
Married in 1991 and became Joan Andrews Bell.
Grew up on a farm in Tennessee.
