Nancy Theresa Lord, February 8, 1952 (Silver Spring, Md.) -
VP candidate for Libertarian Party (aka Independent) (1992)
Running mate with nominee: Andre Verne Marrou (b. 1938)
Popular vote: 290,087 (0.28%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
In a contested convention, 1988 Libertarian VP Andre Morrou emerged as the 1992 Presidential nominee.
The nomination for running-mate was even more contested. Morrou's personal choice was passed up and after multiple ballots the Party selected Nancy Lord over more established figures. Raised in the Jewish faith (just like 1972 VP Tonie Nathan), Lord was impressively a lawyer with a medical degree. 1980 Libertarian Presidential candidate Ed Clark had backed Lord for the VP position. In 1992 she was a member of the National Rifle Association and the National Abortion Rights Action League-- that might seem like a strange combination for most members of the major parties, but perfectly in the groove for Libertarians.
By 1992 the Libertarian Party had been around for over two decades and even by then had emerged as America's most stable third party. They were not going to go away. In this election year they were a bit handicapped financially without a millionaire or household name on the ticket, nor did they seem to have any campaign investment angels. On top of that, Ross Perot was grabbing most of the voters who were discontented with the major parties, and 1988 Libertarian Presidential nominee Ron Paul endorsed Pat Buchanan in the 1992 Republican primaries.
Hopefully this won't insult my Libertarian friends, but the Marrou/Lord ticket superficially appeared to me to have a similar dynamic as the Clinton/Gore team. Marrou being the outgoing charmer with a sense of humor. But also the one to go on the attack. Lord being the more reserved policy wonk. In the course of shaking hands while on the street she was known to pay more attention to dogs the people were walking than the potential voters. That indicator would be foreshadowing her unfortunate dog legal experience a couple decades later.
Lord told reporter Hal Marcovitz the Libertarians will win the White House by 2000, or 2004 at most. "We want to be the governing party by the 21st century," said Lord. "If we're not, I would be concerned."
Reporters noted Lord's candid, honest comments and found her very quotable. Some examples:
Sometimes I get very tired of hearing myself talk. Campaigning is very tiring. Not being in control of where you sleep, or what you eat. It wears you out.
[After her car was broken into and robbed in Manhattan]: If Bill Clinton's car had gotten broken into it would have been on the national news. But my car gets broken into and it's just another larceny.
Every bad thing does not need a law against it. You don't make something illegal just because it's stupid.
We want the government out of our personal lives and out of our economic lives. When you centralize power, you attract people who like to wield it. They produce very benevolent reasons, but they are after power.
Marrou had apparently made some enemies within the Party and he was nearly removed from the ticket. There were serious charges against him involving unpaid child support, a contempt of court outstanding warrant, more multiple marriages than he originally claimed, spending campaign money without approval, and mismanagement of personal finances. But rather than give him his day in Party court, they decided to allow him to remain on the ticket for fear of generating bad publicity.
The national ticket disappointing results dipping down to 0.28% would serve as one of their lower point elections, but their percentages have all been better than that ever since. But in the local results the Party enjoyed some actual wins, plus higher percentages. One idea was that Perot voters continued to vote for third parties as they went down-ballot and the Libertarians were the ones to get the most benefit.
On the Presidential ballot in all 50 states + DC for only the second time, the Libertarians had their best showings in: New Hampshire (0.66%), Colorado (0.55%), Alaska (0.53%), Arizona (0.46%), Pennsylvania ; California (0.43% each), and Wyoming (0.42%).
Election history:
1990 - Mayor of Washington, DC (Libertarian Party)- defeated
2010 - Nye County (Nev.) District Attorney (Republican) - primary - defeated
2012 - Nye County (Nev.) District Attorney (Republican) - primary - defeated
2012 - District Court Judge, District 5, Department 1 (Nev.) - defeated
Other occupations: attorney, board of directors for the National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML), Abbott Laboratories employee, board of directors for the Fully Informed Jury Association
Notes:
Demonstrated against the Vietnam War before joining the Libertarians.
Also called Nancy Lord Johnson for awhile after marrying former militia figure James "J.J." Johnson
ca1997.
Was embroiled in Nye County, Nev. court cases ca2012 regarding charges resulting from hoarding
about 40 dogs.