Below: Jim Carlson
George Lee McMahon, July 22, 1950 (Algona, Iowa) - November 30, 2019 (Humboldt, Iowa)
VP candidate for Independent Grassroots Party (1996)
VP candidate for Grassroots Party (2012)
Running mate with nominee (1996): John Birrenbach (b. 1961)
Running mate with nominee (2012): James Robert Carlson (b. 1957)
Popular vote (1996): 787 (0.00%)
Popular vote (2012): 3,149 (0.00%)
Electoral vote (1996, 2012): 0/538
The campaign (1996):
The Independent Grassroots Party split from the Grassroots Party in 1995/1996. According to newspaper accounts at the time the division seemed to be the old single-issue vs. multi-issue platforms, a struggle over purity that is rather common in the history of third parties.
The Grassroots Party had been formed in 1986 to promote the legalization of marijuana and had already run candidates for President in two election cycles. In 1996 they decided to broaden their platform to include, according to the St. Cloud Times, "legalized prostitution, removal of all gun restrictions and a lower legal age for consensual sex." So a number of members who felt the original focus was being obscured walked out and formed the Independent Grassroots Party, making an effort to stay with the original focus.
For President the new party nominated John "Sparky" Birrenbach (sometimes called Birrenback in a few sources), the founder of the Institute for Hemp. Based in St. Paul, Minn., Birrenbach's priorities appeared to be the use of hemp in agriculture and medicine.
The running-mate was George McMahon, who was the fifth patient out of 13 who had been approved to be treated and received medical marijuana under the federal Compassionate Investigational New Drug program. Diagnosed with nail-patella syndrome, he had been allowed into the experiment in 1990 and was issued 300 joints a month. In 1992 the program was shut down but the six remaining patients were grandfathered in. Actually over 50 patients had been approved but President Bush stopped the process before it hit full steam.
The Birrenbach/McMahon ticket placed 9th out of 11 on the Minnesota ballot with 0.04% of the popular vote in the only state where they were listed as a choice for voters. In 1998 the Independent Grassroots Party changed their name to the Legal Marijuana Now Party.
The campaign (2012):
2012 was a difficult year for the Grassroots Party national ticket. According to Jim Carlson, proprietor of a headshop in Duluth, Minn. called The Last Place on Earth, he was drafted into the position since his establishment had become something of a regional cause célèbre. He was nominated as the Grassroots Party candidate for President in the midst of raids and investigations by the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
George McMahon jumped parties and was chosen as the running-mate. He was also running for a City Council position in Livermore, Iowa at the same time.
If the press covered the Grassroots Party Presidential ticket at all, it was in connection to Carlson's legal woes. Only on the ballot in Minnesota they placed sixth with 0.11% of the vote. In the local Livermore election, McMahon was defeated 98-61.
In 2013 Carlson was found guilty in a US District Court on 51 felony counts centered around selling and distributing illegal and banned synthetic substances. The last I could find, he was serving a 17.5 year sentence in a federal prison in the Milan, Mich. area.
Election history:
2006 - Livermore (Iowa) City Council - defeated
2012 - Livermore (Iowa) City Council - defeated
2015 - Mayor of Livermore, Iowa - defeated
Other occupations: auto body technician, author, lecturer, co-founder of Iowans for Medical Marijuana, board member for Patients out of Time
Buried: ?
Notes:
Defeated in the 2015 election by a write-in candidate.
