Pat Choate, April 27, 1941 (Maypearl, Tex.) -
VP candidate for Reform Party of the United States of America (aka Reform Party aka Independent aka Unaffiliated aka Independence Party of New York) (1996)
Running mate with nominee: Henry Ross Perot (1930-2019)
Popular vote: 5,215,818 (5.42%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Riding on the momentum of his historic third party wave of 1992, Ross Perot formed the Reform Party of the United States of America in 1995. He originally declined to run for the Presidency himself, leaving a vacancy for the nomination. Although several politicians toyed with the idea, it was former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm, a Democrat, who threw his hat into the ring. He even selected a running-mate, Ed Zschau, a former US Congressman who represented California, and a Republican.
But it was not to be. The ever unpredictable Perot decided he wanted the nomination after all, and defeated Lamm in a very lopsided primary race which was held via mail-in ballots. Perot's action caused the first of many rifts in the embryonic party which made their odds more insurmountable than ever.
The Reform Party's 1996 platform was vaguely centrist, with a focus on economics. It avoided hot button issues like abortion, Gay rights, and capital punishment. Some have called the Reform Party philosophy of this era "producerist," appealing to the economic middle class.
An odd alliance took place when Lenora Fulani and Fred Newman, former leaders of the now defunct New Alliance Party, had sounded the call for their followers to work for Perot. In 1996 the two were part of the newly formed Patriot Party. Exactly what percentage of Reform Party volunteers consisted of former NAP members has never really been determined, but their presence was a bit controversial since several critics considered the New Alliance Party to have been a cult.
The Independence Party of New York affiliated with the Reform Party during the 1996 election.
Finding a professional politician to serve as VP came to a fizzle. Names bandied about the press included David Boren, Sam Nunn, Warren Rudman, Marcy Kaptur, and Linda Smith.
Perot named Pat Choate as his official running-mate on Sept. 10, 1996. A protectionist on the subject of free trade, Choate was Perot's coach during the 1993 NAFTA debate with Al Gore. Dr. Choate had worked for Republican state and federal administrations as an economic advisor, supported Al Gore for President in 1988 and then contributed funds to Pat Buchanan's Presidential runs in 1992 and 1996.
The infomercial Perot used to introduce Choate included the following dialogue:
Perot: I needed someone who's a fighter, someone who knows the facts cold, a person of integrity and grit. Pat, you're just the person to make this thing work.
Choate: I'm honored, Ross. I'll give it my all. I know Washington. Too many people profit at the public's expense. We'll have a campaign of ideas, choices and solutions.
Perot: Thomas Jefferson must be smiling down on you.
Choate: We're going to win.
Perot: Gonna have fun.
Regarding Choate's selection as VP, CNN commented: It's hard to see what political benefit Choate brings to Perot's ticket. It's certainly not name recognition, certainly not political experience and certainly not business experience. The man who once exclaimed "Policy! That's what my career is about" has never held nor sought elective office and never run a business. He even -- horror! -- violates Perot's longstanding pet peeve that no employees wear a beard. Choate, portly and professorial, sports an impressive shock of facial hair.
Although perhaps not a household name, Choate's selection did not harm the ticket which in itself is an accomplishment for running-mates.
Unfortunately for the Reform Party, the major parties learned their lesson from allowing Perot to participate in the Presidential debates in 1992. Try as they might, neither Perot or Choate were allowed to take part in 1996. Seeing a Choate-Kemp-Gore VP debate would have been a very interesting discussion between three well-spoken policy wonks.
Due to Choate being named as a running-mate so late in the game, he was listed with Perot on the ballot in 35 states + DC. The remaining states had the names of two stand-in VPs.
Overall Perot won 8,085,402 popular votes (8.40%). The Perot/Choate ticket accounted for about 2/3 of that with 5.42%. Best 10 states: Idaho 12.71%, Wyoming 12.25%, Vermont 12.00%, Minnesota 11.75%, West Virginia 11.26%, Rhode Island 11.20%, Alaska 10.90%, Oklahoma 10.84%, Delaware 10.60%, and Nebraska 10.52%.
Election history: none
Other occupations: US Army, economist, author, radio host, teacher
Notes:
Ph.D. in Economics from University of Oklahoma.
