Andrew Peter Napolitano, June 6, 1950 (Newark, N.J.) -
VP candidate for Independent Republican (2012)
Running mate with nominee: Ronald Ernest Paul (b. 1935)
Popular vote: 21,461 (0.02%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Rep. Ron Paul of Texas announced in May 2011 he was going to run for the Republican nomination for President. Along with Jesse Ventura and Ralph Nader, Paul has long been one of the contemporary voices outside the mainstream of politics that can excite a base. After he basically dropped out of the running many of his followers refused to give up the fight and ran him as a write-in candidate in several states.
In June 2011 Paul told Fox News he would consider Andrew Napolitano for the Supreme Court. "I really admire Judge Napolitano," Paul said, "I think he would be good in any administration. I think he'd be grand on the Supreme Court." A year later, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in an effort to gain Paul's supporters, said he too would consider appointing Napolitano to the Supreme Court.
Also in June 2011, Paul was questioned by journalist Alix Steel, "If you had to pick one running mate, dead or alive, who would it be?" Paul answered he had not "thought that through ... but I sure do like Judge Andrew Napolitano."
Napolitano is a former California Superior Court judge with a taste for the culture of paranoia and a thirst for publicity. Politically he appears to be libertarian but tempered with old-fashioned Catholic conservatism. He found a fan base through his appearances via various venues on Fox, where he described himself as "the Ayn Rand of Fox News." Considered a sanctimonious crank by his critics, Napolianto has some unorthodox views on the Constitution and American history in general. He has also embraced a number of conspiracy theories, most notably the 9/11 Truther movement.
The Paul/Napolitano ticket finished with 0.16% of the vote in California. Nationwide Paul had an impressive 26,204 (0.02%) votes as a write-in in states where his followers had him registered. Maine (where Mark D. Willis was his running-mate) was his highest percentage (0.28%) but the lion's share of popular votes were from California. Other Paul write-in results were: Vermont 0.24%, New Hampshire 0.19%, and Rhode Island 0.14%.
Election history: none
Other occupations: judge, columnist, pundit, author, attorney, teacher, TV personality
Notes:
Napolitano was inducted into the Encyclopedia of American Loons in 2014.
