Mikael C. Meyer, August 8, 1970 (Greenwich, Conn.) -
VP candidate for Independent (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Jeffrey A. Cooper (b. ca1968)
Popular vote: 57 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Jeffrey Cooper and his friend Mikael Meyer, both of Greenwich, Conn., filed to run as write-in candidates for President and Vice-President in their home state.
Cooper was a law professor at Quinnipiac University, and Meyer ran a chain of 14 martial arts studios.
The Independent candidate provided his reasons to the press: "We really started this just as a way for some of our friends to vote 'None of the Above.' A lot of people we're spending time with are having a hard time finding a candidate they’re excited about."
VP Meyer, a registered Republican, was quoted saying: "Everybody was so disenfranchised from their party's candidates. Things must be super, super bad to end up where we are. I don't think any of our kids knew that for a price of a stamp, you could run for office."
Their platform was sort of a vague centrist stand on the issues. The Harvard and Yale educated Cooper, who once worked in trust and state law, told the media, "There's a lot of things I think we're doing wrong in terms of tax policy. Our platform is that we're not any of the other people." Also, "I think what's the most noteworthy thing about this campaign is there really is no middle ground on anything. That's where the vacuum is."
"I'm entirely self-funded, which means I'm not beholden to anyone, including myself, because I'm not spending any funds," he added. "Our campaign strategy is still evolving here."
Cooper's Election Day prediction for his ticket turned out to be somewhat accurate: "We're talking high single-digits to low double-digits. And we're not talking percentages, we're talking votes." He joked those votes would probably come their friends but not their relatives, "Our family members know us too well to vote for us."
In the event of their victory, the fact they were residents of the same state would have tested the Constitution.
Election history: none
Other occupations: Chief Operating Officer of SDSS Martial Arts
Notes:
6th Degree Black Belt
