James Creighton Mitchell Jr., November 16, 1943 (Los Angeles, Calif.) -
VP candidate for Marshall Schoenke Party (aka Non Affiliated aka Unaffiliated aka Independent) (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Marshall Roy Schoenke (b. 1970)
Popular vote: 59 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
2016 was not the first election where James Creighton Mitchell ran for President. In 2008, when he lived in Lindenhurst, Ill. he was considered by the FEC to be a declared candidate for the Republican nomination. In Mar. 2015, this time from a Lake Villa, Ill. address, Mitchel filed with the FEC again.
His campaign webpage revealed a conservative Christian political platform, and interpreting the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution through that prism.
On other issues his stance included--
--"I stand unequivocally – politically, financially, militarily and socially with Israel. I believe the United States should not be offering any ideas to Israel or the United Nations on how Israel should interact with the Palestinians unless, asked. I also stand with any ally that shares our values in combating this international violence, persecution and hatred in the name of Allah."
--"I believe the modern militia is a licensed concealed carry American citizen, ready at all times to protect themselves or family and intervene in the assistance of others under attack by deadly force until sufficient law enforcement resources arrive and stabilize the attack incident. The concealed carry American embodies the value and importance of the 2nd Amendment."
--"A lot of our domestic problems involve our tax code and enforcement by the IRS. It is my belief that the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was NOT correctly implemented and therefore NOT valid. As President, I will provide the leadership and work with the entire Congress to remove the oppressive 16th Amendment and the IRS Department as we know it, and implement the Fair Tax proposal for a fairer policy to fund the Federal government."
--"We need a 100% draft into the military for a minimum of a two year active duty commitment because to remove potential recruits from gang recruitment."
--"We need to protect the life of conceived humans yet unborn thru their entire gestation."
--"All recipients for any kind of Federal aid need to pass drug free testing to maintain assistance and housing or be involved in voluntary rehabilitation programs to continue. Healthier lifestyles will be encouraged with reduced tobacco and alcohol consumption. These are life style choices that should not be provided with tax dollars. If an individual needs these, then public assistance obviously is not needed."
--"I also believe major reforms must be made in Mexico and further south, even if we have to take the lead and annex Mexico into United States so the laws will be uniform and uniformly enforced reducing or eliminating reasons for migration north."
He dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination on the last day of 2015. In a letter to the National Chair and the FEC Mitchell stated--
Dear Chairman Priebus;
Please be advised that I am dropping out of the 2016 Republican Primaries for President of the United States, today.
As much as I have to offer in ideas and solutions to reunite America, improve its world image, reassert its global leadership and convince the American citizens that Republican philosophy is best for America, the cost of candidate access to the respective state primary ballots is insurmountable for the average American. It is the average American that the Republican Party is trying to convince and yet our voice is stifled by high financial barriers and censorship of ideas through contrived polling to support questionable debates of leadership ideas.
Electronic responses to weekly questionnaires to ALL candidates would have provided the American public a better snapshot of each candidate's responses to direction of action, ideas for solutions, etc. Narrative responses to selected questions would have provided some clarity of thought process.
I struggle with the thought since Dwight Eisenhower retired from office that the best and brightest from both political parties have run the American economy into the ground. It has been asserted that labor is the problem in America. The most politically connected with ideas from the respected think tanks, manipulated by lobbying from financial interests and individuals with social and economic peer standing from respected institutions of higher learning provide "spin speak" through the media has divided us as a nation into demographic sub-groups, pitting each against each other. This may be a great tactic for population manipulation but the effect is a devastating repudiation of our founding fathers' struggle which is our Constitutional heritage.
The hourly worker does not vote on any legislation at either the state or federal level, we just pay for it again and again with fewer dollars from shrinking pay checks. We now live in a police state - local, state and federal units of government and agencies routinely deny access to public information including wrong doing, private third party prison systems, human trafficking with the refugee and resettlement programs, welfare manipulation, etc., etc..
James Creighton Mitchell, Jr.
According to his campaign webpage, he continued to run for President as an Independent. But oddly, there is no mention in his online source that he was also the running-mate of Marshall Schoenke.
Described by one reporter as a "former carpenter and now spiritual musician and songwriter," Schoenke had a also been campaigning for President. Somehow Mitchell became his running-mate, but the VP appeared to have been running his own parallel attempt for the Presidency as well if his online efforts at the time were any indication. This odd arrangement occasionally is seen throughout third party history.
The earliest mention of a Schoenke/Mitchell ticket I can find is in Aug. 2016. Since these two lived near each other and shared certain religious concerns it should not be surprising they connected politically. In the event of their victory their shared residence in the same state would have posed a potential Constitutional problem.
Write-ins in at least 20 states, nearly half of their reported 59 votes came from Illinois.
Election history:
"I have held 7 elected and appointed governmental and political offices between 1975 and 2005." "Elected Republican Precinct Committeeman; Township Trustee; Drainage District Commissioner; Mosquito Abatement District Commissioner; Member Lake County Board; Member Lake County Forest Preserve District; Public Library District Trustee; Member Lake County Regional School Board."
1984 - Lake County Board (Ill.) (Republican) - primary - defeated
1992 - Illinois House of Representatives (Republican) - disqualified or defeated
2001-<20--> - Lake County Regional School Board (Nonpartisan)
2006 - US House of Representatives (Ill.) (Republican) - primary - defeated
2008 - Republican nomination for US President - defeated
2012 - Lake County Board (Ill.) (Republican) - primary - defeated
2013 - College of Lake Country Board of Trustees - defeated?
2016 - Republican nomination for US President - defeated
2016 - US President (Independent) - defeated
2019 - Madison (Wis.) Common Council (Nonpartisan) - defeated
Other occupations: US Navy, insurance company employee, water treatment plant engineer
Notes:
Episcopalian.
