Mark Stedman, ca1962 -
VP candidate for Independent (2012)
Running mate with nominee: Josiah Stoltzfus (ca1957-2014)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 270+/538
The campaign:
In Martha Bolton's work of political fantasy fiction Josiah for President (Zondervan, 2012) US Congressman Mark Stedman of Wisconsin fails in his quest to gain the Presidential nomination and on his road trip home from DC has a fateful accidental meeting in Lancaster County, Penn. with Josiah Stoltzfus, an Amish farmer. So impressed is Stedman with Stoltzfus' character, he runs Josiah as an independent write-in candidate for President. In turn the candidate insists that Stedman be the running-mate.
I'll try to not spoil the story too much, but Josiah does indeed win the election as a write-in. The book mentions that among the states he won were Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Tennessee, North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, and New York.
The fictitious campaign actually became real in the 2012 cycle. Zondervan released a couple Josiah for President electioneering videos with actors portraying Stoltzfus and Stedman. A Facebook page was set up. The novel was also presented on stage as a musical.
Four years earlier in the 2008 election there was a ticket with an Amish connection. The Florida-based Real Food Party of the United States of America ran farmers James Harlin Carter and Dennis Eugene Stoltzfoos as the President and VP. Raised in Lancaster County, Penn. as an Amish Mennonite, Stoltzfoos went out on his own both spiritually and physically, moving to Florida in 1989. After working in the alternative health field and an EMT for a time he eventually started his own farm. Citing the writings of Weston Price as a major influence, Stoltzfoos shared Carter's enthusiasm for non-pasteurized dairy and natural foods.
Election history:
1993-2013 - US House of Representatives (Wis.) (party unknown)
2012 - Presidential nomination from unknown major party - defeated
Other occupations: ?
Notes:
Mark Stedman should not be confused with Seymour Stedman, running-mate in the Socialist Party of America in 1920 with Eugene Debs.
