VP candidate for Independent (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Cat in the Hat (b. 1957)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
A Cat in the Hat for President marketing campaign was launched on July 26, 2016. His running-mates were Thing 1 and Thing 2. The Penguin Random House press release included--
Dr. Seuss’s beloved character the Cat in the Hat has declared his candidacy for president of the United States in the 2016 election, as the one and only Kids’ Candidate, with Thing 1 and Thing 2 as his running mates, it was jointly announced by Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Random House Children’s Books. A special campaign rally is taking place July 26th on the steps of the childhood home of Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) in Springfield, MA, at 74 Fairfield Street.
During his presidential run, the Cat in the Hat will represent all that Dr. Seuss believed about children—that they have the intellect, imagination, and power to impact our world positively, while also having fun. The announcement of the Cat in the Hat for President campaign arrives with the release of a new book in The Cat in the Hat Learning Library, ONE VOTE, TWO VOTES, I VOTE, YOU VOTE, on sale Tuesday (7/26) from Random House Books for Young Readers. In the latest addition to this collection of nonfiction books for beginning readers, the Cat in the Hat uses simple rhyme to introduce early readers to the concept and practice of voting, with a focus on the American presidency. Readers learn the basic principles of democracy, how political parties are made, why Election Day is held in early November, and much, much more.
Choose a Cause and Cast Your Vote Beginning July 26! ...
As the Kids’ Candidate, the Cat in the Hat will show kids that every vote counts, and every voice matters! Votes can be cast for the Cat in the Hat to work with one of his supporters and their selected cause. Each cause is linked to a related organization, and together Random House Children’s Books and Dr. Seuss Enterprises will make a $10,000 donation to the winning charity. Children can cast their vote for their preferred cause online by visiting CatInHat4Prez.com. Voting will run from July 26 through November 8, 2016, and the winning charity will be announced on December 1, 2016. The ballot includes the opportunity for kids to:
Vote for Reading and Education to support First Book, with Dick and Sally from THE CAT IN THE HAT
Vote for Ocean Conservation to support Oceana, with Red Fish and Blue Fish from ONE FISH TWO FISH RED FISH BLUE FISH!
Vote for the Environment to support Conservation International, with the LORAX!
Vote for Fighting Hunger to support Feed the Children, with Sam-I-Am! From GREEN EGGS AND HAM!
Vote for Kindness for All to support Pacer, with Horton from HORTON HEARS A WHO!
The campaign included the candidates jumping out of the printed page and into life-sized costumes as they made public appearances.
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904-1991) probably would have approved. An anti-fascist, civil libertarian, and environmentalist, some of his political views spilled over into his children's books through metaphor.
2016 was not the first time the capped feline was touted as a candidate. In 1980 Robert Coover's satirical novella, A Political Fable, described a somewhat darker electioneering scenario. In 2004 a "Cat in the Hat for President" exhibition was held in San Diego on the centennial of Dr. Seuss' birth.
Cat in the Hat for President swag continued to trickle into the 2020 election but did not appear to be the same sort of organized campaign that it was in 2016. The later effort did not include any mention of running-mates.
Election history: none
Other occupations: fictitious characters
Notes:
I was in the vanguard of Cat in the Hat readers. Not only did Dr. Seuss help me learn how to read, but his wild drawing style had a profound impact on my own cartooning.
Coincidence? This profile was compiled on July 26, 2021, exactly 5 years to the day the Cat in the Hat for President campaign was announced.
The Cat in the Hat film from 2003 had terrible reviews but I actually liked it, especially the way the movie portrayed Thing 1 and Thing 2.
