Nathan Daniel Johnson, June 15, 1976 -
VP candidate for Independent (aka Non Affiliated aka Better for America aka Unaffiliated aka Courage Character Service aka Independence Party) (2016)
Running mate with nominee: David Evan McMullin (b. 1976)
Popular vote: 723,081 (0.53%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Donald Trump's takeover of the Republican Party in 2016 while basically transforming it into his own personality cult was the basis for the exodus of longtime establishment members of that organization. Stalwart Republicans (many of them Neocons) and influential conservatives such as President Bush I and II and son/sibling Jeb and Marvin, Carly Fiorina, Lindsay Graham, John Kasich, George Pataki, William Bennett, Bill Brock, Bill Cohen, Robert Gates, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Tom Ridge, William Ruckelshaus, Brent Scowcroft, George Schultz, Christine Todd Whitman, Paul Wolfowitz, Larry Hogan, Brian Sandoval, Rick Snyder, Jon Huntsman, Wlliam Milliken, Marc Racicot, Mitt Romney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, over a dozen sitting Republican US Senators, over 30 Republican members of the House, Slade Gorton, Barry Goldwater Jr., J.C. Watts, Bill Kristol, Sam Reed, Chris Vance, Steve Schmidt, Rick Wilson, Glenn Beck, Meghan McCain, Michael Medved, Tom Nichols, P.J. O'Rourke, Jennifer Rubin, George Will, and Meg Whitman (just to name a few) all refused to endorse their Party's nominee. A few of them left the Party entirely while others such as Sen. Graham did an about-face and became loyal Trump collaborators after Jan. 2017.
Some of them, such as President Bush I, Powell, and both Whitmans endorsed/voted for Hillary Clinton. Others endorsed Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party or Darrell Castle of the Constitution Party. But the most unusual and spontaneous of the Never Trumpers was Evan McMullin who had gained the endorsement/vote of US Senators Lindsay Graham [!!!], Jeff Flake and Mike Lee, also Slade Gorton, Bill Kristol, Sam Reed, and Meghan McCain among others.
McMullin was a former CIA operations officer and staff member for the House Republican Conference. He announced his run late in the game, Aug. 10, 2016 and scrambled to gain ballot access in as many states as he could. He was printed on the ballot in 11 states and was a registered write-in in 24 more, giving him a far-fetched potential of 310 Electoral College votes. McMullin filed with the FEC as an Independent on Aug. 15, 2016.
Some of his statements during the campaign indicate he saw himself as the only true conservative Republican in the race. McMullin certainly was no fan of Hillary Clinton, who he called "corrupt," but Trump received the most criticism--
--"And I stand for limited government and for individual liberty, and I saw in this election that the choices that the two major party candidates offered, as well as other candidates in the race, weren't sufficient or weren't adequate for our country and for the American people. So a couple of months ago, I decided seeing that no one else would get into the race to offer the American people a better choice, I decided to get in and try to do just that."
--"Well, I think Donald Trump is just not trustworthy whatsoever. I mean, he has spent his entire life being in favor of late-term abortions and opposed to the Second Amendment and has even spoken in favor of single-payer healthcare, even in this election. He's defended Planned Parenthood, even in this election. And Donald Trump is not someone who can be trusted. This is a man who does not stand for anything other than himself."
--"The notion that he would appoint Supreme Court justices who are constitutional conservatives, I think, is a real stretch to put it mildly. He's also said his sister would make a great justice. And she is certainly not a constitutional conservative. She's quite liberal, in fact. He's just not somebody who has any credibility on these issues. He is a big government-type of person, just like Hillary Clinton. And I am, I believe, truly the only conservative in this race."
--"I know dictators and authoritarians when I see them, and Donald Trump is one of them. I will do everything in my power to prevent him from becoming president of the United States."
--"Donald Trump appeals to the worst fears of Americans at a time we need unity, not division. Republicans are deeply divided by a man who is perilously close to gaining the most powerful position in the world, and many rightly see him as a real threat to our Republic."
--"I am unknown because I've avoided the limelight so that I could serve. In the case of Donald Trump, he has avoided service so that he could seek the limelight.
--"Trump has never sacrificed anything for this country, and in fact, he has attacked people who have. It just makes me sick to my stomach when I see him attacking the mother of a fallen hero or John McCain. It just makes me sick to my stomach that this guy thinks he's prepared to be commander-in-chief."
--"I think Utahns - and I won't speak for all Utahns - but my sense is that they have real issues with Donald Trump's lack of decency, with his bigotry, the way he's divided this country. That's not the Utahn way. I think they have issues with his attacks on religious minorities."
--"The idea that Donald Trump is a conservative is a complete farce. He is a conman who pretends to be a conservative."
Although Mindy Finn was McMullin's official running-mate, it was the "placeholder" name of Nathan Daniel Johnson that appeared on printed ballots in every case.
The idea of a placeholder VP has been a common element of third party Presidential electioneering for many decades, thanks mostly to the Byzantine laws of many states that are designed to prevent ballot access for those opposing the two major parties. But apparently the idea was new to McMullin's staff, who spelled out the Johnson-Finn problem on his campaign website--
Vote for Evan McMullin and Nathan Johnson
Friday, October 21, 2016 Posted by John Claybrook
Over the past week, we’ve been told by thousands of people that they are casting their vote for Evan McMullin. We are so incredibly thankful for these patriotic Americans standing up for what is right.
In this time, we’ve also received a lot of questions, which is understandable because what we’re doing has NEVER been done before.
The questions usually are:
If Evan McMullin is on the ballot, why is his running mate Nathan Johnson?
If I’m writing in Evan McMullin, for Vice President, do I write in Mindy Finn or Nathan Johnson?
Here are a few clarifying points:
Almost every state requires a name for Vice President when qualifying for ballot access or verified write-in status.
Almost all of these deadlines passed before Mindy Finn joined the ticket.
Nathan Johnson is a trusted friend of Evan’s who was willing to fill in as a temporary placeholder in order to give voters across the nation a chance to vote for Evan McMullin.
Therefore, if you are voting for Evan McMullin, write-in “Nathan Johnson” as the Vice President, because that is how our paperwork was filed with states and votes will be counted.
In the event that the race is pushed to the U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Nathan Johnson will resign and be replaced by Mindy Finn.
Sound crazy? We’ll be the first to agree with you! But please do remember that this is an unprecedented three month presidential campaign gaining tremendous momentum all across the nation.
We could be the first campaign in 48 years to win an electoral vote outside of the two party duopoly.
This has taken creativity and a deep desire to give the American people a candidate worthy of this great nation.
So, during early voting and on November 8, either vote or write-in “Evan McMullin” and “Nathan Johnson.”
Our nation deserves better!
Nathan Johnson turned out to a very mysterious figure and McMullin shared precious little about this temporary VP, leading some to believe he had a fictitious character as a running-mate. "He’s somebody I’ve known for years and who I trusted to play this role as a stand-in, in this position for the paperwork, but not be otherwise involved," said McMullin.
Johnson, of San Diego, really existed. Part of his life experience dated back to Utah, where one would assume is where he met McMullin. Before his identity was ascertained and verified, his mystery was a brief social media sensation.
Although the McMullin/Finn ticket did not officially garner any printed ballot votes, the McMullin/Johnson team placed 5th nationally, finishing in third place in Idaho and Utah, two Mormon strongholds. In Utah, McMullin finished with a whopping 21.54% and in Idaho with 6.73%. Other states where he topped 1% were: Minnesota 1.80%, Virginia 1.36%, Kentucky 1.18%, Arkansas 1.17%, Colorado 1.04%, South Carolina 1.00%.
Election history: none.
Other occupations: US Army, legislative assistant for the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, consultant with Morgan Borszcz Consulting
Notes:
Not to be confused with Andrew Nathan Johnson, Prohibition Party VP for 1944.
