David Leigh Colvin

David Leigh Colvin, January 28, 1880 (South Charleston, Ohio) – September 7, 1959 (Bronxville, NY)

VP candidate for Prohibition Party (1920)

Running mate with nominee: Aaron S. Watkins (1863-1941)
Popular vote: 188,787 (0.71%)     
Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

Sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for. After decades of effort, the Prohibition Party at last saw passage of the 18th Amendment and Prohibition becoming the law of the land.

Now what?

Their 1920 platform summarizes the purpose of their existence in a nutshell: "The issue is not only the Enforcement but also the Maintenance of the law to make the Amendment effective."

The platform took a stand on several other issues of the day, including: support for the League of Nations, increasing the role of women in government, creation of a Dept. of Education, and implementation of sex education in schools.

Presidential candidate Watkins offered to drop out of the race if Cox or Harding made a pledge not to weaken or repeal the Volstead Act. But response had he none. This backfired to some degree as the Prohibition Party found itself late in the campaign having to deny rumors that Watkins had indeed stepped down.

Ballot access by third parties was starting to become a problem as laws were changing to institutionalize the two-party system. The Prohibition Party, being the oldest of the third parties, makes a good case study for this. In 1920 their votes were recorded in only 26 states.

Their best three states were Florida (3.52%), California (2.67%), and Pennsylvania (2.30%). The Watkins/Colvin national result of 0.71% was the worst tally the Party had since 1880, and in all subsequent elections their final vote would never top 0.21%.

Election history:
1913 - New York State Assembly (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1914 - New York House of Representatives (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1916 - US Senate (NY) (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1917 - Mayor of New York City (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1922 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1932 - US Senate (NY) (Law Preservation Party) - defeated
1936 - US President (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1947 - Prohibition Party nomination for US President - defeated

Other occupations: Army Captain WWI, speaker with Flying Squadron Foundation, Chairman of the Prohibition National Committee 1926-1932, author

Buried: Summit Lawn Cemetery (Westfield, Ind.)

Notes:
One of his opponents in the 1916 US Senate race was Socialist Labor candidate August Gillhaus,
 who he would later compete with for US Vice-President in 1920.
Earned a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University in 1913.
His wife Mamie White Colvin also ran for various offices as a Prohibition Party candidate and was
 President of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union 1944-1953. They were considered something
 of a fervent power couple in the prohibition movement.
Methodist.
Unknown if he was related to Industrial Reform Party 1888 VP nominee John A. Colvin (1841-1900)
 who was also from the same region of Ohio.

August Gillhaus

August Gillhaus, June, 1867 (New York, NY?)- May 4, 1932 (New York, NY)

VP candidate for Socialist Labor Party (aka Industrial Labor Party) (1912, 1920)

Running mate with nominee (1912): Arthur E. Reimer (1882-1969)
Running mate with nominee (1920): William Wesley Cox (1865-1948)
Popular vote (1912): 29,324 (0.19%)
Popular vote (1920): 31,084 (0.12%)   
Electoral vote (1912): 0/531
Electoral vote (1920): 0/531

The campaign (1912):

The Socialist Labor Party was pretty much lost in the shuffle in an election year when other third parties were taking up all the political oxygen. The Party continued their trajectory to an isolated and sectarian philosophical territory. It would be the final election in which SLP leader and polarizing figure Daniel De Leon was involved.

The Party's 1912 platform was unusual due to the length of the text. However it was still familiar in that the content was not so much specific statements on various policies but more of a general essay on class struggle.

The SLP was on the ballot in 21 states, placing dead last in every single one. Their two best results, both at 0.66% were Minnesota and Connecticut.

The campaign (1920):

The post-WWI government "Red Scare" prosecution of any organization to the left of the Democratic Party impacted the SLP's ability to spread their message via the postal service. Also, the SLP's membership included many immigrants who were threatened with deportation.

The SLP lost a number of members to the Communist Party in the wake of the Russian Revolution, these defectors were  characterized by the SLP as "a handful of sentimentalists." The differences between the SLP and the Communists would sharpen in the coming years.

On the ballot in only 14 states, where they placed last every time, their strongest result was in Minnesota with 0.79%.

Election history:
1903 - New York State Assembly (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1904 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1905 - New York City Controller (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1908 - US President (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1914 - New York State Engineer and Surveyor (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1916 - US Senate (NY) (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1917 - New York City Controller (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1918 - Lt. Governor of New York (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1929 - New York City Controller (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1930 - Attorney General of New York (Socialist Labor) - defeated

Other occupations: bricklayer, engineer, cigar maker

Buried: possibly cremated and placed in a SLP-owned niche, Fresh Pond Crematory and Columbarium (Middle Village, NY)

Notes:
The first time a prior presidential nominee of any party subsequently ran for Vice-President.
Charles Gillhaus, his father, had immigrated to New York from Germany in 1864.

Donald Lapthorp Munro

Donald Lapthorp Munro, May 6, 1859 (St. John, NB) - March 8, 1934 (Cradock, Va.)

VP candidate for Socialist Labor Party (1908)

Running mate with nominee: August Gillhaus (1867-1932)
Popular vote: 14,031 (0.09%)
Electoral vote: 0/483

The campaign:

At ever at war with other groups, a proposed unification with the Socialist Party of America failed to materialize and the SLP also had problems with the IWW.

SLP leader Daniel De Leon nominated Morris (“Morrie”) R. Preston (1882-1935) for President. Donald L. Munro was selected as his running mate. The only problem was that Preston had been locked up in a Nevada prison since 1907, serving a 25-year sentence for killing a man during a picketing struggle. There is some question as to whether Preston was even a member of the SLP. In any case, he declined the nomination and August Gillhaus was substituted.

Preston, by the way was released in 1917, died as a result of falling off a telephone pole in 1935, and was posthumously pardoned by the Nevada State Supreme Court in the 1980s when the evidence was revisited. Some sources call him Martin Preston.

With votes counted in 16 states, the SLP won 0.32% in Connecticut and it went downhill from there. Gillhaus will emerge later as a SLP VP candidate in 1912 and 1920.

Election history:
1898 - US House of Representatives (Penn.) (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1900 - US House of Representatives (Penn.) (Socialist Labor) - defeated
1902 - Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania (Socialist Labor) - defeated

Other occupations: machinist, toolmaker, presidential elector for Socialist Labor Party in Va. 1924-1928

Buried: Olive Branch Cemetery (Portsmouth, Va.)

Notes:
Presbyterian
Buried in the same cemetery as the author V.C. Andrews.
His Canadian birth possibly disqualified him for the VP office had he been elected.