Calvin Preston Winslow Jr., 1943 (Seattle, Wash.) -
VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1968)
Running mate with nominee: Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998)
Popular vote: 1609 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Driven chiefly by Californians, the Peace and Freedom Party was organized in the mid-1960s and went national in an attempt to link together various contingents of the Left. At their Presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-18, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Mich. where Eldridge Cleaver was selected over Dick Gregory, a schism had already become obvious. Gregory would go on to outpoll Cleaver on Election Day.
Cleaver, the author of Soul on Ice and the Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, had little patience for the serious bickering that took place at the convention. When it came time to nominate a Vice-Presidential candidate, Cleaver suggested Youth International Party activist Jerry Rubin-- an idea that went nowhere as many considered Rubin to be too erratic, uncontrollable, and part of the Far Right of the Far Left. As the convention wrestled over this and other issues, Cleaver walked out in frustration and the matter was eventually left up to each state to select his running mate.
A member of the Socialist Workers Party took notes at this event and concluded:
Some Generalizations 1) The P&F movement is in a state of serious disarray. 2) The "coalition" with the Panthers had been badly shaken. 3) If Cleaver doesn't extricate himself from this mess soon he will rapidly and thoroughly discredit himself in the eyes of black militants inside and outside the BPP.
In April 1968, prior to being nominated, Cleaver was involved in a police shootout. Shortly after the election he felt obliged to jump bail and flee to Cuba.
The Washington State Peace and Freedom Party held their convention on Sept. 17, 1968 in Seattle, nominating Cleaver and as his running mate a 25-year old SDS campus activist at the University of Washington named Cal Winslow. Winslow was a history graduate student there having previously studied in the UK and arriving back home to Seattle via Antioch. The Cleaver/Winslow ticket appeared only on the Washington State ballot, where they earned 1,609 popular votes (0.12%) placing 4th. 1,034 of those votes came from King County (Seattle), Pierce County (Tacoma) was next with 106 votes. Both candidates were under the required minimum age to assume office according to the Constitution.
Over time Cleaver's journey shaped him into a conservative Republican, while Winslow today continues to be active in progressive causes in California.
Election history: none
Other occupations: educator, author, community radio show host, founder of the Mendocino Institute.
Notes:
Washington State trivia!!! A few other third party Vice-Presidential candidates have resided in Washington State, but Winslow is the first Washington-born third party Vice-Presidential candidate I have encountered. He was a guest faculty at The Evergreen State College in Olympia at some point, the same school I attended and where I earned my BA in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s I worked there for a couple years. Also, like Winslow, I attended the University of Washington, attaining my graduate degree in 1982. I was a faculty member (librarian) in a couple other Washington State institutions of higher education. I'm sure it would take Winslow and I only a matter of minutes to find we have several people in common.
