Charles Franklin Robertson

Charles Franklin Robertson, May 25, 1915 (W. Va.) - Mar. 4, 1999 (Tulsa, Okla.)

VP candidate for Christian Nationalist Party (aka Christian National Party) (1956)

Running mate with nominee: Gerald L.K. Smith (1898-1976)

Popular vote: 8 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

By the time Gerald L.K. Smith-- Disciples of Christ minister, fascist sympathizer, anti-Semite, white supremacist, and Holocaust denier-- made his final run for the Presidency in 1956 his star, such as it was, was already fading quickly.

Smith's running mate was his trusted aide and editor of the periodical used to promote the views of his Christian Nationalist Crusade, The Cross and the Flag.

When there was an anonymous boomlet before the 1956 Republican Convention for Right-wing California US Sen. William Knowland, it was Robertson who was identified as the source.

In August Smith threatened a "voter's strike" if Harold Stassen's effort to dump Nixon from the Republican ticket was successful. Nixon himself made it clear he did not need or want help from Smith: "Generally what Gerald L.K. Smith says should never be dignified by a comment. In this instance, however, I think it is necessary to depart from that rule. As I stated, unequivocally when I ran for the Senate in 1950, there is no place in the Republican party for race-baiting merchandizers of hate like Gerald L.K. Smith. I have been complimented by the fact that his publication, the Christian Nationalist Crusade, has on several occasions attacked me because of my work in behalf of President Eisenhower's program for guaranteeing equality of opportunity for all Americans. I am proud of the fact that our Republican platform speaks out so clearly and unequivocally on this great issue that Mr. Smith and those who share his views will take no comfort whatever from it."

Smith and Robertson initiated a lawsuit in September to get on the California ballot, complaining the requirements were too strict. The case eventually landed in the California Supreme Court where they failed to prevail in Nov. 1957.

Waging a write-in campaign, their only recorded votes nationally came to 8 in California.

Election history: none

Other occupations: part of his mother's business the B.N. (Britta N.) Robertson Publishing Co., Eureka Springs Ark. Planning Commission member, minister, editor of The Cross and the Flag

Buried: IOOF Cemetery (Eureka Springs, Ark.)

Notes:
Smith and Robertson became instrumental in constructing a giant figure of Jesus in Eureka Springs,
 Ark. as part of a never completed vision to building a Christian theme park.
In 1985 Robertson published his autobiography titled The Peaceful Storm.
Lived in Eugene, Oregon, 1930.
"One of the biggest lies of our time is that six million Jews were slaughtered." "Let's face it. The Negroes are fresh from the Jungle, and they have brought with them many of the same characteristics."--Charles F. Robertson

Harry Flood Byrd Sr.

 With Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson

Harry Flood Byrd Sr., June 10, 1887 (Martinsburg, W. Va.) – October 20, 1966 (Berryville, Va.)

VP candidate for America First Party (1952)

Running mate with nominee: Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)

Popular vote: 233 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

Fired General Douglas MacArthur was the belle of the ball for the Right wing in 1952, but the extreme conservatives were unable to unite in his name. MacArthur was nominated by the Christian Nationalist Party, Constitution Party, America First Party, and endorsed by Mary Kennery's American Party. Each group had different running mates and in some cases multiple "substitute" Vice-Presidential candidates in the same party. MacArthur was on the ballot twice running under two different party names in some places. The General never accepted any of the nominations, but on the other hand did not take legal steps to remove himself from the ballot.

Lar Daly (1912-1978) who would become better known in future elections as a perennial candidate garbed in an Uncle Sam costume, had been an activist to help Gen. MacArthur gain the Republican nomination in several election cycles including in 1952. When that failed he turned his efforts to running the General on the America First Party ticket in August. The name of the party was originally what the Christian Nationalist Party called itself, but Daly made it clear his organization had no connection with Gerald L.K. Smith.

Daly took the liberty of nominating Sen. Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (without any consultation) as the General's running mate. Byrd was an influential Virginia Democrat who was considered Right wing, anti-union, and pro-segregation. He was spending 1952 with a focus on his re-election to the Senate and had once again watched his name be put into nomination for the Presidential nomination at the Democratic convention only to watch it go down in flames. Byrd did not endorse Truman in 1948 and would not endorse Stevenson in 1952, primarily due to their progressive views on civil rights.

The America First Party of 1952's emblem was the turkey, which is rather fitting for a ticket named MacArthur/Byrd.

Daly, as the mouthpiece for the AFP, called for the use of atomic weapons to end the Korean War, a withdrawal of the US from the United Nations, and was "100 per cent behind" Sen. Joseph McCarthy's efforts to persecute Communists.

Unlike MacArthur, Byrd actually took steps to have his name removed from the AFP ticket by  making a formal request Sept. 3, 1952.

On Oct. 11 Lar Daly announced the MacArthur for President Committee had been changed to the MacArthur for Eisenhower and America First Committee. He endorsed Eisenhower and said he would work to have MacArthur appointed Secretary of State. But it was too late to have the MacArthur/Byrd ticket removed from the ballot in Missouri, where they would be competing for votes with the MacArthur/Tenney ticket.

In Missouri the America First Party Presidential ticket won 233 votes. As near as I can ascertain all of their other votes across the nation were write-ins. Most modern sources have consolidated all of the various little splinter MacArthur political parties into a generic "MacArthur/Byrd" category but it was actually the Christian Nationalist Party ticket with Jack B. Tenney, a case in which the VP nominee was actually enthusiastic, where the old General gained the strongest following, such as it was.

Election history:
1915-1925 - Virginia State Senate (Democratic)
1926-1930 - Governor of Virginia (Democratic)
1932 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
1933-1965 - US Senate (Democratic)
1944 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
1948 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
1952 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
1956 - US President (States' Rights Party of Kentucky) - defeated
1956 - US President (Independent (Miss., SC)) - defeated
1960 - US President (Democratic) - defeated

Other occupations: newspaper publisher, apple orchard manager, turnpike operator 1908-1918, Virginia State Fuel Commissioner 1918

Buried: Mount Hebron Cemetery (Winchester, Va.)

Notes:
Member of the Byrd political dynasty in Virginia and a leader of the "Byrd Organization."
Born in the same community just two weeks apart from his fellow VA Senator Absolom Willis
 Robertson (Rev. Pat Robertson's father)
Episcopalian
Family moved to Winchester, Va. when he was an infant.
Brother of Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr.
Retired from the Senate Nov. 1965 for health reason, died of cancer Oct. 1966.
In 1960 received 15 Electoral College votes from one faithless and 14 unpledged electors for
 President (1 Okla., 8 Miss., 6 Ala.)

John Breckinridge Tenney

 Tenney appearance in Walla Walla, Wash.

John Breckinridge Tenney, April 1, 1898 (St. Louis, Mo.) – November 4, 1970 (Glendale, Calif.)

VP candidate for Christian Nationalist Party (1952)

Running mate with nominee: Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)

Popular vote: 10,790 (0.01%)
Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

Fired General Douglas MacArthur was the belle of the ball for the Right wing in 1952, but the extreme conservatives were unable to unite in his name. MacArthur was nominated by the Christian Nationalist Party, Constitution Party, America First Party, and endorsed by Mary Kennery's American Party. Each group had different running mates and in some cases multiple "substitute" Vice-Presidential candidates in the same party. MacArthur was on the ballot twice running under two different party names in some places. The General never accepted any of the nominations, but on the other hand did not take legal steps to remove himself from the ballot.

The Christian Nationalist Party was still under the control of Gerald L.K. Smith-- Disciples of Christ minister, former isolationist now promoting fighting international communism, fascist sympathizer, anti-Semite, white supremacist, and Holocaust denier. Long an admirer of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Smith would not allow the old soldier to fade away and the Party nominated him for President whether he wanted it or not.

For Vice-President the CNP nominated John Breckinridge "Jack" Tenney. A former Leftist Democrat and socialist sympathizer who was actually investigated himself in the late 1930s for being "subversive" changed gears overnight in 1944-- and became famous as a Republican Red-hunter who pushed a policy to require loyalty oaths from public employees. In June 1952 Jack B. Tenney had lost the Republican primary for Congress in his California district. Gerald L.K. Smith had backed him but Sen. Richard Nixon supported the eventual winner. Apparently Tenney was a bit extreme even for  Nixon.

So with no congressional campaign to run, and with MacArthur declining to participate, Tenney threw himself into the election with an anti-Communist and anti-Semitic message. It was basically the VP nominee's campaign.

The Party stated they were making efforts to obtain ballot status in 19 states but fell a bit short. They made the cut in Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. Two electors in New Mexico announced they were backing out. The CNP also launched an energetic write-in effort, mainly in California.

The MacArthur/Tenney ticket had a fairly miserable showing but it was more successful than the other Right-wing MacArthur parties. Well over half of their count (not including write-ins) came from Washington State, where the CNP placed third with 7290 votes (0.66%). Tenney had actually spent time campaigning in the Evergreen State.

Election history:
1937-1943 - California State Assembly (Democrat)
1943-1955 - California State Senate (Democratic/Republican)
1944 - Republican primary for US Senate (Calif.) - defeated
1949 - Republican primary for US Senate (Calif.) - defeated
1949 - Mayor of Los Angeles, Calif. - defeated
1952 - Republican primary for US House of Representatives (Calif.) - defeated
1954 - Republican primary for California State Senate - defeated
1962 - Republican primary for US House of Representatives (Calif.) - defeated

Other occupations: composer, musician, attorney, soldier in WWI, FDR elector (Calif.) 1940, Chair of the California Committee on Un-American Activities 1941-1949, Chair of the California Senate Factfinding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities, City Attorney for Cabazon, Calif., author of several virulently anti-Communist and anti-Semitic books

Buried: Montecito Memorial Park (Colton, Calif.)

Notes:
Composer of "Mexicali Rose"
Family moved to California ca. 1908.
Moved to Banning, Calif. 1959. Last lived in Grand Terrace, Calif.

Vivien Kellems

Vivien Kellems, June 7, 1896 (Des Moines, Iowa) – January 25, 1975 (Santa Monica, Calif.)

VP candidate for Constitution Party (1952)

Running mate with nominee: Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)

Popular vote: 3089 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

Fired General Douglas MacArthur was the belle of the ball for the Right wing in 1952, but the extreme conservatives were unable to unite in his name. MacArthur was nominated by the Christian Nationalist Party, Constitution Party, America First Party, and endorsed by Mary Kennery's American Party. Each group had different running mates and in some cases multiple "substitute" Vice-Presidential candidates in the same party. MacArthur was on the ballot twice running under two different party names in some places. The General never accepted any of the nominations, but on the other hand did not take legal steps to remove himself from the ballot.

The Constitution Party formed in August 1952 and immediately fell into disarray when some of the founding members walked out when it was clear the Party had a prevailing anti-Semitic attitude. MacArthur and Sen. Harry Flood Byrd Sr. were nominated without their permission. Byrd managed to have his name removed before the ticket made it to the ballot box. Vivien Kellems was registered as the VP nominee in Texas and Colorado and in California was promoted as the Vice-Presidential write-in candidate.

Apparently this was all orchestrated without the approval of Kellems. She was a noted protester and resister of income tax since 1943. Her book Toil, Taxes and Trouble (New York: E. P. Dutton) was published in this election year. In 1952 she was concentrating on her Senate race in Connecticut, where Kellems was forced to run as a write-in candidate under the Independent Republican banner.

MacArthur/Kellems won 2181 votes in Colorado (0.35%) placing third, 730 votes in Texas (where they faced off with MacArthur/Tenney of the Christian Nationalist Party). If sources are to be believed the MacArthur/Kellems ticket also won 178 write-in votes in California.

Election history:
1942 - Republican primary for US House of Representives (Conn.) - defeated
1950 - Republican primary for US Senate (Conn.) - defeated
1952 - US Senate (Conn.) (Independent Republican) - defeated
1954 - Governor of Connecticut (Independent Republican) - defeated
1956 - US Senate (Conn.) (Independent) - defeated
1958 - US Senate (Conn.) (Independent) - defeated
1962 - Republican primary for US Senate (Conn.) - defeated
1965 - US Senate (Conn.) (Independent) - defeated

Other occupations: Founded Kellems Cable Grips, Inc. 1927, co-chaired Connecticut’s Citizens Committee for Goldwater-Miller in 1964.

Buried: ?

Notes:
After her death the government demanded $265,000 in back taxes from her heirs.
Winner of the 1942 primary was Claire Booth Luce. The animosity between Luce and Kellems, both
  candidates being tart-tongued with acid humor, made national news.
Winner of 1954 Governor race was Abraham Ribicoff.
Winner of 1956 Senate race was Prescott Bush.
Winner of 1958 Senate race was Thomas Dodd. Ironically her papers are archived at the Archives &
  Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center in Storrs, Conn.
Was raised in Eugene, Ore.
Supported the Equal Rights Amendment.
"As an aside, I think it’s strange that Ayn Rand ranks higher in the pantheon of lady libertarians than
 Kellems. Kellems is far more likable, writes better, and actually did all the stuff Rand only wrote
 about!"--J. Arthur Bloom

Harry Adolph Romer

Harry Adolph Romer, December 9, 1895 (Ohio) - March 24, 1953 (St. Henry, Ohio)

VP candidate for America First Party (1944)
VP candidate for Christian Nationalist Party (1948)

Running mate with nominee (1944, 1948): Gerald L. K. Smith (1898-1976)

Popular vote (1944): 1780 (0.00%)
Popular vote (1948): 42 (0.00%)

Electoral vote (1944, 1948): 0/531

The campaign (1944):

Gerald L.K. Smith-- Disciples of Christ minister, isolationist, fascist sympathizer, anti-Semite, white supremacist, and Holocaust denier-- split from the Republicans and formed his America First Party in 1944. He appropriated the name of the America First Committee (who denied any connection with Smith).

Charles Lindbergh was Smith's first choice as a the Presidential nominee, but as that failed to materialize Smith took the helm instead. Ultraconservative Ohio Gov. John Bricker was chosen as the running mate. Trouble was, Bricker was already the Republican vice-presidential nominee, and he did not take kindly to being associated with the America First Party. Here are some of the Governor's reactions:

"I know nothing about it. I know no one connected with it. I shall not permit my name to be used in any such connection. I am a candidate for vice-president on the Republican ticket only."

"The act of Smith, in associating my name with his on a spurious ticket without any notice of any kind whatsoever, is the cheapest of demagoguery. I denounce it and shall not have my name used in any such connection."

"I hate demagoguery, religious intolerance and racial prejudice. They can destroy our free government, as they have destroyed liberty around the world. I shall fight them as long as I am in public office or as long as I live."

"The right of religious worship according to one’s own conscience is protected to every American citizen in the bill of rights. The men and women of our armed forces are fighting and dying to preserve that precious right. We must preserve it here at home." 

Bricker's replacement on the ticket was found in the person of Harry A. Romer, based in St. Henry, Ohio and one of Father Coughlin's associates and organizers.

Some selections from Romer's acceptance speech:
-We cannot entrust the making of a lasting peace to a controlled press and radio, present day educators and unchristian politicians. We must entrust the making of a lasting peace to a religious teaching of all Christian denominations, world minded statesmen, and Christian minded politicians. Our party believes in a Christian educational system for our public schools controlled by local school boards.

-In closing I want to say it and want to say it with pride. I was an ardent follower of Father Charles E. Coughlin. He has been and still is the greatest educator we have in the United States of America, and I hope we will soon hear his educational voice again over our National airways. I further hope he will sit in at our peace conference because it's men like him, men like the late Huey P. Long and our present day statesmen such as Nye, Wheeler, Reynolds, LaFollette, O'Daniels, Hoffman, Langer, Ford, Lindbergh, Fish, O'Connor, Holt, Lemke, Smith and others like them who are able to write a true and lasting peace.

In September Smith endorsed the Republican Dewey/Bricker ticket, saying by doing so he was simply laying the groundwork for an America First Party victory in 1948. The reasoning was not made clear.

On the ballot in two states: Michigan (0.06%) and Texas (0.02%) with a total of 1515 votes. Their remaining 200+ votes nationwide were write-ins. Smith claimed they were merely using Michigan as a "test" run.

The campaign (1948):

With a new party name-- the Christian Nationalist Party-- Smith made another attempt for the presidency. Romer was once again the running mate.

The platform opposed communism and "zionism." It supported segregation. It also called for closing the American borders to immigrants who were Jewish or non-white.

Just how far to the Populist Right on the racist and bigot chart this campaign had reached can be revealed by none other than pro-segregation South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond, the 1948 Dixiecrat nominee for President. When Smith and company attempted to form a political bridge with the Dixiecrats, Thurmond said, "We do not invite and do not need the support of Gerald L.K. Smith or any other rabble-rousers who use race prejudice and class hatred to inflame the emotions of the people." Yes, that's from Strom Thurmond.

The Smith/Romer ticket appears not to have been included in any ballots in spite of their efforts, so their result of a whopping 42 votes nationwide must have been write-ins. Supporters said 1952 would be their victorious year.

Election history: none.

Other occupations: machinist, merchant, funeral director, President of United Farmers of America, local American Legion commander and chaplain

Buried: Saint Henry Church Cemetery (Saint Henry, Ohio)

Notes:
Catholic.
Was an active Republican.
Felt that all Communists should be shot.