Darth Vader

 

Darth Vader, May 25, 1977- May 25, 1983 (Los Angeles, Calif.)

VP candidate for Independent (aka Grand Old Empire Party aka Concerned Citizens Party) (1984, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024)

Running mate with nominee (1984, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024): Darth Sidious (aka Sheev Palpatine aka the Emperor) (1977-1983)
Popular vote (1984, 2012, 2016, 2020): 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote (1984, 2012, 2016, 2020): 0/538

The campaign (1984, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024):

Sith Emperor Palpatine, address: 1 Empire Way, Death Star II, AS 99999, filed with the FEC for President on Mar. 19, 2016 as a member of the Concerned Citizens Party of Connecticut, a far-Right party that really exists.

It was yet another decentralized Star Wars spinoff campaign into electoral politics. The evil Palpatine was frequently touted, off and on since 1984, as a Presidential contender with Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) as his running-mate. A sampling of their campaigning from a few sources--

Nov. 6, 2012
We will end unemployment. How will we do it? Do you have any idea how many people it takes to operate a Death Star?
And our foreign policy can be summed up in two words - Death Star !

April 12, 2015
Palpatine for President
The Palpatine and Vader combo have joined the candidates running for President of The United States of America.  Senator Palpatine said his first action as president would be to employ every unemployed citizen and work on rebuilding the Death Star.  Senator Palpatine also would like to see a new world order for a safer and more secure society.

July 14, 2016
It's time for real change...by Force if necessary. "You will vote for us!"

Nov. 17, 2016
We are disappointed in your lack of faith in the Sith and Dark Side of the Force.  We will continue to make our presence known.  Vote Palpatine-Vader 2020 and we promise to create millions of jobs with our first action to turn Earth's moon into the Death Star!

June 17, 2017
"People are comparing Trump to me...I find that incredibly insulting...I'm not nearly that evil and incompetent!" - Lord Vader

Vader himself was a frequent Presidential candidate. One of the more noteworthy efforts was a Vader/Skywalker Sith Party ticket presented in 2000.

Election history:
1980 - US President (Independent) - defeated
1988 - US President (Independent) - defeated
2000 - US President (Sith Party) - defeated
2008 - US President (Independent) - defeated
2012 - US President (Independent) - defeated
2016 - US President (Independent) - defeated
2020 - US President (Independent) - defeated
2024 - US President (Independent) - pending

Other occupations: fictitious character

Notes:
I managed to avoid all of the original Star Wars trilogy movies until the 1980s and that was enough for me. For the purposes of this blog I'll attempt to pretend the remainder of the franchise does not exist.

Charles Obadiah Baldwin

Charles Obadiah Baldwin, May 3, 1952 (La Porte, Ind.) -

VP candidate for Constitution Party (aka Independent aka Alaska Independence Party aka American Independent Party aka American Constitution Party aka Concerned Citizens Party aka US Taxpayers Party aka Nebraska Party aka Independent American Party) (2004)

Running mate with nominee: Michael Anthony Peroutka (b. 1952)
Popular vote: 141,751 (0.12%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

After three consecutive runs, Howard Phillips declined to campaign for President in the 2004 election as the standard bearer for the Constitution Party. The torch needed to be passed.

Controversial Judge Roy Moore in Alabama toyed with the idea of running for President as the Constitution Party nominee, and it would have been his for the taking. But he decided to remain with the Republican Party.

Maryland attorney Michael Peroutka was drafted for the job, and he modestly said he would accept but would be willing to step down in the event another candidate with star power wanted the nomination. In May 2004 Peroutka was chosen and in turn he selected Chuck Baldwin, an independent Baptist minister, protégé of Rev. Jerry Falwell, and radio host in Florida. "The day that I received the phone call from Michael Peroutka asking me to be his running mate was one of the most shocking days of my life," Baldwin said, "Never in my wildest imagination did I anticipate such a call. I did not seek this position. I never saw it coming."

Baldwin was a Democrat until ca1980, then an evangelical Christian Republican until 2004. He left the Republicans because he considered George W. Bush to be too liberal. He was also a rabid anti-Zionist, opposed neoconservatives and the "New World Order," and seemed to be in the 9/11 Truther camp to some degree. As Baldwin explained in July 2004, "... I could no longer in good conscience stay in the Republican Party. Therefore, earlier this year, I joined the Constitution Party. It is the only Party at the national level that stands for the fundamental principles upon which our nation was built. It is the only Party that truly shares my pro-life, pro-liberty, and pro-constitution convictions."

Here are some samples from Baldwin's 2004 entries in his Food for Thought column which also I think reflects the thinking within the Constitution Party at that time. You'll notice he is much harder on the situational ethics of Republicans and evangelicals than he is on the Democrats:

--It seems to me that, in the end, both parties are marching to the same drummer with only a slightly different cadence. The major difference seems to be that of control not course. Indeed, both parties seem headed in the same direction.

--Both Democrats and Republicans want the president to have fast track trade authority. Leaders from both parties support NAFTA, GATT, the WTO, NATO, the World Bank, the IMF, MFN for Communist China, etc. President Bush is currently pushing the New World Order envelope even further by promoting the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

--If President Bush is reelected in November, it is almost certain that he would re-institute the military draft and would even become the first President in U.S. history to draft America's daughters. In addition, Mr. Bush would, in all likelihood, appoint pro-abortion justices to the U.S. Supreme Court and would continue his unconstitutional, imperialistic propensities to unilaterally invade foreign countries without a declaration of war from Congress.

--While we are on the subject of judges, it did not help Chief Justice Roy Moore of Alabama one bit that there was a Republican governor in Alabama, that there was a Republican Attorney General in Alabama, or that there was a Republican President in the White House. But I can assure you that a Peroutka / Baldwin victory in 2004 would change all of that! In fact, my first recommendation to Michael would be that Roy Moore be his first appointment to the United States Supreme Court.

--President Bush has done as much or more to advance the homosexual agenda as did his predecessor, Bill Clinton. He has appointed many open homosexuals to high public office, as I am sure most all of you know.

Homosexuality by its very definition is fornication. Accordingly, in our military, in our law enforcement agencies, and in other high positions of trust, thorough background investigations are required as to the moral character and integrity of the applicant. I dare say that Bush's promotion of homosexuals to high public office not only violates the laws of decency and integrity, it also violates the laws of these United States of America.

Furthermore, Bush has not reversed Clinton's "Don't Ask ­ Don't Tell" policy allowing sodomites to serve in our armed forces. In fact, come to think about it, I can't recall a single executive order that Bill Clinton made that Bush has overturned. However, he did make a point to reverse Ronald Reagan's policy to take America out of UNESCO and put us right back in. The truth is, both President Bush and John Kerry support civil unions for sodomites. My dear friends, regardless of rhetoric to the contrary, that is not a pro-family position.

--If an American President was truly pro-family, he would never give favored treatment to homosexuals. He would, furthermore, uphold the constitutional provision that requires the President to ensure that every state has a republican form of government. This means he would never submit to tyrannical, activist judges who would attempt to redefine the family.

If an American President truly believed his oath of office, he would never promote the passage of unconstitutional, Orwellian acts such as the egregiously misnamed USA Patriot Act, which has done more to eviscerate the Bill of Rights, especially the Fourth Amendment, than anything that I can ever recall in my lifetime.

If an American President truly believed his oath to the Constitution, he would never invade another country without a formal declaration of war by Congress. The truth is, neither George Bush nor John Kerry has any intention of upholding his oath to the constitution, but you can be sure Michael Peroutka will!

--The blind loyalty of conservatives to President Bush defies logic, reason, Christian principle, and even old fashioned common sense. Conservatives, especially Christian conservatives, have become the largest group of naïve, nonsensical, non-thinking, easily duped people on the planet! It's embarrassing!

--The feminist movement of the past half-century has certainly contributed to the problem of poor male leadership. Yet, the truth is, if men were the leaders they should have been, the feminist movement would never have gotten off the ground. The feminist movement was really not a cause, it was an effect.

This lack of masculine leadership is easily seen in modern politics, but that, again, is but a reflection of the true problem. The real problem is men are not the leaders of their homes or of their churches. It is a sad reality that in America today, women are the heads of most families and most churches.

--The willingness of our political and judicial leaders to embrace homosexuality reveals their rejection of God's moral law and authority. It is no coincidence that within a matter of weeks after the White House and federal courts collaborated to remove the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery that the entire nation would be embroiled in a fever pitch effort to legalize same sex marriage. God will not be mocked. When one sows to the wind, he reaps a whirlwind.

By accepting homosexuality, America is now fueling the flames of debauchery. When homosexuality is finally and fully accepted by American law, pedophilia and other more onerous behavior will not be far behind. As such, America is on the verge of a self-induced implosion.

--I charge G. W. Bush with posturing himself as a conservative while giving us bigger government than did even Bill Clinton. I charge him with creating the machinery with which a police state may emerge. Furthermore, I charge President Bush with attempting to take more freedoms away from the American people than any president in modern memory.

I also believe that Mr. Bush has redundantly violated his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and that he has given nothing but lip service to the pro-life and pro-family agendas. It is also my contention that President Bush has jeopardized the security of these United States and has made a mockery of our nation's laws by his treacherous illegal alien amnesty proposal. He also lied to the American people by saying he supported the Second Amendment only later to endorse the Clinton gun ban.

Even worse, I charge Christian conservatives with willingly surrendering their independent thinking as well as their American heritage in order to accommodate President Bush and the Republican Party. I further charge them with selling their spiritual birthright for a mess of political pottage!

With no real competition in the form of a marquee candidate like Ross Perot, Ron Paul or Pat Buchanan, the Peroutka/Baldwin ticket had the Right wing purists pretty much all to themselves, which might explain why they were one of the very few third parties to see an improvement in their percentages when compared to the 2000 election. They almost had some competition from a party splintered off the Reform Party in 2002 by Buchananites called the America First Party, but it imploded after a short time due to a fiasco involving the invitation and then disinvitation of Bo Gritz to speak at their convention. In 2004 the barely existent AFP endorsed Peroutka. Apparently the AFP is still around today.

The ticket was also endorsed by the white nationalist League of the South (designated as a hate group by the SPLC), the Georgia chapter of the Southern Party, and radio tabloid conspiracy host Alex Jones. They almost snagged Pat Buchanan's nod, but he eventually endorsed Bush and returned to the Republicans after leaving the Reform Party.

On the ballot in three dozen states and write-ins in several more, the Peroutka/Baldwin ticket had their highest percentages in Utah 0.74%, Alaska 0.67%, Idaho 0.52%, Montana 0.39%, South Carolina 0.33%, Virginia 0.32%, Oregon 0.29%, South Dakota 0.28%, Louisiana 0.27%, and Wyoming 0.26%. With the exception of Oregon, these were all states where George W. Bush won with a comfortable margin. Baldwin was not on the ballot in Kansas, the stand-in running-mate in that state (what a strange phrase) was James N. Clymer.

I will continue the Chuck Baldwin story when the 2008 and 2012 elections are covered.

Election history:
2008 - US President (Constitution Party) - defeated
2012 - Lt. Governor of Montana (Republican) - primary - withdrew
2012 - US President (Reform Party of Kansas) - defeated

Other occupations: pastor, radio show host, columnist, editor, state chairman of the Florida Moral Majority

Notes:
Baldwin briefly rejoined the Republican Party 2011-2015 and is now associated with the Independent American Party.

James Curtis Frazier II

James Curtis Frazier II, December 11, 1955 (Tulsa, Okla.) - 

VP candidate for Constitution Party (aka Independent aka American Independent Party aka Concerned Citzens Party aka Independent American Party aka American Constitution Party aka US Taxpayers Party aka Conservative Party) (2000)

Running mate with nominee: Howard Jay Phillips (1941-2013)
Popular vote: 97,104 (0.09%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

At their convention in Sept. 1999 the US Taxpayers Party changed their name to the Constitution Party (an alternative name that lost the vote was "American Heritage Party") and for the third time nominated Howard Phillips for President. His running-mate was Joe Sobran. US Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire had previously sought the US Taxpayers Party nomination for President after failing to gain much traction in the national Republican primaries. But shortly before the USTP convention he declared himself an independent candidate for President. That campaign came to an end quickly and he rejoined the Republican Party, endorsing Bush.

Phillips' chief opponent in securing the nomination was none other than his own 1996 running-mate, Herb Titus. Titus said that if he got the nod he would select (Washington State trivia alert!!!) Ellen Craswell as his VP. More on that later.

The Party platform included: anti-choice on abortion, opposed euthanasia, wanted to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve, privatize Social Security, restrict legal immigration, promote states' rights, end US involvement in the United Nations-NATO-and World Bank, cutting the federal budget by 75%, eliminating Affirmative Action, and it declared a "full submission and unshakable faith" in Jesus Christ.

VP nominee Sobran was not without controversy. In 1993 he was fired from his position with the National Review by his mentor William F. Buckley with the chief charge being an anti-Semite but with assorted other unpleasantries tossed in. Although denials were made, shortly after the 2000 election Sobran was among the speakers at a Holocaust-denial group, making his earlier protestations somewhat disingenuous.

Sobran took a leave of absence from his newspaper column in order to run. In his Sept. 9, 1999 piece he quipped, "With a little luck I will be inaugurated as your vice president in January 2001. I look forward to presiding over the Senate and attending funerals of world leaders."

Sobran was back in the columns within six months. In early March he wrote: In life we sometimes do have to choose the lesser evil rather than the positive good. This is the basis of armed robbery. Forced to choose between your money and your life, you give the mugger your wallet. But though you walk away with relief that your life was spared, you'd be a fool to feel it was a profitable transaction for you. For conservatives who vote Republican, every election is like that.

By the end of March, Sobran had concluded running for office was more work than he bargained for and withdrew from the race. Sobran was eventually replaced by Dr. J. Curtis Frazier of Missouri.

In May 2000 Phillips indicated he would be willing to step aside as the Presidential nominee in favor of Alan Keyes if the latter wanted it. Keyes, an extremely Right-wing Christian, was making a remarkably resilient campaign in 2000 in the Republican Presidential primaries. But, the switch in standard bearers never took place for the Constitution Party.

In June 2000 there was another twist to the Constitution Party campaign. A group within their ranks felt the platform and leaders were not pushing the Christian angle enough and so they split and formed the Christian Liberty Party. They had their start by using the already existing American Heritage Party (the same name that had been rejected earlier by the former US Taxpayers Party now known as the Constitution Party) as a foundation.

The American Heritage Party, now called the Christian Liberty Party, spelled out their Christian nationalist origins on their website:

Establishing a National Party: Building an Ark

The vision for a national Christian Liberty Party was birthed in Washington State in the Spring of 2000 when the original Washington state American Heritage Party recognized the need for a unified national and distinctively Christian party. This would be a party unlike any other in American history, free from entanglement with secular politics-as-usual and defensive-minded conservatism. No stone was left unturned in searching for a genuine Christian alternative and the philosophy, method and approach a Christian party must take to avoid the pitfalls of secular politics.

The Washington state party envisioned a national political party with the following distinctives:

    It would develop a comprehensive, unified national vision.
    It would acknowledge the Bible as a blueprint for political action.
    It would identify Biblical principles undergirding the party platform and program.
    It would hold members accountable to their subscription and leaders to the party vision and principles.
    It would develop character, leadership and scholarship qualifications for candidates and party leaders.
    It would charter local Voter Clubs to inspire, educate and mobilize members for the work of renewal in our nation.

Now for a slight detour. Remember the earlier mention of Ellen Craswell? She had been a Republican State Legislator here in Washington and in 1996 ran for Governor in that party against Democratic King County Executive Gary Locke without any pretense of being anything other than what she was-- a member of the evangelical Right wing. She was crushed in the general election.

In 1998 Craswell's husband Bruce ran for US Congress in Washington's 1st District as a member of the American Heritage Party against Republican incumbent Rick White. Bruce Craswell's impressive 6.1% of the popular vote result was enough to derail White's re-election, handing the victory to the Democrat who is now our current Governor-- Jay Inslee.

End of detour, back to the main topic--

J. Curtis Frazier, who had run for the US Senate in Missouri two years prior under the US Taxpayers Party banner, was selected as a stand-in VP nominee after Sobran bailed. In early Sept. 2000 he was chosen as the official running-mate.

With Frazier quotes like this, it is difficult to understand why a Christian splinter group left the Constitution Party: "All life, liberty and property are protected because the Constitution is rooted in Biblical law ... There is no question whether abortion is legal or not. Abortion is illegal under Biblical law."

2000 was one of the poorer results for the Constitution Party, probably due to Patrick Buchanan's presence in the race. I count the Phillips/Frazier ticket in 40 states plus five registered write-in jurisdictions. Their strongest percentages reveal a national rather than regional appeal: Connecticut 0.66%, South Dakota 0.56%, Utah 0.35%, Mississippi-Wyoming 0.33% each, Louisiana 0.31%, Idaho-Pennsylvania 0.29% each, Montana 0.28%, Alaska 0.21%, California 0.16%, Arkansas 0.15%, Oregon 0.14%, Minnesota-North Dakota 0.13% each, Kansas-South Carolina 0.12% each, Nevada 0.10%.

Election history:
1998 - US Senate (Mo.) (US Taxpayers Party) - defeated

Other occupations: physician, Missouri State Constitution Party Chairman, editor of "These Truths" newsletter, member of Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, member of Gun Owners of America, member of The Conservative Caucus, member of Separation of School and State Alliance.

Notes:
In the 1996 election for Washington State Governor I wrote-in my father's name.

Joseph A. Zdonczyk

Joseph A. Zdonczyk, November 2, 1928 (Waterbury, Conn.) - February 19, 2008 (Wolcott, Conn.)

VP candidate for US Taxpayers Party (aka Concerned Citizens Party) (1996)

Running mate with nominee: Howard Jay Phillips (1941-2013)
Popular vote: 10,031 (0.01%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The 1996 Presidential campaign for the US Taxpayers Party really begins with columnist, pundit, and speechwriter Pat Buchanan's bid for the Republican nomination. His surprisingly popular insurgent effort sounded the call for the forces of the rapidly growing hard Right and evangelical wings of the Republican Party. He called them his "Pitchfork Army" in the best of Populist demagogue traditions. Some of his critics called him "David Duke without the sheets" but the US Taxpayers Party really wanted Buchanan on their ticket and made no secret about it.

Howard Phillips, who basically was the US Taxpayers Party and had been the first Presidential nominee of the new party in 1992, watched as Buchanan gave Sen. Bob Dole a big scare early in the season but then bombed out on Super Tuesday in Mar. 1996 and suspended his campaign. This made Buchanan a free agent in the eyes of Phillips, who told a reporter, "My first choice is Pat Buchanan as an active candidate. My second choice is Pat Buchanan as an inactive candidate." The plan, if Buchanan was tied up, was to run someone else for President and still electioneer as the Party of Buchanan. Then, after they won the election, instruct the Electors to brush aside whatever name was officially in the ballot and cast their lots for Pat Buchanan.

For his part, Buchanan was playing coy and openly considered running in the third party if they gained ballot access in all 50 states (they didn't make it). He used that leverage to influence the Republican ticket, saying if Dole did not select a strong pro-life running-mate, then maybe a Party of Buchanan wouldn't be such a bad idea. Dole's subsequent selection of Rep. Jack Kemp was apparently sufficient and Buchanan came on board and endorsed the Republican ticket. So that was the end of that.

So once again the new party turned to Howard Phillips as the Presidential nominee. It would be the second of three runs for him. He described his long range plans for the US Taxpayers Party: "Our main constituencies are pro-lifers, home-schoolers and those concerned with the expansion of government. We want to establish a firm enough position so that as the Republican Party dissolves, as I believe it will, ours will be seen as an alternative."

Platform issues included: Balancing the Federal budget "immediately" -- abolishing the IRS, Dept. of Education, NEA, HUD, ATF, CIA -- Pull the US out of the UN, NATO, NAFTA, GATT -- Impose a moratorium on immigration -- Oppose abortion -- Support states' rights

Phillips opposed what he called the "Satanzation of America." He wrote, "The goal of the New World Order is to remove God from His throne and replace Him with power-seekers who desire not freedom UNDER God, but freedom FROM GOD." He also said, "My comprehensive object is to restore American jurisprudence to its biblical presuppositions and the federal government to its constitutional boundaries."

The campaign had some support from other third parties. The American Independent Party in California had become an affiliate and would remain so for the next decade. The Right to Life in New York, which had endorsed the Republicans in 1992, backed Phillips in 1996. The Concerned Citizens Party, based in Connecticut, signed on as well. The latter party was founded in 1975 by Joseph A. Zdoncyzk of Wolcott, Conn.

Zdonczyk was the USTP stand-in VP in Connecticut and Illinois. He at one time had studied to be a Catholic priest, and when he entered politics one of his priorities was opposing abortion. Although he opposed capital punishment he was generally a fiscal and social conservative and was a perennial candidate in local and state elections.

The Concerned Citizens Party seems to have had it's origins as a rallying point for residents of Wolcott, Conn. concerning land use issues after having no results from the Democratic Party local officials. In fact, the group was initially called Concerned Citizens for a Better Wolcott.

It appears the CCP became an affiliate of the USTP only shortly before the 1996 election. The CCP pretty much died with Zdonczyk when he passed away in 2008.

The Phillips/Zdonczyk ticket captured 0.17% of the popular vote in Connecticut and 0.18% in Illinois.

Election history:
1974 - Connecticut State House (Democratic) - primary - defeated
1975 - Mayor of Wolcott, Conn. (Concerned Citizens for a Better Wolcott) - defeated
1977 - Mayor of Wolcott, Conn. (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
1979 - Mayor of Wolcott, Conn. (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
1985 - Mayor of Wolcott, Conn. (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
1987 - Wolcott (Conn.) Board of Education (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
1990 - Governor of Connecticut (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
1991 - Wolcott (Conn.) Treasurer (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
1994 - Governor of Connecticut (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
1998 - Governor of Connecticut (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
2000 - US House of Representatives (Conn.) (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
2002 - US House of Representatives (Conn.) (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
2004 - Connecticut State House (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
2006 - Governor of Connecticut (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated
2007 - Mayor of Waterbury, Conn. (Concerned Citizens Party) - defeated

Other occupations: US Army, amusement and vending machine company owner,

Buried: Calvary Cemetery (Waterbury, Conn.)

Notes:
Winner of the 1900 election was Lowell Weicker, also running third party.
Said he went to church daily.
Both parents were Polish immigrants.

William Daniel Dyke

William Daniel Dyke, April 25, 1930 (Princeton, Ill.) – March 10, 2016 (Dodgeville, Wis.)

VP candidate for American Independent Party (aka Conservative Party aka George Wallace Party aka American Party aka Independent aka Constitutional Party aka Concerned Citizens Party) (1976)

Running mate with nominee: Lester Maddox (1915-2003)
Popular vote: 162,657 (0.19%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

By the 1976 election the American Party and the American Independent Party were two separate political entities, both claiming to be the rightful philosophical heir to George Wallace's 1968 significant third party effort.

While the American Party was more influenced by the John Birch Society, the American Independent Party had taken a couple steps into the past and in a contentious and bitter convention battle nominated the publicity-grabbing arch-bigot and pickaxe handle wielding ex-Governor of Georgia, Lester Maddox. Many delegates who considered themselves to be serious conservatives walked out of the convention upon his nomination as they regarded Maddox to be a populist buffoon and throwback to an era while inflaming an issue that most of America, including many in this Right-wing party, wanted to put behind them and move on.

To balance the ticket the VP position was given to former Madison, Wis. Mayor Bill Dyke, who made his mark as a controversial conservative law and order Republican during the anti-war demonstrations in his city. He had been a member of the American Independent Party for only a few hours before he won the nomination.

Upon being selected as the Veep, Dyke said, "We're going to effect the outcome, sure we are. I have no illusions about this. This is not a major party and I'm aware of that." When asked if he shared Maddox's views on race, Dyke replied, "Certainly not. I am not a segregationist." Since the words "Lester Maddox" and "segregation" were solidly welded together by 1976 one is left wondering why Dyke agreed to be the running mate or associated with Maddox in any way. Needless to say, many of Dyke's past Republican supporters were shocked and dismayed. And many of Dyke's former progressive opponents pointed to this action as proof Dyke had always been the extremist they said he was.

The AIP platform opposed abortion, the ERA, pornography, homosexuality, gun control, legal marijuana, and busing for school segregation, U.S. involvement with the United Nations, amnesty for Vietnam War draft evaders, and releasing the Panama Canal. It supported the governments of Taiwan, South Africa, and Rhodesia.

George Wallace, the Godfather of the AIP, endorsed Jimmy Carter in the course of the campaign. Maddox was livid. He said southern Democrats who endorse Carter were "southern pseudo-conservatives" who "have betrayed the people and betrayed the South." Of Wallace in particular Maddox declared the Carter endorsement was "The greatest blow to the conservative cause in this nation's experience." Maddox predicted a Ford victory.

The Maddox/Dyke ticket was on the ballot or had recorded write-ins in 23 states and placed 5th nationally, closely tucked after the Libertarian Party and in front of the American Party. Maddox had a different running mate in the state of New Jersey, Edmund O. Matzal.

Maddox/Dyke polled 1.74% in Idaho. The runner up states were Louisiana 0.79%, Alabama 0.78%, California 0.65%, Mississippi 0.63%, Nebraska 0.56%, Pennsylvania and Washington 0.55% each, and Connecticut 0.51%. An argument could be made that the AIP cost President Ford the State of Ohio but that would not have changed the final outcome of the national contest.

Other occupations: children's TV host, TV news panel show moderator, general contractor, horse breeder, attorney, judge, children's book illustrator, movie producer

Election history:
1967 - Mayor of Madison, Wis. (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1969-1973 - Mayor of Madison, Wis. (Nonpartisan)
1973 - Mayor of Madison, Wis. (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1974 - Governor of Wisconsin (Republican) - defeated

Buried: ?

Notes:
He had a past and future third party VPs as opponents in the 1974 race: Patrick Lucey (winner) and
 Georgia Cozzini.
An uncredited executive producer of the 1975 film The Giant Spider Invasion.
Illustrator of the children's book The General's hat, or why the bell tower stopped working / by Kay
 Price (Sauk City, WI : Geranium Press, 1990)