Edward Joseph Silverman

Edward Joseph Silverman, August 2, 1913 (Davidson County, Tenn.) - August 12, 1980 (Kenbridge, Va.)

VP candidate for Conservative Party of Virginia (aka Conservative Party aka Virginia Conservative Party) (1960)

Running mate with nominee: Claiborne Benton Coiner (1912-1963)

Popular vote: 4204 (0.01%)
Electoral vote: 0/537

The campaign:

In sort of a spin on the unpledged electors wave of the 1950s-1960s, the newly formed Conservative Party of Virginia ran a ticket that were pledged electors for other people. Originally the Party nominated Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr. (D-VA) for President with Sen. Barry M. Goldwater (R-AZ) as his running mate. Both senators asked to be removed from consideration.

So the Party nominated segregation activists C. Benton Coiner for President with Edward J. Silverman as his running mate, making it the literary sounding Coiner/Silverman ticket. The fact that both were residents of Virginia and as such would pose a Constitutional problem if elected didn't seem to bother anyone. Remember, Harry Krajewski and Anna Marie Yezo of the Poor Man's Party had been kept off the ballot in New Jersey in 1960 for that very reason.

Coiner and Silverman pledged that if they won they would instruct their Electors to cast their votes for Byrd and Goldwater in a bid to throw the election into the US House. Goldwater's objection was strong enough that they substituted the pledged VP votes to arch-conservative journalist Thomas Jefferson Anderson (who would become a future third party VP and Presidential nominee himself).

Many conservatives in Virginia, although sympathetic to the new third party's platform, felt the election in Virginia was going to be too close and that Coiner/Silverman might hand the state to JFK, so they expressed their support but their votes still went to Nixon.

Silverman, who was connected with a small weekly newspaper in Blackstone, Va., was the segregationist du jour by virtue of his leading a rousing rally called the Bill of Rights Crusade while exhibiting his gift for oratory in Mar. 1959. Newspapers at the time identified him as a charismatic spokesperson for The Defenders of State Sovereignty. The demonstration, described with terms like "a last ditch effort" and "highly dramatic yet minimally effective" by reporters and historians, brought 5000 angry Virginians to the capitol steps at Richmond and launched Silverman's short 1960-1966 foray into elective politics.

On Election Day their 4204 votes amounted to 0.54% of the Virginia results. Their strongest showing was in Silverman's own Lunenburg County with 3.78%, followed by Orange County 3.00%, Surry County 2.77%, Nottoway County 2.56%. Nixon took the state by a comfortable margin.

C. Benton Coiner committed suicide by hanging, Oct. 3, 1963.

Election history:
1966 - US House of Representatives (Va.) (Conservative Party of Virginia) - defeated

Other occupations: newspaper advertising salesman, worker at Railway Handle Corp., newspaper editor

Buried: Kenbridge Heights Cemetery (Kenbridge, Va.)

Notes:
Sometimes listed as Edward M. Silverman

John Bell Williams

John Bell Williams, December 4, 1918 (Raymond, Miss.) – March 25, 1983 (Brandon, Miss.)

VP candidate for Independent (aka Mississippi States' Rights Party aka South Carolinians for Independent Electors) (1956)

Running mate with nominee: Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (1887-1966)

Popular vote: 131,475 (0.21%)
Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

The independent "unpledged" electors of Mississippi and South Carolina felt the Independent States' Rights Party ticket of Andrews and Werdel lacked the kind of star power to attract pro-segregation votes, so they nominated Sen. Harry Flood Byrd Sr. for President and Congressman John Bell Williams of Mississippi as the running mate. Both were members of the Democratic Party and champions of American Apartheid.

Although their names did not appear on the ballot it was highly publicized in the media just who you would be voting for in those two states if you selected the "Independent" electors. In this same election year, Byrd had also been nominated for President by the States' Rights Party of Kentucky with William Jenner as his running mate.

Williams, who was running for re-election to Congress, said he was "greatly flattered" by the nomination. The ticket was endorsed by South Carolina Democratic Party heavyweight James F. Byrnes.

Williams was representative of the shift of the Southern Democrats to the Republicans. He had supported the Dixiecrats in 1948, but endorsed Stevenson in 1952. After 1952 he endorsed only Republicans or third parties in the general election for President clear to 1980 in spite of the fact he remained a member of the Democratic Party.

Not the most widespread or base-building of the 1956 Right-wing parties, but definitely the biggest vote-getters of that group in this election, even if they were in only two states. In South Carolina they placed second with 29.45%, beating the incumbent President Eisenhower and winning in 21 counties. In Mississippi they finished with a strong third place at 17.31%, winning in 7 counties.

Election history:
1947-1968 - US House of Representatives (Miss.) (Democratic)
1968-1972 - Governor of Mississippi (Democratic)

Other occupations: attorney, WWII pilot, prosecuting attorney of Hinds County, Miss. 1944-1946

Buried: Raymond Cemetery (Raymond, Miss.)

Notes:
Lost part of his left arm during WWII in an air crash.
Youngest person from Mississippi elected to Congress at age 27.
Although nominally a member of the Democratic Party, he was a Dixiecrat in 1948, supported Stevenson in 1952, independent electors 1956-1960, Goldwater in 1964 (for which he was stripped of his Congressional seniority by the Democrats), Wallace in 1968, Nixon in 1972, Wallace in the primaries and Ford in the general in 1976, Reagan in 1980.

William Ezra Jenner

William Ezra Jenner, July 21, 1908 (Marengo, Ind.) – March 9, 1985 (Bedford, Ind.)

VP candidate for States' Rights Party of Kentucky (1956)

Running mate with nominee: Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (1887-1966)

Popular vote: 2657 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

The States' Rights Party of Kentucky seems to have had it's origin with the issue of school integration in Union County. In Sept. 1956 Gov. A.B. "Happy" Chandler, a Democrat, was obliged to request the presence of 900 National Guard troops, with tanks, in the town of Sturgis. A crowd of 500 or so segregationists attempted to block a small group of African-American students from attending the previously all-white school-- a familiar scene that would be repeated for the next decade throughout the Southern states.

Said Chandler, "We regret it is necessary to use this means of guaranteeing equal rights to our citizens, but that we must do." White supremacists took advantage of the unrest and organized a rally in Morganifield, the county seat.

The mass-meeting called for the impeachment of Chandler and the formation of a States' Rights Party of Kentucky. Present was Louisville segregationist, KKK member, anti-Semite, and states rights' activist with a name right out of a Faulkner novel, Millard Dee Grubbs. In 1956 Grubbs had also formed an alliance with John Kasper, who was promoting fascist Ezra Pound for President in 1956 and not as an ironic joke. A petition was being handed around Morganfield by Jack Kershaw of Nashville, VP of the Tennessee Federation for Constitutional Government and W.W. "Jerry" Waller, a local farm implement dealer and President of the Union County White Citizens Council.

Kershaw (1913-2010) was an ardent segregationist, Southern secessionist, and later James Earl Ray's defense attorney. In later years he sculpted the infamous Nathan Bedford Forrest Statue, defending himself from the ensuing criticism with, "Somebody needs to say a good word for slavery".

Although information is scarce on the details, the Party apparently made it to the Kentucky ballot with Democratic Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia as their Presidential nominee and Indiana Republican US Senator and right-hand man to Joe McCarthy, William E. Jenner, as the running mate. It is probable both senators were nominated without their permission but they evidently did not spurn the honor. In this same election Jenner was also the Presidential nominee of another local states' rights party, the Texas Constitution Party.

On the ballot only in Kentucky, the Byrd/Jenner ticket placed third in that state with 0.25% of the popular vote.

Election history:
1934-1942 - Indiana State Senate (Republican)
1940 - Republican nomination for Governor of Indiana - defeated
1944-1945 - US Senate (Ind.) (Republican)
1947-1959 - US Senate (Ind.) (Republican)
1948 - Republican nomination for Governor of Indiana - defeated
1956 - US President (Texas Constitution Party) - defeated

Other occupations: elevator operator, attorney, soldier in WWII, land developer

Buried: Cresthaven Memory Gardens Cemetery (Bedford, Ind.)

Notes:
Defeated Charles M. La Follete, third cousin of 1924 Progressive Party Presidential candidate Robert
 M. La Follette, for the Republican nomination for US Senate in 1946.

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.)

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