Inertia
VP candidate for Independent (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Giant Meteor
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
"Giant Meteor 2016! Just end it already!" was the campaign slogan for this unearthly candidate, who apparently entered the fray in early May, 2016. The Giant Meteor's platform included--
Wipe out all student loans, eliminate mortgage debt, remove credit card debt, remove all tax burdens to zero ... within the first 5 minutes of landing!
The candidate became a lively franchise with plenty of t-shirts, bumper stickers, and yard signs for sale. One Public Policy Polling statistic had Giant Meteor at 13% placing third behind Trump and Clinton. The idea of a celestial body slamming into our planet killing everything and thus solving all of our problems seemed to have originated with conservative Republicans in the 2012 primaries who felt they would prefer "The Sweet Meteor of Death" over Mitt Romney. It also foreshadowed the sort of nihilistic political philosophy and a resigned humor of despair that would become more pervasive in US politics.
On July 12 the Giant Meteor 2016 Twitter account announced, "It's official our running mate for 2016 will be Inertia!!"
By the 2020 election it looked like the Giant Meteor for President concept had become community property and a variety of sources were acting as the campaign HQ.
Election history: none
Other occupations: abstract concept
Notes:
No doubt there would have been legal issues regarding the Constitutional requirements in the event of their victory. For openers, Giant Meteor was an illegal alien.
