James Fredrick Dezort

 

James Fredrick Dezort, April 6, 1972 (San Diego, Calif.) -

VP candidate for Independent (2008)

Running mate with nominee: James Louis Dezort (b. 1947)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
 
The campaign:

James Louis Dezort, aka "The Watchman," first ran for President in 2004. In that campaign the Portland, Oregon-based Dezort provided his resume--

Prophet, 1996-present
Evangelist, 1987-present
Carpenter, 1972-1985
Yeoman, United States Navy, 1966-1970

When street preacher Dezort ran in 2004 he proposed a $3 million fine for anyone receiving or performing an abortion, and the death penalty if the number reached three. He suggested polygamy might not be all bad. Dezort also wanted a national dress code, mostly aimed at women.

He filed for his second Presidential run with the FEC on May 13, 2007. He was very diligent about providing receipts for even the smallest expense related to electioneering. And this time he named a VP-- his son James Fredrick Dezort who had an address in [Washington State trivia alert!!!] DuPont, Wash.

A stay in the hospital in late Oct. 2007 slowed down the campaign a tad. In July 2008 the Presidential candidate sent his platform to the FEC--

Put Bible teaching in the schools.
No more use of radio active materials in the United States.
No more abortion.
Provide land in the cities for people to stay on as long as they want for free.
Provide studio apartments for the poor when possible.

He also included an apparent handout dated June 15, 2008--

Dear Neighbor,
GOD said about two months ago, "It is my desire that I should chastise the United States. Behold the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful nation."

About fourteen years ago GOD said he wants a magnificent temple built to show that the people of the United States put GOD first. This temple is referred to in Zecharia 6:12. One is to be built in the United States and one in Israel.

Half the funds for building the temple will go to the poor. One sixth will be held in reserve in case Israel needs help, and two sixths will go to the actual project here in the United States.

If you want to donate to either the temple project or the candidacy for president, please indicate which one the donation is for.

The younger Dezort seems not to have taken part in active campaigning. The Dezort/Dezort ticket did not appear on any ballots nor were they registered anywhere as write-ins.

Election history: none.

Other occupations: ?

Notes:
The first son-father ticket I can locate is William James Barton with dad James William Barton as his running-mate for the Independent Party of America in 1980. The earliest example of a father-son ticket I can find is Jack Richard Moore with his son Jay Richard Moore for VP in the Common Man's Party (1988, 1992). There was also Darth Vader with VP Luke Skywalker in the Sith Party (2000).

Jay Richard Moore

Jay Richard Moore, February 3, 1952 -

VP candidate for Common Man's Party (1988, 1992)

Running mate with nominee: Jack Richard Moore (1925-2004)
Popular vote (1988, 1992): ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote (1988, 1992): 0/538

The campaign (1988):

Jack Moore was a Church of God (Seventh-Day) lay preacher (he had found God in combat serving his country in WWII in the Navy) who was retired from the Cocoa Beach, Fla. Parks Dept. When he ran for President as a write-in in 1988 it wasn't entirely unfamiliar to him. He had run way back in 1960 as well as a resident of Ohio.

He was an old hand at grabbing headlines. He once preached for 72 hours nonstop in 1977 to gain a place in the record books. He worked with topless bars and strip clubs to allow religious services on their premises. He wanted to produce a Biblical play with nude actors portraying Adam and Eve, starring a local topless dancer. He once buried himself for three days around Easter.

He originally made serious attempts to ask Donna Rice to be his running-mate. She was the woman in question who basically ended Sen. Gary Hart's Presidential run, but then he discovered she was below the minimum age required by the Constitution to serve as VP. He also expressed a desire to invite Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Gary Hart, or Sen. Al Gore as his VP. In the latter case he thought better of having a ticket called Moore/Gore.

But Moore ended up selecting his 35-year old son, Jay. Excitedly he contacted the Guinness Book of World Records, "They said we were the first father-son team ever to run as write-in candidates in a presidential election." That is half true. In 1980 there was a son-father team where the son was Presidential write-in candidate and the father was the VP-- William James Barton (1949-2002) of Chester, Ill. ran for President in the Independent Party of America and his father James William Barton (1922-1999) was the running-mate.

Moore told the press that if elected he would move the capitol from Washington, DC to Kansas. He also vowed to increase the amount in Social Security payments, and would pay off the national debt by selling all federal lands.

He campaigned in Melbourne, Fla. while wearing a Richard Nixon mask, which understandably confused the potential voters. His main transport was a slogan-covered 1975 Chevy Impala.

Moore claimed he was in third place in the polls shortly before Election Day, "You keep hearing it from the TV anchormen. They tell us: 'Bush is ahead. Dukakis is second. More to follow.'"

The campaign (1992):

Moore's 1992 effort was not quite as energetic as the previous election. It was also a much shorter campaign since he announced in July 1992 only after Ross Perot appeared to have left the race. Moore reasoned that he could provide a political home for the Perot refugees.

His initial VP choice, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, declined the honor. So once again the running-mate position defaulted to his son, Jay.

"The national debt," he told the press, "is still our biggest problem. I would sell off some of the government's assets, like land, to the richest people to pay off the debt. But they would have to be U.S. citizens. I wouldn't sell any government land to the Japanese or Arabs or anybody like that."

Moore also ran for President in 1996 and invited Gen. Colin Powell to be his running-mate but, incredibly, was turned down. Apparently Moore continued his final campaign on a solo ticket. He predicted the world would end in the year 2000.

Election history: none

Other occupations: ?

Notes:
Jay is a registered Democrat.
Although Jay's 1988 and 1992 places of residence are uncertain, the odds seem high that he lived in
 Florida which would have Constitutionally given the ticket a potential legal barrier from office in the
 event they won.

James William Barton

James William Barton, October 20, 1922 (Illinois) - February 22, 1999 (Missouri)

VP candidate for Independent Party of America (1980)

Running mate with nominee: William James Barton (1949-2002)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Chester, Illinois resident William James Barton of the Independent Party of America promised that as President "all my speeches will be live with no notes." He challenged incumbent President Jimmy Carter to "a radio interview."

Barton selected a running mate he could trust-- his father, James William Barton of Granite City, Ill. This is the first instance of a son and father on the same ticket that I know of.

As far as I can ascertain this Independent Party of America was not connected with the later LDS-inspired party of the same name.

Precious little is known about this campaign or where they stood on the issues of the day. The ticket had some news coverage in Sept. 1979 but then were quickly ignored by the press.

Apparently no journalist made the connection between the Bartons' national campaign and a huge controversy taking place back home at the same time. The elder Barton, the Supervisor of Assessments of Madison County, Ill., was known as "the most powerful Democrat in Madison County." He had been appointed to the position Dec. 1972 and by the late 1970s he was embattled, beleaguered, and was in charge of an office in the midst of an organizational meltdown. By 1986 he entered a guilty plea when charged with bribery, but only after several years of prolonged court action. He was sentenced to six months in jail but his attorneys managed to postpone his original start date in 1987 and I cannot determine if he ever actually did serve some hard time or not.

If they had been elected the younger Barton at age 31 was legally too young to be President so the US House of Representatives, controlled by the Democrats in that time period, would have selected the President.

But there is another possible legal issue. Both father and son were residents of the same state which poses a second Constitutional roadblock. But even if the elder Barton had somehow made it past that hurdle, it seems his illegal activity as a county public official would have caught up to him, forcing him to resign much like Vice-President Agnew in 1973 for the same reasons.

Election history:

1968-197- - District 7 School Board (Madison County, Ill.)
196--1972 - Granite City (Ill.) Assessor.

Other occupations: soldier (WWII), Supervisor of Assessments for Madison County, Ill. (1972-1984)

Buried: Goodbread Cemetery (Gorham, Ill.)

Notes:
Chester, Illinois is the "Home of Popeye"!
Was a pilot.