John Orville Hopkins, July 19, 1876 (Cummingsville, Minn.) - May 31, 1973 (San Mateo, Calif.)
VP candidate for Universal Party (1964)
Running mate with nominee: Kirby James Hensley (1911-1999)
Popular vote: 19 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
The Universal Party, which was a descendant of the 1960 Outer Space Party, held their convention in Berkeley, Calif. on Aug. 8, 1964. Universal Life Church founder Kirby J. Hensley of Modesto, Calif. was nominated for President. Hensely was rather proud of the fact he could not read but had memorized portions of the Bible. Known as "The mail-order minister" almost anyone could be ordained in his church regardless of their real religious beliefs.
The VP nominee was John O. Hopkins, described as a Des Moines, Iowa farmer by the press. He was also the father of Party chair John Woehler Hopkins (1908-1975). John O. Hopkins was 88 years old, making him-- at least up to 1964-- the oldest candidate ever on a Presidential ticket. John Maxwell (Presidential nominee, American Vegetarian Party, 1948) and Lorenzo Stephen Coffin (VP nominee, United Christian Party, 1908) were both 85 when they ran. So was Greenback Party Presidential candidate Peter Cooper in 1876, the same year Hopkins was born.
In 1964 the Universal Party apparently did not publicize their extraterrestrial policies as much as in other elections. Their platform included an abolition of the following: income tax, Electoral College, the Federal Reserve Board, political lobbying, and political conventions. Although the platform had a strong libertarian theme, they also proposed that a "Congress of Nations" should be established as an international police force to end war.
They failed to obtain ballot status in any state, but were registered write-ins in California, where they tallied a whopping 19 votes.
Election history: none
Other occupations: bicycle dealer, hardware salesman, manager of a sporting goods company, farmer
Buried: Masonic Cemetery (Des Moines, Iowa)
Notes:
Moved to Des Moines, Iowa from Minnesota between 1897-1900 to join his brothers in their sporting
goods business.
Some sources incorrectly list Roscoe B. MacKenna as the 1964 running mate. MacKenna was the
1968 VP nominee.
