Karl Gruhn, November 12, 1912 (Johnsonburg, Penn.) - December 28, 2003 (Spring Park, Minn.)
VP candidate for Independent Party (1976)
Running mate with nominee: Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005)
Popular vote: 2,952 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
After US Sen. Eugene McCarthy (D-MN) failed to secure the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 1968, a number of his followers campaigned for him as a third party candidate. McCarthy himself did not approve and in many but not all cases was able to have his name removed from the ballot. Different states ran his name under various party names with a variety of running mates, some of whom who were also not too thrilled to be listed: Coretta Scott King, Paul Newman, Dick Gregory, Paul O'Dwyer, and John Lindsay.
McCarthy made a brief foray into the Democratic Party primaries of 1972 but did not generate a lot of excitement. At some point after he dropped out of the race he left the Party, declared himself an Independent, and began a political journey to what could be described as libertarian centrism. As an Independent Presidential candidate in 1976 he is frequently better remembered for his high-profile legal battles to gain ballot access for third parties than for his political platform.
His 1976 VP situation made 1968 look tame. He was on the ballot in 29 states and a registered write-in in a few others. He had over 20 running mates. McCarthy himself said, "Vice-presidential candidates just clutter up the campaign. We should not ask the country to make two judgments. Everyone knows vice presidents have no influence on presidents once elected. Presidents' wives have much more influence. Perhaps we should have candidates' wives debate."
McCarthy's running-mate in North Dakota was Karl Gruhn of Mound, Minn. who was an alternate McCarthy Minnesota delegate in 1968. They were on the ballot under the Independent Party label.
Gruhn was one of McCarthy's main individual financial backers in the 1976 campaign.
McCarthy had stated that he wanted to reduce the number of Cabinet positions and consolidate several departments. He named several people he would offer positions in his administration, most of them considered centrists from both major parties: Wally Hickel, Kevin White, Howard Stein, Sam Shoen, Carla Hills, William Coleman, Harold Hughes, William Fulbright, Frank Getlein, Terry Sanford, David Reisman, Delores Tucker, Herbert Reid, and Karl Gruhn. Mr. Gruhn was the only "stand-in" VP to appear on McCarthy's public wish list of potential members of his executive team although no doubt several other of his running-mates would have found places to serve in a McCarthy Presidency.
McCarthy/Gruhn won 0.99% of the vote in North Dakota. Nationally McCarthy won 0.91% of the popular poll.
Election history:
1966 - Minnesota State Senate (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party) - defeated
Other occupations: soldier (WWII), founder Minnetonka Furniture and Tonka Mills
Buried: cremated, ashes spread at a family campground
Notes:
Spoke German, French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Spanish.
Gruhn was part to an effort to draft McCarthy to run for the US Senate in 1982. McCarthy subsequently ran and lost in the DFL primary.
