Levi

 

Levi, 2014 (Jonestown, Penn.) -

VP candidate for Independent (2016, 2020)

Running mate with nominee (2016, 2020): Jacob the Amish Weatherman (b. 2014)
Popular vote (2016, 2020): ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote (2016, 2020): 0/538

The campaign (2016):

Ethnic humor is always a risky proposition and can quickly become dated and cross over to the wrong side of history in a nanosecond. Pennsylvania comedian and rodeo clown Dave "Showtime" Meyer has a cast of characters he portrays including Jacob the Amish Weatherman. My first exposure to this gig was a Youtube where he mentions in front of a live crowd that some people were offended by his act and he mock apologized. Meyer has been in Facebook jail at least 5 times (much to the indignation of his fans) and it seems the interpretation of the Jacob character has had something to do with that.

The Jacob for President campaign occupied only a small portion of Meyer's busy career in 2016. However he did have a running-mate, another faux Amish named Levi, who appeared to be something of a comic sidekick.

This was not the first time a fictitious Amish man ran for President. In 2012 the Josiah for President campaign, based on a novel, ran a social media project and was even presented as a play. They also had a running-mate, the equally fictitious Mark Stedman.

In the 2008 election there was a ticket with an Amish connection. The Florida-based Real Food Party of the United States of America ran farmers James Harlin Carter and Dennis Eugene Stoltzfoos as the President and VP. Raised in Lancaster County, Penn. as an Amish Mennonite, Stoltzfoos went out on his own both spiritually and physically, moving to Florida in 1989. After working in the alternative health field and an EMT for a time he eventually started his own farm. Citing the writings of Weston Price as a major influence, Stoltzfoos shared Carter's enthusiasm for non-pasteurized dairy and natural foods.

Meyer is probably the second rodeo clown involved in a Presidential election (after Flint Rasmussen, who announced in 2013) but other sorts of real clown tickets (I know, I know. Tempting, but no cracks now) have run the past such as Bozo the Clown/Milton Rice Polland (1984, Big Whig Party), Theodore "Twinky" Dee Star/Harry Butz (2012, Independent), and Hezekiah Jones/Pa McDagen (2016, Independent).

Occasionally in the comment sections of Meyer's social media his fans expressed concern that Jacob would take votes away from Trump.

The campaign (2020):

In between the Presidential elections, Jacob ran for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2018.

The 2020 Jacob campaign included corporate sponsors such as Equi-lete Premium Horse Products and Kimes Ranch Jeans. There were also yard signs and t-shirts available in this round. Once again his VP was Levi, according to a comment made by Meyer on Facebook, "Jacob's running mate is his buddy Levi, he just doesn't know it yet."

Election history: none

Other occupations: fictitious character

Notes:
I attended plenty of rodeos and horse/pony shows as a kid and always thought the rodeo clowns were the guys in there with the most guts, and the craziest!

Mark Stedman

 

Mark Stedman, ca1962 -

VP candidate for Independent (2012)

Running mate with nominee: Josiah Stoltzfus (ca1957-2014)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 270+/538

The campaign:

In Martha Bolton's work of political fantasy fiction Josiah for President (Zondervan, 2012) US Congressman Mark Stedman of Wisconsin fails in his quest to gain the Presidential nomination and on his road trip home from DC has a fateful accidental meeting in Lancaster County, Penn. with Josiah Stoltzfus, an Amish farmer. So impressed is Stedman with Stoltzfus' character, he runs Josiah as an independent write-in candidate for President. In turn the candidate insists that Stedman be the running-mate.

I'll try to not spoil the story too much, but Josiah does indeed win the election as a write-in. The book mentions that among the states he won were Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Tennessee, North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, and New York.

The fictitious campaign actually became real in the 2012 cycle. Zondervan released a couple Josiah for President electioneering videos with actors portraying Stoltzfus and Stedman. A Facebook page was set up. The novel was also presented on stage as a musical.

Four years earlier in the 2008 election there was a ticket with an Amish connection. The Florida-based Real Food Party of the United States of America ran farmers James Harlin Carter and Dennis Eugene Stoltzfoos as the President and VP. Raised in Lancaster County, Penn. as an Amish Mennonite, Stoltzfoos went out on his own both spiritually and physically, moving to Florida in 1989. After working in the alternative health field and an EMT for a time he eventually started his own farm. Citing the writings of Weston Price as a major influence, Stoltzfoos shared Carter's enthusiasm for non-pasteurized dairy and natural foods.

Election history:
1993-2013 - US House of Representatives (Wis.) (party unknown)
2012 - Presidential nomination from unknown major party - defeated

Other occupations: ?

Notes:
Mark Stedman should not be confused with Seymour Stedman, running-mate in the Socialist Party of America in 1920 with Eugene Debs.