Robert B. Mess

Robert B. Mess

VP candidate for Ohio American Independent Party (1972)

Running mate with nominee: Edward A. Wallace (b. ca1928)
Popular vote: 460 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Any hope of nominating George C. Wallace for President in the second election in a row were dashed when he was seriously wounded during an assassination attempt on May 15, 1972 while running in the Democratic Party primaries and subsequently asked the AIP not to consider him as their candidate.

The dogfight to replace Wallace was apparently vicious enough that one of the contenders who failed to win the nomination, Ohio State AIP Chair Richard B. Kay (1918-2011), went back home and started a splinter protest AIP effort. The national AIP  nominee, John Schmitz, was considered far too extreme Right-wing for Kay and his circle, who felt the Party had been taken over by the John Birch Society.

Since Kay was running for Congress as an AIP candidate that year, the Ohio branch of the Party chose Miamisburg resident Edward A. Wallace, a computer worker for the railroad, as the Presidential nominee. Hey, the name was almost the same as George and I suppose the idea was that it would help sell the write-in concept where you still get to vote for a Wallace. In fact, Edward considered himself a "stand-in" for George. Ohio would not count write-ins unless the candidate agreed so this was a way to make an end-run around the system. Robert B. Mess of Caryville, Tenn. was selected for VP. Mess was reported to have previously served George Wallace as part of his staff on a campaign or otherwise, although when and where was not specified.

The Ohio AIP electioneering, such as it was, turned out to be quite brief since the announcement of the Wallace/Mess ticket was only made on Oct. 17, 1972. Even so they garnered 460 write-in votes in Ohio, which was 0.01% of the state total. Schmitz, who was on the ballot, took 80,067 votes (1.96%) in the Buckeye State.   

Election history: none

Other occupations: George Wallace campaign staff

Buried: ?

Notes:
Mr. Mess came out of nowhere and vanished into nowhere after 1972. Can any readers out there help
 out with filling in the blanks?