Paul Wyatt Callahan, September 1, 1977 (Lawrenceville, Ga.) -
VP candidate for Independent (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Josiah Richard Stroh (b. 1981)
Popular vote: 30 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Josiah Stroh, just barely legally old enough to run for President, and his friend Paul Callahan ran as an Independent ticket in 2016.
Their campaign biographies--
Born in Dayton Ohio on January 18, 1981, Josiah has been an Ohio native all his life. A Miami University graduate, Josiah is employed as the Accountant at Sparkbox, A web design firm in Dayton Ohio specializing in Responsive Web Design. Josiah attends Veritas Community Church and is a volunteer at the Victory Project, a ministry to teenage boys in Dayton. After considering the political state of the 2016 Presidential election, Josiah declared as a write in candidate so that he could add his own voice to the discussion of what the American Presidency should be.
Born September 1st 1977 in Lawrenceville Georgia, Paul brought his southern roots to Ohio when he married his wife Lisa. A graduate of Full Sail University, he works as an installer at Hanson Audio Video in Dayton. After much research into all the candidates he graciously accepted Josiah's invitation to join him as his vice presidential write in candidate. He would like to open the dialogue on why the country has become so polarized.
Although their website had some general centrist policies, it was in a post created two days after the election where Stroh was more specific about his philosophy--
It's no secret that I was not a Trump supporter. For the first time in my life, I did not vote for the Republican nominee. I was so turned off by him that I was induced to file and run as a write in candidate. I am not pleased with his election to the highest office in the land. (I wouldn't have been pleased if his opponent had been elected either.)
To my Democrat friends, I want to say that I understand your grief. It's a grief I experienced back in May as I realized that the party to which I have belonged all my life had nominated this type of man to represent us. It's a hard thing to see something that you have respected and believed in for so long debased by hatred. I watched in horror as men I once respected (and it WAS only men) chose political expediency over character. I listened as friends I love explained how the policies they hold dear compelled them to support this man. I have grieved the Trump candidacy for six months. I have grieved his betrayal of common decency. His trampling of basic American ideals. I have grieved his assaults on human dignity.
I also understand your fear. A fear that those who are different will no longer be afforded the protection and the dignity guaranteed under this beautiful Republic. A fear that those without agency will be attacked by the state. That hatred, bigotry, and violence will be normalized.
To my Republican friends, I want to say that I understand your reason for supporting this man. I understand that you believe that the protection of American ideals could only be accomplished through a conservative court. I understand that you felt that a Clinton Presidency would be one based on corruption. I get that you felt you had to stop Clinton, and would take any vehicle to do so.
Through this year I reached a conclusion. (Please don't consider this until you have adequately processed your own grief). America is made a better place when each individual takes on the responsibility of actively seeking out the best interest of his or her fellow Americans. That it is every American's responsibility to protect the freedoms afforded to us at every turn. For the loss of freedom for one is the loss of freedom for all. It is our responsibility, (not Congresses, not the President's, not the parties) to protect the dignity and freedom of all. It is MY responsibility.
We affect change when we stand up for character and integrity. Advocacy is not done just with our voice and our vote, but with our lives. Poured out for our friends and neighbors. But also for our enemies. We convince people not by the loudness of our voice, but with the quiet consistent outpouring of our lives.
So, I will continue to advocate for my neighbors. I will continue to seek their best interest not just through political avenues, but through social engagement. I will continue to advocate for agency, and due process, and dignity, and respect. It's what I owe America, and what I owe myself.
Now, I'm going to get a little preachy. If you don't like that Jesus stuff, I recommend stopping here.
As a christian, I believe that I can only do this through the grace of God through Jesus Christ. I believe that I am required to fight for and stand for those who aren't as blessed as me. I believe that privilege only has value if you can use it to erase the gap between you and your fellow people. Just as Christ used His privilege to erase the distance between God and man. And it is this Gospel that motivates my civic duty.
For the evangelical christian, Trump is neither our savior nor our accuser. A Trump Presidency is neither a glorious victory, nor a tragic defeat. It is a reminder that, at the end of the day, we are responsible for the world we live in. We are responsible to make sure that the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner are shown the love of God. We are God's agents is a broken world. We are the ones who have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, and dear brother or sister, reconciliation is needed now more than ever. Not just reconciliation between Democrats and Republicans, urban and rural, rich and poor, white and non-white. But between God and man. And specifically between the Church and those she has been called to love.
The Stroh/Callahan ticket were registered as write-ins in Ohio and received a reported 30 votes.
Election history: none
Other occupations: audio/AV engineering
Notes:
Since Stroh/Callahan were residents of the same state there would have been potential Constitutional problem in the event of their victory.
