Marlin Dale Thacker

 Jerry Carroll

Marlin Dale Thacker, October 6, 1933 (Fyffe, Ala.) - May 1, 1993 (Crossville, Ala.)

VP candidate for Independent (aka No Party) (1988, 1992)

Running mate with nominee (1988, 1992): Jerry Leon Carroll (b. 1945)
Popular vote (1988): 13 (0.00%)
Popular vote (1992): 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote (1988, 1992): 0/538

The campaign (1988):

The perennial candidate who calls himself Jerry "Mr. President" Carroll first ran for President in 1980 as near as I can tell. He once expressed a desire to "become crowned emperor of Earth by all the peoples of Earth." The former Amway salesman was living in Lodi, Calif. in 1988.

It is little difficult to decipher his platform but it seems he might be something of a Christian nationalist and survivalist. Apparently he lays claim to being the "mole" that exposed Jim Jones' People Temple cult. He also said he was, for two years, the Public Relations Man for the National Security Agency [!!!]

His running-mate Marlin D. Thacker had run for President in the Democratic Party primaries in 1980 and 1984 in which he expressed admiration for FDR's massive public works programs. Thacker lived in Crossville, Ala., a licensed veterinarian who happened to be working in an egg processing plant.

The Carroll/Thacker ticket were registered write-ins in California, where they gained 17 votes.

The campaign (1992):

Carroll was simultaneously running for the US Senate in California as a write-in candidate in 1992. He garnered 37 votes in that one. Meanwhile, Thacker had once again started the campaign season as a candidate in the Democratic Party primaries.

Carroll was a registered in write-in, sometimes with Thacker as his VP, in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Carroll's native state of Kansas,  Missouri, Montana, and Utah. On Election Day they had zero popular votes in every one of them. Yes. Zero. Nada, Zilch. I'm talkin' crickets.

In the event they had won, Thacker would have died just a few months into his term, May 1, 1993.

Election history: 
1977? - DeKalb County (Ala.) Sheriff - defeated
1980 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
1984 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
1992 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated

Other occupations: US Air Force (Korea), egg processing plant worker, licensed veterinarian

Buried: Beulah Baptist Cemetery (Fyffe, Ala.)

Notes:
Described as "a country hayseed in a pickup truck" in 1983 by his rival Democratic primary
 candidate Richard A. Grayson.

Vanessa Lynn Williams

Vanessa Lynn Williams, March 18, 1963 (New York, NY) -

VP candidate for Citizens Running for Election as President Party (aka Move the U.S. Capital to Davenport, Ia. Party aka Grinning Idiot Party) (1984)

Running mate with nominee: Richard Arnold Grayson (b. 1951)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Richard Grayson was back as a political satire performance artist in 1984. His campaign for President mirrored that of Dizzy Gillespie two decades earlier in that both gentlemen named two female running mates in their faux-campaigns without settling on a single name. In 1964 Gillespie had named Ramona Crowell and Phyllis Diller, in 1984 Grayson named Meryl Streep and Jane Wyman.

Wyman, Ronald Reagan's former wife, was considered because "She dumped Ronnie once-- and she can do it again!," and Streep due to his liking of the slogan "Streep for Veep." On Streep, "She's intelligent and beautiful. She has a way of making her co-star look good. Besides, we need a actress to balance the race. And she's a much better actress than Reagan ever was. If I can't get Streep, I want Jane Wyman. She has experience dumping him."

The fact he was a couple years shy of the Constitutionally mandated age of 35 didn't bother him, "We'll just go without a president for two years and defer all our problems. It's the New Deferralism ... That's the best reason to vote for me. I can't hold office. For two years there will be no president. Things will run smoother. Reagan had his new federalism. I'll institute a new 'deferralism.' Everything will be deferred until I take office."

Late in the campaign Grayson told the press: "I asked Jane Wyman because she's had experience dumping Reagan, but that didn't work out. Then I asked Meryl Streep because I thought 'Streep for Veep' made a good slogan. Her lawyer sent me a discouraging letter. Now I've just asked Vanessa Williams, figuring she's got nothing to hide." He also had some R-rated comments but I'm aware this blog is read by school-age children so we'll just skip over that. At the time Williams was in the news as she handed in her Miss America 1984 crown after Penthouse published unauthorized photographs of her. Fortunately, her career later recovered and enjoyed tremendous success.

In addition to having multiple VPs Grayson appeared to be running under a variety of party names including Citizens Running for Election as President Party, also known by the acronym CREAP.

On his motives: "I urge all unemployed people to run for the presidency. I figured the presidency pays pretty well, $200,000 a year, and you get to live rent-free ... You don't have to do that much. You get your own plane and bowling alley. You can get on TV whenever you want. And you can sleep late." "My goal is to be a celebrity. After eight years, I don't want to teach anymore. There's a shortage of celebrities. I mean how many times can they put Linda Evans on the cover of People magazine? They need some new faces, like me."

On moving the US capital to Davenport, Iowa: "I think it would be a good place because it's centrally located and it has the famous Quad-Cities-- Davenport, Rock Island, Moline and whatever the other one is."

On building support: "I spend a lot of my time trying to get support. For instance, I just finished a letter to Mayor Daley asking if he'll chair my campaign in Chicago." When it was pointed out the Mayor had been dead for a number of years, Grayson replied, "a lot of dead people vote in Chicago." 

On military conscription: "Draft senior citizens; they have nothing to do anyway."

On his cabinet: Mr. T as Sec. of Defense ("he'd really stand up to the Russians"), Gloria Vanderbilt as Sec. of Treasury ("so the nation can have designer dollars"), John DeLorean as Sec. of Commerce ("he seems to know a good deal when he sees one"), Michael Jackson as Sec. of State ("he dances better than George Schultz").

Williams was even younger than Grayson, so both nominees were ineligible to serve if elected. If Williams had a response to being  the VP on this ticket, I have not seen it. Needless to say, there is no complete record of their popular vote results.

Election history: none

Other occupations: Miss America, singer, actress, fashion designer, author

Notes:
First African American to be crowned Miss America.
Great-great granddaughter of Republican Tennessee State Representative William A. Feilds.

Richard Arnold Grayson

Richard Arnold Grayson, June 4, 1951 (New York, NY) -

VP candidate for any political party (1980)

Running mate with nominee: Fred Silverman (1937-2020)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The 1980 Presidential election year must have been extra interesting for NBC. Part of their talent, David Brinkley, was nominated for VP by James Zalmer Hardy for his Correction, Punishment and Remedy Ticket and the CEO of the network itself, Fred Silverman had his name filed with the FEC for President by Richard Grayson and Jerry Weinberger. As you might recall this duo was also behind the Nixon/Agnew 1980 Nostalgia Party ticket. 1980 appears to have been Grayson's debut year in what would be a long career in sometimes using elections as a venue for political satire, usually as a write-in candidate.

The Silverman for President with Grayson as the running mate campaign was announced in Sept. 1979. The platform included intriguing issues such as banning religious bookstores and returning royalty to America.

Some select quotes from "The Committee to Draft Fred Silverman":

I selected Fred as my running mate because I figure being a TV executive is good training to be president. After all, under President Fred, if one of his programs doesn't work out, he can cancel it after three weeks.

We need a prime-time president. All we've got now is the equivalent of a summer rerun or an early morning sermonette.

If Fred and I get in, we're going to do something about fuel allocations right away. We'll have Ed McMahon host a television special. We'll call it "Bowling for Gallons." I think it's as fair a way as any to distribute gasoline.

Grayson on choice of political party: Jimmy, Jerry, Teddy, they're all the same to me.

NBC sent Grayson a huffy letter stating, "Mr. Silverman is not a candidate for the Presidency or any other office" with the legal threat that the jokester's "unauthorized, possibly illegal, and self-serving activities" could land him in court. "I'd love it," Grayson responded.

Around the same time Grayson was attempting to draft Gloria Vanderbilt into a race for the US Senate under the banner of the Right to Be the Life of the Party Party. Vanderbilt's attorney said the effort was "unauthorized and unappreciated."

Some people.

Also in 1980 Grayson registered the Ayatollah for Congress Committee with the FEC, running the Ayatollah Khomeini as a Democrat running for US Congress out of Brooklyn as a way to diminish his threat to US security, "Then he would be as ineffective as any other congressman."

Aside from Silverman's refusal to accept the nomination there were other problems with this ticket. Grayson was only 29 in 1980, far short of the Constitutionally mandated age of 35 to be VP. Also, with Grayson's parallel effort to get Nixon and Agnew back in the White House, he created his own competition. So far as we know, neither one of them threatened legal action so maybe they had more of a sense of humor than we give them credit for.

In 1984 Grayson reflected on Silverman, "He threatened to sue. But he would have been great. I wanted someone in show business because politics is basically entertainment. I bet he's sorry now that he's fired. The presidency is a sure four years ... I wasn't too far off, though. We've got someone in show business anyway."

Apparently in this election Grayson ended up supporting Rep. John Anderson's third party bid.

Grayson's name will show up in profiles of other third party VPs as I continue this project.

Election history:
1982 - Davie Town Council (Fla.) (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1982 - US Senate (Fla.) (Republican) - primary - defeated
1984 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
1984 - US President (Citizens Running for Election as President Party) - defeated
1986 - Florida State Commissioner of Education (Democrat) - primary - defeated
1988 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
1994 - US House of Representatives (Fla.) (Democratic) - defeated
1996 - US House of Representatives (Fla.) (Independent) - defeated
2000 - US Senate (Fla.) (Independent) - defeated
2004 - US House of Representatives (Fla.) (Independent) - defeated
2006 - US House of Representatives (Fla.) (Independent) - defeated
2008 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
2008 - US House of Representatives (Ariz. CD4) (Republican) - primary - defeated
2008 - US House of Representatives (Ariz. CD6) (Democratic) - primary - defeated or withdrew
2010 - US House of Representatives (Ariz.) (Green Party) - defeated
2012 - Green Party nomination for US President - defeated
2012 - US House of Representatives (Ariz.) (Green Party) - primary - defeated
2012 - US House of Representatives (Ariz.) (Americans Elect) - defeated
2014 - US House of Representatives (Wyo.) (Democratic) - defeated
2016 - US House of Representatives (Wyo.) (Democratic) - withdrew
2018 - Arizona House of Representatives (Green) - defeated

Other occupations: author, teacher, satirist

Notes:
Winner of the 2000 race was Bill Nelson
Winner of the 2010 race was Jeff Flake
Supported McGovern in 1972 and McCarthy in 1976
In 1989 Grayson identified my late friend Crad Kilodney as "Canada's funniest fiction writer." For
 that viewpoint alone Grayson would get my vote. I interviewed Kilodney (his pen name) in the early
 1990s for City Limits Gazette as his street-vending case went to the Canadian Supreme Court.
Attempting to document Grayson's kinetic runs for offices is quite challenging, which I'm sure must
 delight Mr. Grayson! I'll keep retooling the list as I learn.

Spiro Theodore Agnew

Spiro Theodore Agnew, November 9, 1918 (Baltimore, Md.) – September 17, 1996 (Berlin, Md.)

VP candidate for Nostalgia Party (1980)

Running mate with nominee: Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Richard Grayson (self-described moderate radical) and Jerry Weinberger (self-described radical moderate), two twentysomethings from Queens, NY formed the tongue-in-cheek Nixon-Agnew in '80 Committee and said they registered the ticket with the FEC. Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, who both resigned their last public offices in disgrace, were listed under the Nostalgia Party.

A couple problems here. Nixon had already been elected twice to the Presidency and according to the term limits set by the Constitution that includes the phrase "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice ..." would certainly make him ineligible for a third round. No such restriction applies to the VP, so Agnew would be safe.

Grayson's response, "Since when did Nixon care about the Constitution?"

Secondly, as frequently the case when big names are appropriated by third parties, neither candidate gave permission to use their names.

"Well, we tried to contact both Nixon and Agnew but we had a problem ... They wouldn't take our calls. I don't think they're even speaking to each other anymore. They're sort of like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis after they split up."

Some more quotes from Grayson and Weinberger:

Life was a lot better when Nixon and Agnew came into office. The Beatles were still together. Gasoline dealers had price wars and gave away free dishes.

Nixon and Agnew have learned a lot since leaving office. They've both written two books and have matured.

Look at how things were when these two were in office. Interest rates were down and hemlines were up. Students were active in social issues. No disco.

I regret never having voted for Nixon. I'm not going to let it happen again. You know, I really miss seeing him. I miss seeing his upper lip sweat. Carter doesn't sweat. How can you trust a man who doesn't sweat?

Remember how great he was on TV? When that man lied, you knew he lied. What more could you ask for in a president?

The Nixon/Agnew ticket enjoyed some novelty publicity in the spring of 1980 and even though news coverage of the Nostalgia Party faded it is an easy bet they received some write-in votes in November. In the event they won, Agnew would have once again served as VP, but the Democratic controlled US House would have been placed in the position of electing a President between two runner ups (Carter and Reagan) as long they also had Electoral votes. Let the conjecture begin!

Election history:
1960 - Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge - defeated
1962-1966 - Baltimore County (Md.) Executive (Republican)
1967-1969 - Governor of Maryland (Republican)
1969-1973 - US Vice-President (Republican) - resigned

Other occupations: US Army (WWII) (Korea), attorney, Baltimore County Board of Zoning Appeals, author, international business consultant

Buried: Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens (Timonium, Md.)

Notes:
Buried in the same cemetery as Johnny Unitas.
His father was a Greek immigrant to the US in 1897, original name was Theophrastos
 Anagnostopoulos.
Was a Democrat until after WWII.
Brush with fame: I was in a college class with one of Agnew's daughters about six years after he
 resigned and she was really a delightful person.