Robert Gainey Young, October 29, 1943 (Asheville, N.C.) -
VP candidate for Independent Republican (2016)
Running mate with nominee: Michael Bickelmeyer (b. 1959)
Popular vote: 6 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Michael Bickelmeyer, a security officer from North Royalton, Ohio filed with the FEC in Nov. 2013 as a Republican for the 2016 Presidential election. On Aug. 1, 2016, Bickelmeyer, now of Brunswick, Ohio filed with the Ohio Secretary of State as a write-in. His running-mate was Robert Young, also of Brunswick.
It appears Bickelmeyer made little or no effort to gain the nomination of the Republican Party, but instead put his energy into directly participating in the general election.
Bickelmeyer's campaign website, which is rather cumbersome to navigate, consists of many pages that require downloading in order to view. They contain documents that to a casual observer might seem like oversharing, but at least no one can accuse him of dishonesty or not being transparent. Among other details, he informs us he has never married and provides some data concerning his mental health challenges including the number of times he has been hospitalized (3), the number of psychiatrists he has used (9), and what psychotropic drug has been prescribed (paliperidon). And unlike Trump, Bickelmeyer posted several years worth of tax returns.
His Mar. 27, 2015 document states, "I am certain that if our 310 million citizens in America would access my campaign website and do all the reading, no other Presidential Candidate would ever stand a chance next to me."
An inventor, his platform was hinged on three technological innovations of his own creation and he supplied a considerable amount of detail in his documentation which my brief summation really doesn't adequately cover. First was an air transportation system with heated runways on square airports. An industrial zone would be included. Second would be major recycling facilities on a huge industrial, but green, scale.
The third idea is where he earned his press attention. Called "A Gift for Children," he proposed a complicated weapons system that uses solar power to shoot death rays at our enemies. The satellite device could be lethal to individuals or to large swaths of land. It could also, he said, be used for taking out drug dealers and for pest control.
Registered as write-ins only in the state Ohio, Bickelmeyer/Young received 6 votes. A victory by this ticket might have been Constitutionally problematic as they were residents of the same state.
On Jan. 20, 2017 (Inauguration Day) Bickelmeyer filed with the FEC as a Republican for the 2020 Presidential election. On Sept. 30, 2020 Bickelmeyer filed with the FEC as a Republican for the 2024 Presidential election. I cannot identify any running-mates, as yet, in his 2020 and 2024 campaigns.
Election history: none
Other occupations: real estate
Notes:
Young is registered as a Democrat.
Vice included Bickelmeyer in their article, "Meet the Strangest Republicans Running for President Not Named Donald Trump."
