Roscoe B. MacKenna

Roscoe B. MacKenna, September 16, 1908 (Massachusetts) - December 21, 1975 (Chicago, Ill.)

VP candidate for Universal Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Kirby James Hensley (1911-1999)
Popular vote: 142 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The Universal Party, which was a descendant of the 1960 Outer Space Party, once again nominated for President the Universal Life Church founder Kirby J. Hensley of Modesto, Calif. at their convention in Denver in early March 1968. Hensely was rather proud of the fact he could not read but had memorized portions of the Bible. Known as "The mail-order minister" almost anyone could be ordained in his church regardless of their real religious beliefs.

Roscoe B. MacKenna of Chicago was nominated for the VP position. MacKenna was a follower of the I AM movement and a student of metaphysics. The business card Hensely liked to hand out during the campaign identified McKenna as "New Age Scientist - Bell Telephone Company."

The 1968 Universal Party platform expanded a bit from their 1964 version. The addition of the text providing "civil treatment and protection of peoples from other Worlds visiting our Planet Earth in their machines without immediate commitment to our jails" was the portion that drew the most attention from the press.

In this round they actually attained ballot status, in the State of Iowa. Their campaign tactics included placing personal ads in newspapers. On Election Day they finished in last place out of eight in the Hawkeye State garnering 142 votes (0.01%). In 1964 they had 19 votes recorded nationally, so 142 was a huge leap for them.   

Election history: none

Other occupations: draftsman, gardener, telephone company employee?

Buried: Graceland Cemetery (Chicago, Ill.)

Notes:
Buried in the same cemetery as Louis H. Sullivan
His father immigrated to the USA from Canada in 1887

John Orville Hopkins

John Orville Hopkins, July 19, 1876 (Cummingsville, Minn.) - May 31, 1973 (San Mateo, Calif.)

VP candidate for Universal Party (1964)

Running mate with nominee: Kirby James Hensley (1911-1999)

Popular vote: 19 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The Universal Party, which was a descendant of the 1960 Outer Space Party, held their convention in Berkeley, Calif. on Aug. 8, 1964. Universal Life Church founder Kirby J. Hensley of Modesto, Calif. was nominated for President. Hensely was rather proud of the fact he could not read but had memorized portions of the Bible. Known as "The mail-order minister" almost anyone could be ordained in his church regardless of their real religious beliefs.

The VP nominee was John O. Hopkins, described as a Des Moines, Iowa farmer by the press. He was also the father of Party chair John Woehler Hopkins (1908-1975). John O. Hopkins was 88 years old, making him-- at least up to 1964-- the oldest candidate ever on a Presidential ticket. John Maxwell (Presidential nominee, American Vegetarian Party, 1948) and Lorenzo Stephen Coffin (VP nominee, United Christian Party, 1908) were both 85 when they ran. So was Greenback Party Presidential candidate Peter Cooper in 1876, the same year Hopkins was born.

In 1964 the Universal Party apparently did not publicize their extraterrestrial policies as much as in other elections. Their platform included an abolition of the following: income tax, Electoral College, the Federal Reserve Board, political lobbying, and political conventions. Although the platform had a strong libertarian theme, they also proposed that a "Congress of Nations" should be established as an international police force to end war.

They failed to obtain ballot status in any state, but were registered write-ins in California, where they tallied a whopping 19 votes.

Election history: none

Other occupations: bicycle dealer, hardware salesman, manager of a sporting goods company, farmer

Buried: Masonic Cemetery (Des Moines, Iowa)

Notes:
Moved to Des Moines, Iowa from Minnesota between 1897-1900 to join his brothers in their sporting
 goods business.
Some sources incorrectly list Roscoe B. MacKenna as the 1964 running mate. MacKenna was the
 1968 VP nominee.