Milton Rice Polland

Milton Rice Polland, June 13, 1909 (Milwaukee, Wis.) – September 2, 2006 (Los Angeles, Calif.)

VP candidate for Big Whig Party (1984)

Running mate with nominee: Larry Harmon (1925-2008)
Popular vote: ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Larry Harmon (aka Lawrence Weiss) campaigned for President while in costume as his signature character, Bozo the Clown. He promised to serve only a single term and draw a salary of just one dollar. He announced his availability as a write-in candidate on March 1, 1984, "I believe in peace, love, understanding. That's my platform. I am willing to, and I want to, work for $1 a year. I don't even want a second term. What I want to do, I can do in four years."

He also promised to wear his Bozo suit while meeting with international leaders.

Harmon asked 75-year old Milton Polland, a behind-the-scenes political figure active in Wisconsin and California and internationally active businessman to be his running mate. Polland agreed he would step down as VP once elected. In some twisted rationale Harmon thought that act would happily clear the way for House Speaker Tip O'Neill to become the new Vice-President. But hey, we're talking about clown logic here.

Polland was probably ready for a fun distraction even though he didn't appear to campaign at all. Starting in 1983 he was in the midst of defending himself in a $15 million lawsuit along with others involving of charge of conspiracy regarding the sale of the Fort Lincoln Life Insurance Co. It appears he eventually walked away from that unscathed.

Exactly how Harmon and Polland were connected prior to the 1984 race was never spelled out. He seemed an odd and unfunny choice as a running mate for a clown. Polland had been a longtime liberal Republican operative in Wisconsin having been a significant figure in Wendell Willkie's 1940 and 1944 campaigns, as well as with Earl Warren's national ambitions in 1948 and 1952. In 1968 he chaired a group called National Republicans for Hubert Humphrey. When Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty dropped out of the 1972 race for the Democratic nomination, he met with Humphrey in Polland's LA apartment. So the guy was connected.

Sometimes too connected it seems and this would land him in courts. He was one of the figures and witnesses identified in a 1949 payoff scandal involving White House aide Harry Vaughan trading his influence for cash. He was a witness in the 1974 trial where Robert Maheu sued Howard Hughes specifically to address the charge that the latter gave Hubert Humphrey a secret cash donation of $50,000 in 1968.

The Big Whig Party ticket were certified write-ins in, they said, half the states, but only in Arizona were their votes reported, a huge sum of 21. In the Missouri write-in candidate registration they both were listed as residents of Los Angeles, which would have posed a Constitutional problem had they emerged victorious, although Polland could have truthfully claimed he was also a resident of Wisconsin. But since Polland had already agreed to resign if elected I guess that solved that potential problem.

In 2003, at the age of 93, Polland became Chairman of Penthouse International (Penthouse magazine) and remained active and engaged in business until his death at age 97! A most interesting character who bounced around from Willkie, to Warren, to Humphrey to Bozo with connections to Maheu and Yorty. That is one eclectic and fascinating career.

Election history: none

Other occupations: life insurance executive, Ambassador-at-Large for Republic of the Marshall Islands, Ambassador to the US from Nauru, chairman of National Republicans for Hubert Humphrey 1968, securities broker, Chairman of Penthouse International (Penthouse magazine) 2003,

Buried: Westwood Memorial Park (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Notes:
Jewish.
His obituary states "In 1972, he ran in the United States national election as the Vice Presidential
 nominee for the American Independent Party" which does not line up with the historical facts in
 many respects. The AIP VP in 1972 was William Daniel Dyke, a Wisconsin Republican who may
 have had an association with Polland.
Worked on the campaigns of two men who like himself also ran for Vice-President: Earl Warren
 (Republican VP nominee in 1948) and Hubert Humphrey (Democratic VP elected in 1964).
Buried in the same cemetery with Eddie Albert, Shana Alexander, Richard Anderson, Eve Arden, Jim Backus, Richard Basehart, Whit Bissell, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Fanny Brice, Les Brown, Sebastian Cabot, Truman Capote, Harry Carey Jr., John Cassavetes, James Coburn, Ray Conniff, Richard Conte, Tim Conway, Bob Crane, Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Dawson, Peter Falk, Farrah Fawcett, Jay C. Flippen, June Foray, Stan Freberg, Eva Gabor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Christopher George, Merv Griffin, Armand Hammer, Jonathan Harris, Hugh Hefner, Florence Henderson, Jim Hutton, Louis Jourdan, Brian Keith, Cecil Kellaway, Stan Kenton, Jack Klugman, Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Ed Lauter, Peter Lawford, Joanna Lee, Peggy Lee, Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Oscar Levant, Robert Loggia, Karl Malden, Dean Martin, Quinn Martin, Walter Matthau, Rod McKuen, Marvin Miller, Marilyn Monroe, Lloyd Nolan, Carroll O'Connor, Roy Orbison, Bettie Page, Donna Reed, Buddy Rich, Wayne Rogers, G. David Schine, George C. Scott, Robert Stack, Alvin Toffler, Mel Torme, Cornel Wilde, Billy Wilder, Carl Wilson, Estelle Winwood, Natalie Wood, Darryl Zanuck, Frank Zappa.

Patrick Joseph Lucey

Patrick Joseph Lucey, March 21, 1918 (La Crosse, Wis.) – May 10, 2014 (Milwaukee, Wis.)

VP candidate for Independent (aka Anderson Coalition aka Anderson Alternative aka Liberal Party aka Anderson for President aka National Unity Party) (1980)

Running mate with nominee: John Bayard Anderson (1922-2017)
Popular vote: 5,586,806 (6.46%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

John B. Anderson had been a US Representative from Illinois for nearly two decades when he ran in the Republican primaries for President in 1980. Initially a very conservative member of the Illinois delegation in the 1960s he shifted to the Left and by the 1970s was considered an animal that is nearly extinct today-- a liberal Republican.

Finding himself out of step with his own party and with no hope of winning the nomination he decided to run as an independent candidate. Basically a centrist, he was more conservative than the Democrats on fiscal matters and more liberal than the Republicans on environment, women's issues, and civil rights. His articulate, direct delivery and opposition to draft registration made him particularly popular with many college and university students.

In two states he was forced to keep surrogate running-mates in order to qualify for early filing. In Texas he selected Milton Eisenhower, in South Dakota it was Nancy B. Flint.

As the Herculean effort to be listed on every state ballot began, Anderson announced that former Wisconsin Democratic Governor Patrick J. Lucey would be the VP nominee. Lucey had been a strong Kennedy man, working in the campaigns of all three brothers-- JFK in 1960, RFK in 1968, and Ted in 1980. Lucey had walked out of the 1980 Democratic convention when Ted Kennedy lost the nomination to President Carter.

Anderson had considered other running mates: Hugh Carey, Jesse Jackson, Morris Udall, Kevin White, Barbara Jordon, Shirley Chisholm, Walter Cronkite, and Edward Brooke. It finally boiled down to Brooke or Lucey, and the Massachsetts Senator had recently acquired some politically damaging baggage, so Lucey got the nod. Although Patrick Lucey was not quite in the top tier of national figures, being a former governor plus an Ambassador to Mexico did add some stature to the ticket plus he was not the type to cause any harm. Lucey had told Anderson that if he wanted his help it would be as Veep or not at all.

Lucey echoed the view of many of his fellow disenchanted liberal Democrats when he said, "I have not abandoned the Democratic Party. It is Jimmy Carter who has abandoned the Democratic Party. He has abandoned the Democratic Party's historical commitment to full employment and has deliberately thrown millions of Americans out of their jobs ... He has abandoned the Democratic Party's traditional faith in the people by blaming the ills of the nation in the malaise of the people rather than his own ineptitude."

I recall whenever Anderson would pronounced the name of his Veep he really punched hard into the surname, "Patrick LUCEY," which struck me as odd.

Anderson scored a big victory when he was allowed to participate in a Presidential debate, but Carter refused to take part saying he didn't want to face down two Republicans. So It was just Reagan and Anderson, the first time a third party candidate took part in such a campaign ritual.

Nixon loyalist, 1980 Reagan campaign operative, and now seven-times convicted felon Roger Stone claims he and the notorious Roy Cohn arranged to deliver a large sum of money to an influential member of the Liberal Party in New York to have them endorse Anderson (which they did) and split the vote (which they also did). Reagan indeed won the state.

As it happens in so many other instances with insurgent parties, Anderson's once threatening polls began to rapidly drop as the election approached. Even so, his total with all three running-mates was 6.61%, one of the more impressive results for a third party in the modern era. But it made no difference in the ultimate outcome of the election although it certainly would not have been a Reagan landslide victory had Anderson not been in the race.

Although Anderson's persistence in gaining nationwide ballot access has been touted, he was able to do so as he built on the past efforts of George Wallace in 1968 and Eugene McCarthy in 1976.

Anderson/Lucey's biggest percentages: Massachusetts 15.15%, Vermont 14.90%, Rhode Island 14.38%, New Hampshire 12.94%, Connecticut 12.22%, Colorado 11.03%, Washington 10.62%, Hawaii 10.56%, Maine 10.20%. Although they didn't carry one single county, these are major results for a third party in a national election.

Election history:
1946 - Justice of the Peace, Ferryville, Wis.
1946 - De Soto School Board
1949-1951 - Wisconsin State Assembly (Democratic)
1950 - US House of Representatives (Wis.) (Democratic) - defeated
1965-1967 - Lt. Governor of Wisconsin (Democratic)
1966 - Governor of Wisconsin (Democratic) - defeated
1971-1977 - Governor of Wisconsin (Democratic)
1980 - Democratic nomination for US Vice-President - defeated

Other occupations: grocery store manager, soldier (WWII), Chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party 1957-1963, political campaign manager, US Ambassador to Mexico 1977-1979 

Buried: Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum (Milwaukee, Wis.)

Notes:
Was a Wisconsin point man for John Kennedy's 1960 campaign, Robert Kennedy's 1968 campaign,
 among others.
In 1970 one of his opponents was Georgia Cozzini.
In 1974 his opponents included William D. Dyke and Georgia Cozzini.
Catholic.
Meaningless trivia-- A couple years ago on a road trip I drove on the Governor Patrick Lucey
 Highway in Wisconsin which includes his Ferryville stomping grounds. The Mississippi River was
 in a mild flood stage at the time. I had to brake for a weird shaggy weasel-like animal that did not
 seem to be in much of a hurry to cross the lane.

William Daniel Dyke

William Daniel Dyke, April 25, 1930 (Princeton, Ill.) – March 10, 2016 (Dodgeville, Wis.)

VP candidate for American Independent Party (aka Conservative Party aka George Wallace Party aka American Party aka Independent aka Constitutional Party aka Concerned Citizens Party) (1976)

Running mate with nominee: Lester Maddox (1915-2003)
Popular vote: 162,657 (0.19%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

By the 1976 election the American Party and the American Independent Party were two separate political entities, both claiming to be the rightful philosophical heir to George Wallace's 1968 significant third party effort.

While the American Party was more influenced by the John Birch Society, the American Independent Party had taken a couple steps into the past and in a contentious and bitter convention battle nominated the publicity-grabbing arch-bigot and pickaxe handle wielding ex-Governor of Georgia, Lester Maddox. Many delegates who considered themselves to be serious conservatives walked out of the convention upon his nomination as they regarded Maddox to be a populist buffoon and throwback to an era while inflaming an issue that most of America, including many in this Right-wing party, wanted to put behind them and move on.

To balance the ticket the VP position was given to former Madison, Wis. Mayor Bill Dyke, who made his mark as a controversial conservative law and order Republican during the anti-war demonstrations in his city. He had been a member of the American Independent Party for only a few hours before he won the nomination.

Upon being selected as the Veep, Dyke said, "We're going to effect the outcome, sure we are. I have no illusions about this. This is not a major party and I'm aware of that." When asked if he shared Maddox's views on race, Dyke replied, "Certainly not. I am not a segregationist." Since the words "Lester Maddox" and "segregation" were solidly welded together by 1976 one is left wondering why Dyke agreed to be the running mate or associated with Maddox in any way. Needless to say, many of Dyke's past Republican supporters were shocked and dismayed. And many of Dyke's former progressive opponents pointed to this action as proof Dyke had always been the extremist they said he was.

The AIP platform opposed abortion, the ERA, pornography, homosexuality, gun control, legal marijuana, and busing for school segregation, U.S. involvement with the United Nations, amnesty for Vietnam War draft evaders, and releasing the Panama Canal. It supported the governments of Taiwan, South Africa, and Rhodesia.

George Wallace, the Godfather of the AIP, endorsed Jimmy Carter in the course of the campaign. Maddox was livid. He said southern Democrats who endorse Carter were "southern pseudo-conservatives" who "have betrayed the people and betrayed the South." Of Wallace in particular Maddox declared the Carter endorsement was "The greatest blow to the conservative cause in this nation's experience." Maddox predicted a Ford victory.

The Maddox/Dyke ticket was on the ballot or had recorded write-ins in 23 states and placed 5th nationally, closely tucked after the Libertarian Party and in front of the American Party. Maddox had a different running mate in the state of New Jersey, Edmund O. Matzal.

Maddox/Dyke polled 1.74% in Idaho. The runner up states were Louisiana 0.79%, Alabama 0.78%, California 0.65%, Mississippi 0.63%, Nebraska 0.56%, Pennsylvania and Washington 0.55% each, and Connecticut 0.51%. An argument could be made that the AIP cost President Ford the State of Ohio but that would not have changed the final outcome of the national contest.

Other occupations: children's TV host, TV news panel show moderator, general contractor, horse breeder, attorney, judge, children's book illustrator, movie producer

Election history:
1967 - Mayor of Madison, Wis. (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1969-1973 - Mayor of Madison, Wis. (Nonpartisan)
1973 - Mayor of Madison, Wis. (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1974 - Governor of Wisconsin (Republican) - defeated

Buried: ?

Notes:
He had a past and future third party VPs as opponents in the 1974 race: Patrick Lucey (winner) and
 Georgia Cozzini.
An uncredited executive producer of the 1975 film The Giant Spider Invasion.
Illustrator of the children's book The General's hat, or why the bell tower stopped working / by Kay
 Price (Sauk City, WI : Geranium Press, 1990)