Edgar Vaughn Moorman

 Babson and Moorman shake hands

 Babson's sign on the back of his Cadillac

Edgar Vaughn Moorman, January 21, 1878 (Big Spring, Ky.) - August 8, 1942 (Quincy, Ill.)

VP candidate for Prohibition Party (aka New Prohibition Party) (1940)

Running mate with nominee: Roger W. Babson (1875-1967)

Popular vote: 57,903 (0.12%)

Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

In 1940 the Prohibition Party selected a ticket where both nominees were relative newcomers to the Party and neither one had ever run for office before.

Roger W. Babson was a Republican and ultra-wealthy eccentric entrepreneur. His running mate Edgar V. Moorman was a lifelong Democrat and successful businessman. Together they would shift the Prohibition Party to the religious hard right, where it still resides to this day. 

The 1940 platform included this evangelical call to arms:

A Coalition Party

  While both of the major political parties are performing useful service in emphasizing different needs, entangling alliances with corrupt interests, necessary to their success, make it impossible for these parties to take a definite stand on moral issues, even though these issues today are fundamental in solving our nation's problems. Therefore, there must be a union of church people and others who stand first for righteousness, into a Third Party. The NEW Prohibition Party serves such a purpose.

Shortly after the election Babson penned a book about the campaign. Among his many observations and suggestions was this: "Of one thing I am very certain-- namely, that 'Babson and Moorman' would have secured many, many more votes in 1940 if we had been on the ballot as a straight Church Party than as candidates of the Prohibition Party. I shall never run again as a Presidential candidate for any party; but I do insist that if churches will not combine and back the Prohibition Party, then a Church Party should be organized into which they will combine. Of course, the candidates must be high-grade churchmen, beyond reproach and having ability, intelligence, and experience. They should also be young men with courage and energy."

Moorman suggested the Party be renamed His Kingdom Party.

In an election year that was not kind to third parties, the Babson/Moorman ticket placed fourth nationally, considerably less than the Socialist Party of America, but just a shade more than the Communist Party USA. With votes recorded in 30 states, their best finish was in Arizona with 0.49%.

Election history: none

Other occupations: Ran a livestock feed and stock medicine company (Moorman Manufacturing Company, Quincy, Ill.)

Buried: Greenmount Cemetery (Quincy, Ill.)

Notes:
Started the Moorman Manufacturing Company with his brother Hamilton in Gorin, Mo., but later moved the operation to Quincy, Ill.
If elected he would have died in office when he suffered his heart attack Aug. 8, 1942.
Left half a million in his will to the Layman's Trust for Evangelism.
Methodist.

Maynard C. Krueger

Maynard C. Krueger, January 16, 1906 (Gregory Landing, Mo.) – December 20, 1991 (Pleasanton, Calif.)

VP candidate for Socialist Party of America (1940)

Running mate with nominee: Norman M. Thomas (1884-1968)

Popular vote: 116,599 (0.23%)

Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

The tattered remains of the Socialist Party of America after years of infighting and splits left a small group that would be in a defensive damage control mode as they regrouped. The headquarters was moved from Chicago to New York. This would be Norman Thomas' fourth run for US President. His running mate, university professor Maynard C. Krueger was considered a member of  the "militant" left wing of the party.

Krueger's age, under the Constitutional requirement of 35 became an issue, but he pointed out that by Inauguration Day he was would be 35 years and 4 days old.

As war waged in Europe, the SPA's antiwar platform took a pacifist nonintervention stance, condemning US aid to the UK and France.

Montana Democratic US Sen. Burton Wheeler (the 1924 VP nominee of the Progressive Party) revealed years later he voted for the Thomas/Krueger ticket in 1940. Wheeler himself had been urged to run as an isolationist third party candidate.

With votes recorded in 30 states the SPA's best results were in Wisconsin (1.07%), Maryland (0.62%), Washington and Montana (both 0.58%). Although the Thomas/Krueger ticket's national percentage was dismal they still came in third. In 1940 all of the third parties results combined total amounted to less than 1%.

Election history:
1948 - US House of Representatives (Ill.) (Independent) - defeated

Other occupations: University professor in economics and social sciences (Albion College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago), Vice-President of the American Federation of Teachers 1930s, author

Buried: cremated.

Notes:
Surname rhymes with "eager"
Was an associate of George Orwell in Paris in the late 1920s.
Left the SPA in 1952 and endorsed Adlai Stevenson that year.

Vacant

Vacant, March, 1940 - November 5, 1940

VP candidate for Surprise Party (1940)

Running mate with nominee: Gracie Allen (1895-1964)

Popular vote: unrecorded write-in votes, perhaps in the hundreds.

Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

Gracie Allen of the Burns and Allen comedy team launched one of the early celebrity joke campaigns for President in 1940. She deliberately did not choose a Vice-Presidential running mate, she said, because her administration would not abide any vice.

Some other Gracieisms during the campaign:

"You know, I’m tired of knitting this sweater, I think I'll run for president,” she announced to her family in early 1940. Other sources say her writers cooked up the idea.

"I don't know much about the Lend-Lease Bill, but if we owe it we should pay it." 

When asked with which party she was affiliated: "I may take a drink now and then, but I never get affiliated."

"I will make no fire-side chats from the White House between April 15 and October 15. It is asking too much and I don’t know how President Roosevelt stands it. Washington is awfully hot in summer."

"Congressmen are well paid. Why should they be allowed to make those playing cards on the side? We favor putting Congress on a commission basis. Pay them for results. If they do a good job and the country prospers, they get 10% of the extra take."

"END SECRECY IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEMANDS GRACIE: If Charles Boyer is going around with Greta Garbo, the people are entitled to know about it. But I’m not really worried about this. Our Foreign Relations will be all right so long as they bring their own bedding and don’t stay too long."

"I propose to extend the Civil Service to all branches of the government, because I think a little politeness goes a long ways, don't you?"

"My opponents worry about the national debt being almost up to $45,000,000,000. What’s the matter with that? We should be proud of it; after all, it's the biggest in the world! But that's a lot of money, so my plan is to put it in a safe bank. Even at 2% it's a good investment, and putting it in three banks would make 6%."

"Presidents are made, not born. It's silly to think that Presidents are born, because very few people are 35 years old at birth, and those who are won't admit it."

Election history: none

Other occupations: none

Buried: vanished in thin air

Notes:
The mascot of the Surprise Party was a Kangaroo, with the motto: "It's In The Bag!"
Gracie was endorsed by Harvard University.
The voters of Monominee, Mich. nominated Gracie for mayor but since she was not a resident she
 was disqualified.
Even though part of the gag supposedly was that a woman would have the nerve to actually run for
 President, Gracie managed to get in some digs at the gender bias in American politics.
One newspaper suggested Groucho Marx fill the vacant VP spot.

Aaron M. Orange

Aaron M. Orange, July 11, 1905 (New York, NY) - Oct. 31, 1995 (Greensburg, Penn.?)

VP candidate for Socialist Labor Party (aka Industrial Government Party) (1940)

Running mate with nominee: John W. Aiken (1896-1968)

Popular vote: 14,883 (0.03%)

Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

John W. Aiken was nominated for President in his second run for that office. Aaron M. Orange was selected as his running mate.

With Europe and Asia already self-destructing, the 1940 Socialist Labor Party platform included strong antiwar language in their platform, with the premise that war is byproduct of capitalism:
Unable to solve the problems at home, the capitalist class diverts attention from its failures to the anarchy abroad. The long  anticipated war is now an irrevocable fact. Capitalist democracy is perishing in its flames. The belligerents which boasted the broadest liberties have scrapped the conquests of centuries of struggle for freedom over night. Perceptibly America is being drawn into the bloody vortex. Its exports have shifted from grain, fruit and plows to war-planes, guns and munitions. On this  grim traffic is its "prosperity" based. War feeds on commerce; commerce feeds on war. Under the pretext of "national defense" and to a chorus of declamations for peace, its statesmen, New Deal, old deal, liberal and conservative alike, gird the nation for its fateful role. Punchinello-like, the  political henchmen of the capitalist class move as their masters pull the strings.

In the same document the SLP slams the other parties, celebrating their long-held political isolation and unwillingness to act in any of sort of fusion:
In presenting the issue "Socialism  or  Capitalism" and a program for its solution, the Socialist Labor Party stands alone. All other parties, whether Republican, Democratic, "Socialist," "Labor," "Progressive," or "Communist," propose reforms which tend  to preserve capitalism but fail to improve the lot of the workers. Therefore, we call upon the toilers of America, in order to implement their hope for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to cast their ballot for the Socialist Labor Party, for the abolition of the capitalist system.

The Aiken/Orange ticket appeared on the ballot in 15 states. Their strongest finish was in Oregon with 0.52%.

Election history:
1932 - Governor of New York (Socialist Labor Party) - defeated
1933 - Mayor of New York City (Socialist Labor Party) - defeated
1934 - Governor of New York (Socialist Labor Party) - defeated
1935 - Justice of New York Supreme Court 1st District - defeated
1938 - Governor of New York (Industrial Government Party) - defeated
1942 - Governor of New York (Industrial Government Party) - defeated

Other occupations: school teacher, author

Buried: Hillview Cemetery (Greensburg, Penn.)

Notes:
Taught elementary public school in the Bronx
Was a conscientious objector during WWII, choosing Civilian Public Service Apr. 21, 1943-Oct. 12,
 1945 and housed in camps at Big Flats, NY and Powellville, Md.
Married to Ruth (1912-2008)
Winner of the 1933 race for NYC Mayor was Fiorello LaGuardia.
His fellow losers in the 1938 race for NY Governor were Thomas Dewey and Norman Thomas.
Winner of the 1942 race for NY Governor was Thomas Dewey.
Testified to the US Senate in 1973 on behalf of the SLP regarding campaign finance reform.
His Romanian-born father, Adolph Orange, was apparently also a member of the SLP.

James Elmer Yates

James Elmer Yates, March 12, 1874 (Johnsville, Ohio) - April 7, 1954 (Phoenix, Ariz.)

VP candidate for Greenback Party (aka National Greenback Party) (1940)

Running mate with nominee: John Zahnd (1877-1961)

Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)

Electoral vote: 0/531

The campaign:

This was Zahnd's final campaign for President. Initially the standard bearer was supposed to be Anna T. Milburn of Seattle but she declined and so Zahnd himself headed the ticket. The number two spot was taken by James E. Yates of Arizona. No serious campaign seems to have been waged and no votes were recorded.

Election history: none.

Other occupations: author, Apostle in the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), editor, missionary

Buried: Sedona Community Cemetery (Sedona, Ariz.)

Notes:
Buried in the same cemetery as James Gregory.
His second wife was the granddaughter of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith.
Was a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints until 1927. Received a
 revelation from God on May 1, 1927 that included a rejection of the RLDS Church. Made an Apostle
 of the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) in Apr. 1928.

James William Ford

James William Ford, December 22, 1893 (Pratt City, Ala.) – June 21, 1957 (New York, NY)

VP candidate for Communist Party USA (1932, 1936, 1940)

Running mate with nominee (1932): William Z. Foster (1881-1961)
Running mate with nominee (1936, 1940): Earl R. Browder (1891-1973)

Popular vote (1932): 103,307 (0.26%)
Popular vote (1936): 79,315 (0.17%)
Popular vote (1940): 48,557 (0.10%)

Electoral vote (1932, 1936, 1940): 0/531

The campaign (1932):

In an era when thousands of Americans were moving to the Soviet Union, the newly renamed Communist Party USA had their best opportunity to recruit new members.

Pro-Stalinist William Z. Foster was nominated for his third presidential run, with James W. "Jim" Ford as his running mate.

Although Ford is frequently touted as "the first African American to run for a presidential ticket in U.S. history," that is not entirely true although he was the first to be on a ticket where a significant number of votes were recorded from numerous state ballots. But we cannot ignore Frederick Douglass (Equal Rights Party 1872), William Thomas Scott/George Edwin Taylor/William C. Payne (National Negro Liberty Party 1904), and Simon Peter William Drew (Interracial Independent Political Party 1928).

It is true that the CPUSA was one the first political parties to be integrated and denounce segregation, but it was still demographically a very white party.

The 1932 CPUSA platform called for a United States of Soviet America and summarized itself with six points:

1. Unemployment and social insurance at the expense of the state and employers.                                2. Against Hoover's wage-cutting policy.  
3. Emergency relief for the impoverished farmers without restrictions by the government and banks; exemption of impoverished farmers from taxes, and no forced collection of rents or debts.
4. Equal rights for the Negroes and self-determination for the Black Belt.
5. Against capitalist terror; against all forms of suppression of the political rights of the workers.
6. Against imperialist war; for the defense of the Chinese people and of the Soviet Union.
On Sept. 8 Foster suffered a major heart attack on the campaign trail in Illinois which was followed by a mental breakdown. After the election he went to the USSR to recover, not returning to the US until 1934.

1932 would be the high point for the CPUSA at the presidential ballot box with a final national result of 0.26%, landing in a very distant 4th place. They were an option for voters in 39 states, with their best showing being Montana (0.82%) where in Sheridan County they polled 17.74%. 

The campaign (1936):

Earl Browder, a less militant leader of CPUSA than his rival Foster, had stepped into a leadership role after the latter had been sidelined by his failing health. Browder was more willing to work the system and made overtures to the Socialists and other groups to form a united front for pro-labor and anti-fascist activities. Supposedly Browder even offered to be the running mate with Socialist Norman Thomas in 1936.

With votes recorded in 35 states their best showing was in New York (0.64%) and California (0.41%). In some states their popular vote was in single or double digits.

The campaign (1940):

The Nazi-Soviet pact of August, 1939 had seriously undermined the CPUSA's anti-fascist rhetoric and the Party began to lose members, especially artists, writers, and intellectuals who had signed up in the early 1930s. On top of that, presidential nominee Browder had been tried and convicted of passport fraud in 1940, and during the campaign was free while the case was being appealed, which didn't turn out so well for him. He began his 14-month prison sentence in March, 1941.

On the ballot in 23 states, their strongest finish was in California (0.42%).

The CPUSA would not appear on the presidential ballot again until 1968.

Election history:
1930 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Communist Party USA) - defeated
1934 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Communist Party USA) - defeated

Other occupations: blacksmith's helper, machinist's helper, blast furnace laborer, US Signal Corps in France during WWI, mattress factory worker, Post Office worker, author

Buried: cremated

Notes:
First person to run as a third party VP three times.
Attended Fisk University
Joined the Workers (Communist) Party of America in 1926.
In Moscow and Hamburg as an open Communist agent in 1928-1930
In Spain supporting the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, 1937.
Demoted from his executive position in CPUSA in 1944-1945 due to his association with Earl
 Browder, who had been expelled from the Party.
When Ford was young, his grandfather had been burned alive by white mob.
Born James William Foursche "with the accent on the last syllable."