William Buford McKenzie

William Buford McKenzie, January 5, 1913 (Pike County, Mo.) - April 2, 1990 (Rocky Mount, Mo.)

VP candidate for Theocratic Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Homer A. Tomlinson (1892-1968)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

For the first time since the Theocratic Party was founded Homer Tomlinson did not choose to run for President. Instead the Party selected 1964 VP William R. Rogers as the standard bearer for 1968. The decision to select Rogers was made early, in May 1965, and the selection was formalized during the 1967 Theocratic Party convention.

Rogers estimated he had covered over 76,000 miles in the course of his campaign, frequently visiting college campuses. The Party platform was expanded from previous years, and Rogers talked about the anti-war plank, "Stop the war in Vietnam. We're going to have to stop that war. American boys are dying and children left homeless as it gets bloodier day by day. We shouldn't have been there in the first place. I believe I can stop the war and without losing American integrity. I would stop the bombing and pull back our troops for 60 days and as a man of God talk with Hanoi." Rogers was one of the very few candidates in the 1968 campaign to actually visit South Vietnam (in 1966).

Oddly, the Theocratic Party had never selected a running mate for Rogers. And he would never have one because he suddenly dropped out of the race:

I withdrew from the presidential race in late May, 1968, after campaigning hard for three full years. I had discovered that we were not going to get on the ballot anywhere, even in Missouri. I had gone to the court houses. I had traveled all over, but the organization wasn't there.

The Party very quickly replaced Rogers with Tomlinson (his 5th run for the Presidency) and fellow Church of God leader W. Buford McKenzie of Chaffee, Missouri. By this point in his life Tomlinson was very ill and the campaign was a low-key effort. The "King of the World" headline-grabbing theatrics were not as abundant as in earlier election years.

As usual, the Party failed to attain ballot status in any state. 9,629 unnamed write-in votes were recorded in the 1968 Presidential election so it is possible the Tomlinson/McKenzie ticket had a few votes in that mix.

Tomlinson died Dec. 4, 1968, just a month after the election, and although his branch of the Church of God continued to survive, the Theocratic Party itself came to an end with his passing.

Election history: none

Other occupations: shoe company employee, Church of God minister

Buried: ?

Notes:
Known as Buford.
Contrary to a repeated claim on Internet, William Penn Patrick was never associated with or the 1968
 running mate for the "California Theocratic Party."

Rodolfo Gonzales

 Cesar Chavez, Corky Gonzalez

 Ralph Abernathy, Corky Gonzalez, Peggy Terry

 Angela Davis, Corky Gonzalez

Rodolfo Gonzales, June 18, 1928 (Denver, Colo.) – April 12, 2005 (Denver. Colo.)

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998)
Popular vote: 1512 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Driven chiefly by Californians, the Peace and Freedom Party was organized in the mid-1960s and went national in an attempt to link together various contingents of the Left. At their Presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-18, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Mich. where Eldridge Cleaver was selected over Dick Gregory, a schism had already become obvious. Gregory would go on to outpoll Cleaver on Election Day.

Cleaver, the author of Soul on Ice and the Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, had little patience for the serious bickering that took place at the convention. When it came time to nominate a Vice-Presidential candidate, Cleaver suggested Youth International Party activist Jerry Rubin-- an idea that went nowhere as many considered Rubin to be too erratic, uncontrollable, and part of the Far Right of the Far Left. As the convention wrestled over this and other issues, Cleaver walked out in frustration and the matter was eventually left up to each state to select his running mate.

A member of the Socialist Workers Party took notes at this event and concluded:

Some Generalizations 1) The P&F movement is in a state of serious disarray. 2) The "coalition" with the Panthers had been badly shaken. 3) If Cleaver doesn't extricate himself from this mess soon he will rapidly and thoroughly discredit himself in the eyes of black militants inside and outside the BPP.

In April 1968, prior to being nominated, Cleaver was involved in a police shootout. Shortly after the election he felt obliged to jump bail and flee to Cuba.

The Iowa and Utah Peace and Freedom Party conventions selected Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales as the VP nominee. A former boxer of some note, author of the epic poem I Am Joaquin (1967), and a leader in Mexican-American civil rights, Gonzalez had been an active Democrat starting in the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, but felt frustrated working within the major party system.

There are conflicting newspaper accounts concerning the blank spot on the Utah ballot for the Peace and Freedom Party option for President. One story has it that because Cleaver was too young to serve, he was stricken from the ballot while Gonzales (and the Electors) remained. The second story, according to the Aug. 25, 1968 Salt Lake Tribune, is that the Utah PFP majority opinion was to leave the position blank in spite of vigorous lobbying by supporters of both Eugene McCarthy and Eldridge Cleaver. Gonzales, from neighboring Colorado, was nominated as VP with an almost favorite son admiration. The convention also nominated the singer Bruce "Utah" Phillips for the US Senate.

The final vote: Iowa 1,332 (5th place, 0.11%) and Utah 180 (a very distant 4th place, 0.04%)

Election history:
1962 - Colorado House of Representatives (Democratic) - defeated
1964 - Colorado House of Representatives (Democratic) - ruled ineligible due to residency requirements

Other occupations: boxer, poet, agricultural worker, author, tavern owner, bail bondsman, one of the founders of Cruzada para la Justicia

Buried: ?

Notes:
Testifying to his fiery personality as a youth, an uncle said of Gonzales, "He was always popping off
 like a cork. So, we called him Corky."
"It is important for us to realize that Chicanos did not immigrate to the United States, the United
 States came to us."--Corky Gonzales.
Inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Retired from boxing in 1955 with 63 wins, 11 losses, and 1 draw.
His father came to the US from Mexico.
Active in La Raza Unida Party
"I am Joaquin,
Lost in a world of confusion,
Caught up in a whirl of a gringo society,
Confused by the rules, Scorned by attitudes,
Suppressed by manipulations, And destroyed by modern society.
My fathers have lost the economic battle and won the struggle of
cultural survival."

Judith Hollander Mage

Judith Hollander Mage, February 3, 1935 (New York, NY?) -

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998)
Popular vote: 217 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Driven chiefly by Californians, the Peace and Freedom Party was organized in the mid-1960s and went national in an attempt to link together various contingents of the Left. At their Presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-18, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Mich. where Eldridge Cleaver was selected over Dick Gregory, a schism had already become obvious. Gregory would go on to outpoll Cleaver on Election Day.

Cleaver, the author of Soul on Ice and the Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, had little patience for the serious bickering that took place at the convention. When it came time to nominate a Vice-Presidential candidate, Cleaver suggested Youth International Party activist Jerry Rubin-- an idea that went nowhere as many considered Rubin to be too erratic, uncontrollable, and part of the Far Right of the Far Left. As the convention wrestled over this and other issues, Cleaver walked out in frustration and the matter was eventually left up to each state to select his running mate.

A member of the Socialist Workers Party took notes at this event and concluded:

Some Generalizations 1) The P&F movement is in a state of serious disarray. 2) The "coalition" with the Panthers had been badly shaken. 3) If Cleaver doesn't extricate himself from this mess soon he will rapidly and thoroughly discredit himself in the eyes of black militants inside and outside the BPP.

In April 1968, prior to being nominated, Cleaver was involved in a police shootout. Shortly after the election he felt obliged to jump bail and flee to Cuba.

The New York Peace and Freedom Party nominated Cleaver and Doug F. Dowd as his running mate with the understanding Dowd would be a "stand-in." The sequence of events is not clear, but within the month the State of New York invalidated the Party's place on the Presidential ballot by virtue of the fact Cleaver was below the age of 35. Shortly before or after this took place, Dowd's name was replaced by that of Judith Mage, who at age 33 was also too young to meet the Constitutional requirement. Subsequent efforts to at least have the PFP Electors listed with a blank slate went nowhere.

Mage was a former member of the Socialist Workers Party who became well known in 1965-1968 as one of the leaders of a crippling strike held by the 7000+ member Social Service Employees Union in New York. At some point her political activity landed her behind bars for a spell. Mayor Lindsay called her circle, "a small irresponsible group that caused trouble for everybody." But it was an era of huge multiple strikes to hit New York City as the political climate was shifting.

The hopelessness of attaining a spot in the New York ballot did not prevent Mage from campaigning. On Oct. 7, 1968, Democratic VP candidate Sen. Edmund S. Muskie encountered the most energetic heckling of his campaign while attempting to give a speech in Syracuse, NY. The chief instigator was named as the megaphone-wielding Judith Mage, who the newspapers said challenged Muskie to a spontaneous debate as VP to VP but the Senator declined.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Mage was apparently considered Cleaver's VP in Arizona. The Grand Canyon State did not list VP candidates on the ballot, but other sources give Mage as the running mate in that jurisdiction. Their very distant 5th place finish of 217 votes amounted to 0.04% of the popular vote there, but they still outpolled the Socialist Workers and Socialist Labor parties.

Election history: none

Other occupations: welfare caseworker, President of the Social Service Employees Union, local family planning educator for Planned Parenthood, community activist

Notes:
Sometimes listed as Judith M. Mage.
Currently registered as a Democrat and still active for progressive causes in her community in upstate
 NY.
Attended Antioch and was active with the SWP there with her then-husband Shane Mage.

Douglas Fitzgerald Dowd

Douglas Fitzgerald Dowd, December 7, 1919 (San Francisco, Calif.) - September 8, 2017 (Bologna, Italy)

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998)
Popular vote: 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Driven chiefly by Californians, the Peace and Freedom Party was organized in the mid-1960s and went national in an attempt to link together various contingents of the Left. At their Presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-18, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Mich. where Eldridge Cleaver was selected over Dick Gregory, a schism had already become obvious. Gregory would go on to outpoll Cleaver on Election Day.

Cleaver, the author of Soul on Ice and the Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, had little patience for the serious bickering that took place at the convention. When it came time to nominate a Vice-Presidential candidate, Cleaver suggested Youth International Party activist Jerry Rubin-- an idea that went nowhere as many considered Rubin to be too erratic, uncontrollable, and part of the Far Right of the Far Left. As the convention wrestled over this and other issues, Cleaver walked out in frustration and the matter was eventually left up to each state to select his running mate.

A member of the Socialist Workers Party took notes at this event and concluded:

Some Generalizations 1) The P&F movement is in a state of serious disarray. 2) The "coalition" with the Panthers had been badly shaken. 3) If Cleaver doesn't extricate himself from this mess soon he will rapidly and thoroughly discredit himself in the eyes of black militants inside and outside the BPP.

In April 1968, prior to being nominated, Cleaver was involved in a police shootout. Shortly after the election he felt obliged to jump bail and flee to Cuba.

The New York Peace and Freedom Party nominated Cleaver at their convention but struggled over the VP nominee decision which included Carl Oglesby who was a SDS leader and Jerry Rubin of the Youth International Party (Yippies). Enter stage Old Left, Doug F. Dowd a Cornell economics professor and mentor to Daniel Ellsberg, as well as one of Henry Wallace's 1948 Progressive Party managers.

As Dowd later recalled:

I just happened to be in New York the weekend on which they were having their convention, on the east side of New York ... And I thought, "well, as long as I'm here I may as well drop in on the goddamn convention before I go to Ithaca." So I go to the convention, which is a tawdry kind of thing in some creepy old hotel ... I walk in there: "Jesus Christ, Doug. Thank God you've come! You've got to be vice president!" "What are you talking about? .. I not only don't got to run for vice president, as I've told you I don't believe in this thing at all." "If you don't do it, Rubin's going to get it. Do you want Rubin to be running for vice president?" And they knew damn well I hated Jerry Rubin ... So I said, "Jesus, you've got to find someone else." "No, we can't find anybody else. It's too late. You've got to do it, Doug." So in order to keep Jerry Rubin from getting on this goddamn [ticket], I said "OK."

Rubin's supporters openly questioned whether a man who was in "a pinstriped suit with a martini in his hand" could be on the ticket. For his part, Dowd said the convention brought to mind "a bunch of little kids, high school kids, playing mayor for a day or convention for a day."

The newspapers reported that Dowd was a "stand-in" nominee who did not plan to campaign or serve in office if elected. But he did defend Cleaver in at least one long letter to the editor. As it happened the State of New York rejected the Peace and Freedom Party ticket from the ballot in late September on the grounds that Cleaver was too young to serve in office if elected. Around the same time the ticket had been invalidated, the name of Judith Mage replaced Dowd's in the court appeals.

No doubt the Cleaver/Dowd team earned some write-in votes in New York, but these were not recorded.

Election history: none

Other occupations: soldier (WWII), economist, university professor, author

Buried: ?

Notes:
"Most of the people of all the rich countries now work very hard – even harder – to pay for things that add little to the meaning or satisfaction of their lives. In doing so they contribute to a socioeconomic global system that has already ruined countless lives and that threatens to end all life. Many thoughtful and decent people think there is no reasonable alternative. But there is. And if not now, when?"--Douglas F. Dowd.

Lawrence D. Hochman

Lawrence D. Hochman, October 18, 1929 (Detroit, Mich.) - January 25, 2009 (Livonia, Mich.?)

VP candidate for New Politics Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998)
Popular vote: 4,585 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Driven chiefly by Californians, the Peace and Freedom Party was organized in the mid-1960s and went national in an attempt to link together various contingents of the Left. At their Presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-18, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Mich. where Eldridge Cleaver was selected over Dick Gregory, a schism had already become obvious. Gregory would go on to outpoll Cleaver on Election Day.

Cleaver, the author of Soul on Ice and the Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, had little patience for the serious bickering that took place at the convention. When it came time to nominate a Vice-Presidential candidate, Cleaver suggested Youth International Party activist Jerry Rubin-- an idea that went nowhere as many considered Rubin to be too erratic, uncontrollable, and part of the Far Right of the Far Left. As the convention wrestled over this and other issues, Cleaver walked out in frustration and the matter was eventually left up to each state to select his running mate.

A member of the Socialist Workers Party took notes at this event and concluded:

Some Generalizations 1) The P&F movement is in a state of serious disarray. 2) The "coalition" with the Panthers had been badly shaken. 3) If Cleaver doesn't extricate himself from this mess soon he will rapidly and thoroughly discredit himself in the eyes of black militants inside and outside the BPP.

In April 1968, prior to being nominated, Cleaver was involved in a police shootout. Shortly after the election he felt obliged to jump bail and flee to Cuba.

In Michigan Cleaver was not nominated by the Peace and Freedom but rather the New Politics Party, a very short-lived Michigan group. It is difficult to ascertain if this organization was more closely affiliated with the Peace and Freedom Party, the New Party, or anyone else. For VP they nominated Larry Hochman, an associate professor of physics at Eastern Michigan University.

There was also a New Politics Party in Indiana that found themselves with a blank slate when their proposed Eugene McCarthy/John Lindsay ticket turned them down, so they replaced them with Dick Gregory/Mark Lane. Whether the Indiana and Michigan New Politics parties were related is unclear, like most everything else about the 1968 election!

On a campaign budget of merely $944.09, the Cleaver/Hochman electioneering activity was severely limited.

The national vote for Cleaver was 36,571 (0.04%). Of those votes 4,585 (0.14%) came from the Cleaver/Hochman choice in Michigan where they placed 4th. Hochman expressed disappointment that they did not reach one percent, meaning that next time they would have to achieve ballot status once again by employing the onerous task of gathering petition signatures. He said he doubted he would run again.

Election history: none

Other occupations: physics instructor, attorney, author

Buried: ?

Notes:
Part of the Burdick-Hochman political family in Michigan.
Hochman stated his nomination and other Leftist activity was the reason why Eastern Michigan
 University denied him a permanent position. He and two other Leftist professors in the same
 situation sued and EMU settled in 1971.
Lived in a Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz in 1951.

Peggy Terry

 Ralph Abernathy, Corky Gonzales, Peggy Terry

Peggy Terry, October 28, 1921 (Haileyville, Okla.) - May 4, 2004 (Chicago, Ill.)

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998)
Popular vote: 28,642 (0.04%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Driven chiefly by Californians, the Peace and Freedom Party was organized in the mid-1960s and went national in an attempt to link together various contingents of the Left. At their Presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-18, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Mich. where Eldridge Cleaver was selected over Dick Gregory, a schism had already become obvious. Gregory would go on to outpoll Cleaver on Election Day.

Cleaver, the author of Soul on Ice and the Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, had little patience for the serious bickering that took place at the convention. When it came time to nominate a Vice-Presidential candidate, Cleaver suggested Youth International Party activist Jerry Rubin-- an idea that went nowhere as many considered Rubin to be too erratic, uncontrollable, and part of the Far Right of the Far Left. As the convention wrestled over this and other issues, Cleaver walked out in frustration and the matter was eventually left up to each state to select his running mate.

A member of the Socialist Workers Party took notes at this event and concluded:

Some Generalizations 1) The P&F movement is in a state of serious disarray. 2) The "coalition" with the Panthers had been badly shaken. 3) If Cleaver doesn't extricate himself from this mess soon he will rapidly and thoroughly discredit himself in the eyes of black militants inside and outside the BPP.

In April 1968, prior to being nominated, Cleaver was involved in a police shootout. Shortly after the election he felt obliged to jump bail and flee to Cuba.

For the ticket in California and Minnesota, Peggy Terry was selected as the running mate. SDS leader Carl Oglesby had been considered for VP in California, but that was scrapped for some reason or he withdrew. Terry had grown up in grinding poverty in a family where some belonged to the Ku Klux Klan as they frequently moved around in the South. Eventually a series of events, including witnessing Martin Luther King being assaulted by a crowd of racists, radicalized her. She moved north to Chicago and is often called one of the members of the original Rainbow Coalition.

Terry, although somewhat reluctantly at first, was convinced by her comrades that she had the unique qualifications to approach the poor white neighborhoods of Chicago ("Hillbilly Harlem") and persuade them away from populist segregationist George Wallace and broaden their power by joining the Peace and Freedom Party. As she said at the June, 1968 Solidarity Rally:

We, the poor whites of the United States, today demand an end to racism, for our own self interest and well being, as well as for the well being of black, brown, and red Americans, who, I repeat, are our natural allies in the struggle for real freedom and real democracy in these, OUR, United States of America.

J.W. Randolph, Terry's campaign manager, described a little bit of the electioneering activity:

So it was that in the fall of 1968 I managed Peggy's bid to become the Vice President of the United States of America. The campaign believed we could raise the issue of poverty and encourage people beyond Chicago to organize among poor whites. We hit the trail with a collection of cars and young radicals, heading to places like Des Moines, Detroit, Columbus, Ohio, and cities in California. In Louisville, Kentucky, we were run out of a Kroger food store parking lot by an angry mob of Ku Klux Klan members who began throwing rocks while we sang “We Shall Overcome” (as the police suddenly disappeared).

Our plan had been to bury ourselves in poor communities like Uptown, to recruit community people and build a base that would be part of the larger ongoing struggle for social, political, and economic justice. Our approach was to push for the long haul, staying in the community and going through change with people. We had some success. Certainly the young middle class white organizers, as well as a number of young neighborhood guys and welfare moms and their kids, had their lives changed.

In California, Cleaver was not allowed in the ballot due to his age, but Terry and the Electors remained.

Of Cleaver's multiple running mates, it was the ticket with Terry that garnered the lion's share of votes. The national vote for Cleaver was 36,571 (0.04%). Of those votes 27,707 came from the Cleaver/Terry choice in California where they placed 4th with (0.38%), and Minnesota with 935 votes (0.06%) where they also placed 4th.

Election history: none

Other occupations: migrant worker, weapons factory, waitress, community activist, member of Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), newspaper editor, member of Jobs or Income Now (JOIN), member of Chicago Council for Peace and Voters for Peace, on Steering Committee for Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Poor People's Campaign

Buried: Symonsia Cemetery (Symonsia, Ky.)

Notes:
Born Luevelle Oletta Ousley.
Became friends and a collaborator with Studs Terkel.
"Where else could I go and be treated with this respect that I’ve been treated with by Reverend King,
 the Nobel Peace Prize winner? No white Nobel Prize winner would pay poor white trash like me the
 slightest attention. Reverend King does."--Peggy Terry.
Briefly a member of the Communist Party USA after marrying Gil Terry.
Had a role in the film Medium Cool ("Look out Haskell, it's real!") but her scenes were cut. (extra
 trivia-- I was a college classmate with Haskell Wexler's son, Mark). However she still helped with
 production by providing contacts. Robert Forster, one of the stars in the movie, just passed on a few
 days ago, RIP (1941-2019).

Calvin Preston Winslow Jr.

Calvin Preston Winslow Jr., 1943 (Seattle, Wash.) - 

VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998)
Popular vote: 1609 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Driven chiefly by Californians, the Peace and Freedom Party was organized in the mid-1960s and went national in an attempt to link together various contingents of the Left. At their Presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-18, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Mich. where Eldridge Cleaver was selected over Dick Gregory, a schism had already become obvious. Gregory would go on to outpoll Cleaver on Election Day.

Cleaver, the author of Soul on Ice and the Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, had little patience for the serious bickering that took place at the convention. When it came time to nominate a Vice-Presidential candidate, Cleaver suggested Youth International Party activist Jerry Rubin-- an idea that went nowhere as many considered Rubin to be too erratic, uncontrollable, and part of the Far Right of the Far Left. As the convention wrestled over this and other issues, Cleaver walked out in frustration and the matter was eventually left up to each state to select his running mate.

A member of the Socialist Workers Party took notes at this event and concluded:

Some Generalizations 1) The P&F movement is in a state of serious disarray. 2) The "coalition" with the Panthers had been badly shaken. 3) If Cleaver doesn't extricate himself from this mess soon he will rapidly and thoroughly discredit himself in the eyes of black militants inside and outside the BPP.

In April 1968, prior to being nominated, Cleaver was involved in a police shootout. Shortly after the election he felt obliged to jump bail and flee to Cuba.

The Washington State Peace and Freedom Party held their convention on Sept. 17, 1968 in Seattle, nominating Cleaver and as his running mate a 25-year old SDS campus activist at the University of Washington named Cal Winslow. Winslow was a history graduate student there having previously studied in the UK and arriving back home to Seattle via Antioch. The Cleaver/Winslow ticket appeared only on the Washington State ballot, where they earned 1,609 popular votes (0.12%) placing 4th. 1,034 of those votes came from King County (Seattle), Pierce County (Tacoma) was next with 106 votes. Both candidates were under the required minimum age to assume office according to the Constitution.

Over time Cleaver's journey shaped him into a conservative Republican, while Winslow today continues to be active in progressive causes in California.

Election history: none

Other occupations: educator, author, community radio show host, founder of the Mendocino Institute.

Notes:
Washington State trivia!!! A few other third party Vice-Presidential candidates have resided in Washington State, but Winslow is the first Washington-born third party Vice-Presidential candidate I have encountered. He was a guest faculty at The Evergreen State College in Olympia at some point, the same school I attended and where I earned my BA in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s I worked there for a couple years. Also, like Winslow, I attended the University of Washington, attaining my graduate degree in 1982. I was a faculty member (librarian) in a couple other Washington State institutions of higher education. I'm sure it would take Winslow and I only a matter of minutes to find we have several people in common. 

Benjamin McLane Spock

Benjamin McLane Spock, May 2, 1903 (New Haven, Conn.) – March 15, 1998 (La Jolla, Calif.)

VP candidate for National Conference for a New Politics (1968)
VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1968)
VP candidate for People's Party (1976)

Running mate with nominee (1968): Martin Luther King (1929-1968)
Running mate with nominee (1968): Dick Gregory (1932-2017)
Running mate with nominee (1976): Margaret Nusom Wright (1922-1996)
Popular vote (1968): 1680 (0.00%)
Popular vote (1976): 49,016 (0.06%)
Electoral vote (1968, 1976): 0/538

The campaign (1968):

In early 1967 several Leftist activists had been attempting to convince Rev. Martin Luther King of making a run for President in 1968. In August 1967 at a convention held by a loose alliance of progressive and civil rights groups called the National Conference for a New Politics, Rev. King and Dr. Benjamin Spock were nominated as a Presidential ticket. The group never met again. King refused to fully embrace the electioneering idea and was assassinated before any effort could be seriously pursued.

Meanwhile, after his unsuccessful run for Mayor of Chicago in 1967 as an independent, comedian and activist Dick Gregory wanted another try at elected office and decided to run for President as an outsider. As he said in an interview during the 1968 campaign, "I feel the two-party system is obsolete. The two-party system is so corrupt and immoral that it cannot solve the problems confronting the masses of people in this country. I did agree to accept the nomination in various states from independent organizations who had already had a position on the ballot and this why I have accepted."

Gregory ran in several states as a write-in or sometimes showed up on the ballot itself, under the banner of multiple political parties, with various running mates. No matter what the platform of the party he was using as a vehicle, Dick Gregory was still Dick Gregory.

When the newly created Peace and Freedom Party held their first chaotic convention, Dick Gregory was outvoted in the nomination process by Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver. In Pennsylvania and Virginia, Gregory was run under the Peace and Freedom Party banner anyway, with anti-war Dr. Benjamin Spock as his running mate. Spock managed to withdraw from the Pennsylvania ticket, replaced by Mark Lane. This left Virginia as the only state where this team was presented and Spock was considered a "stand-in" until someone else came along. But someone else did not come along.

Before Dr. Spock became known as a Leftist activist, he was already a celebrity as the author of the national best-seller Baby and Child Care (1946). The book came back to haunt him during the Youth Rebellion of the late 1960s/early 1970s, with many on the conservative side blaming Spock's promotion of "permissiveness" as one of the causes of the Generation Gap. Spock regarded these attacks as ad hominem and groundless.

The Gregory campaign placed 5th nationally (outpolling Cleaver) with 47,149 popular votes (0.06%). The Gregory/Spock ticket earned 1680 (0.12%) popular votes in Virginia.

The campaign (1976):

The People's Party was a confederation of minor parties, mostly local. In 1976 those parties included the Peace and Freedom Party (Calif.), Human Rights Party (Mich.), Vermont Liberty Union, and the Bicentennial Reality Party (Wash.)

The Presidential nominee was Margaret Wright, who was radicalized during union activity as a "Rosie the Riveter" worker for Lockheed during WWII. She later became a civil rights activist and by the late 1960s was the Black Panther Party Minister of Education. In 1976 the People's Party nominated Wright for President and Gray Panthers founder Maggie Kuhn (1905-1995), an activist for seniors, as her running mate. Kuhn declined, so the 1972 People's Party Presidential nominee, Dr. Benjamin Spock was selected as the replacement Vice-Presidential choice.

Wright scraped up enough money to make campaign visits in her old Ford station wagon. The ticket was on the ballot in six states. Wright wanted to be on the ballot in the Green Mountain State under the banner of the the Vermont Liberty Union Party (which was running Bernie Sanders for Governor in 1976) but could not file for want of the $1000 fee required.

The final popular vote results for the Wright/Spock ticket: California (Peace and Freedom Party) 0.53%, Michigan (Human Rights Party) 0.10%, Washington (Bicentennial Reality Party) 0.07%, Wisconsin (Independent) 0.04%, Minnesota and New Jersey (both People's Party) 0.03% each. California provided 41,731 of their national 49,016 tally.

Election history:
1968 - Peace and Freedom Party nomination for US President - defeated
1968 - Freedom and Peace Party nomination for US President - withdrew
1972 - Democratic Party nomination for US Vice-President - defeated
1972 - Liberal Party nomination for US President - defeated
1972 - US President (People's Party) - defeated
1980 - Peace and Freedom Party nomination for US President - defeated

Other occupations: doctor, author, honorary co-chair (with Gore Vidal) of the New Party.

Buried: Seaview Cemetery (Rockport, Maine)

Notes:
I am told I was raised by the precepts of Spock's book and here I am running a blog about third party Vice-Presidential candidates so obviously I turned out quite normal.

David Frost

David Frost, December 19, 1925 (New York, NY) -

VP candidate for Peace Freedom Alternative (aka Peace-Freedom Alliance Party) (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Dick Gregory (1932-2017)
Popular vote: 8084 (0.01%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

After his unsuccessful run for Mayor of Chicago in 1967 as an independent, comedian and activist Dick Gregory wanted another shot at elected office and decided to run for President as an outsider. As he said in an interview during the 1968 campaign, "I feel the two-party system is obsolete. The two-party system is so corrupt and immoral that it cannot solve the problems confronting the masses of people in this country. I did agree to accept the nomination in various states from independent organizations who had already had a position on the ballot and this why I have accepted."

Gregory ran in several states as a write-in or sometimes showed up on the ballot itself, under the banner of multiple political parties, with various running mates. No matter what the platform of the party he was using as a vehicle, Dick Gregory was still Dick Gregory.

When the newly created Peace and Freedom Party held their first chaotic convention, Dick Gregory was outvoted in the nomination process by Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver. In New Jersey Gregory was run under the newly created Peace Freedom Alternative name, with anti-war Democrat David Frost as his running mate. New Jersey was the only state where this ticket was presented.

If the newspapers of the era are any indication, Frost campaigned chiefly among college and university students.

The Gregory campaign placed 5th nationally (outpolling Cleaver) with 47,149 popular votes (0.06%). The Gregory/Frost ticket earned 8084 (0.28%) popular votes in the Garden State.

Election history:
1966 - US Senate (NJ) (Democratic) - primary - defeated

Other occupations: research biologist, Rutgers science professor, science and medical editor, Chairman of NJ SANE (Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy)

Notes:
As of this writing Mr. Frost appears to not only be among the living, but also still quite active in contributing to his community in Plainfield, NJ.

Mark Lane

Mark Lane, February 24, 1927 (New York, NY) – May 10, 2016 (Charlottesville, Va.)

VP candidate for Committee for the Write-in Vote for Dick Gregory and Mark Lane (1968)
VP candidate for New Party (1968)
VP candidate for New Politics Party (1968)
VP candidate for Citizens for Independent Political Action (1968)
VP candidate for Freedom and Peace Party (1968)
VP candidate for Peace and Freedom Party (1968)

Running mate with nominee: Dick Gregory (1932-2017)
Popular vote: 37,369 (0.05%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

After his unsuccessful run for Mayor of Chicago in 1967 as an independent, comedian and activist Dick Gregory wanted another shot at elected office and decided to run for President as an outsider. As he said in an interview during the 1968 campaign, "I feel the two-party system is obsolete. The two-party system is so corrupt and immoral that it cannot solve the problems confronting the masses of people in this country. I did agree to accept the nomination in various states from independent organizations who had already had a position on the ballot and this why I have accepted."

Gregory ran in several states as a write-in or sometimes showed up on the ballot itself, under the banner of multiple political parties, with various running mates. No matter what the platform of the party he was using as a vehicle, Dick Gregory was still Dick Gregory. Mark Lane was Gregory's main Vice-Presidential team partner in this election.

In 1968 Lane was best known as a Leftist activist and attorney who had been arrested at a segregation protest in the South while still holding an elected office of New York Assemblyman. He also was famous for being one of the earliest of the JFK assassination conspiracy proponents and his book Rush to Judgment was a best-seller. A controversial figure throughout his entire career before and after 1968, he was a VP choice guaranteed to attract attention which, according to his critics, was something he craved.

When the newly created Peace and Freedom Party held their first chaotic convention, Dick Gregory was outvoted in the nomination process by Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver. In New York, as a power struggle emerged between the Old and New Left, a much more organized and apparently better funded rival Freedom and Peace Party was founded in June 1968. Like the Progressive Party of 1948-1952, there was a lot of chatter from both the FBI and from some on the Left that the FPP was a child of the Communist Party USA. There was no doubt CPUSA was one of the forces involved, but to what degree remains a matter of debate. 20 of the 324 delegates were members of the CPUSA.

The Freedom and Peace Party platform included: withdraw from the Vietnam War, end US support for Right-wing dictators, independence for Puerto Rico, recognize the People's Republic of China, nationalize the drug industry, end the draft, mandate a $2.00 state minimum wage, amnesty for all political prisoners including draft resisters, universal health insurance, affirmative action-type policies, and free higher education.

The FPP nominated Dr. Benjamin Spock for President and Coretta Scott King for VP. Both of them quickly withdrew their names from consideration. In a short time the names of Dick Gregory and Mark Lane were substituted.

New York was the only state where Gregory/Lane ran as Freedom and Peace Party candidates. In Colorado they were on the ballot as part of the New Party and in Pennsylvania they were registered for the ballot under the Peace and Freedom Party-- before Cleaver was nominated-- apparently due to filing deadlines.

There were also official Gregory/Lane write-in efforts in a few states. In California they were promoted by the Committee for the Write-in Vote for Dick Gregory and Mark Lane. The New Politics Party in Indiana found themselves with a blank slate when their proposed Eugene McCarthy/John Lindsay ticket turned them down, so they replaced them with Gregory/Lane. In Ohio they were supported by the Citizens for Independent Political Action.

It was Gregory as the comedian that landed him in the most trouble. The government was seriously disturbed when he issued campaign literature resembling $1 bills with his face adorning the currency and Lane's signature looking quite official. It looked real enough that he very nearly landed in jail. But Gregory knew no one could take it too seriously, "Everyone knows a black man will never be on a US bill." 

A member of the Socialist Workers Party observed that Gregory was living in the moment and more interested in providing a venue for a protest vote in this pivotal period of political realignment than he was in creating a lasting third party movement. Indeed, the Freedom and Peace Party evaporated within a short time after the election.

The Gregory campaign placed 5th nationally (outpolling Cleaver) with 47,149 popular votes (0.06%), 37,369 of those votes were with Lane on the ticket and most of that support came from New York. The Gregory/Lane result: New York 0.36%, Colorado 0.17%, Pennsylvania 0.16%, California 0.04%, Ohio 0.01%, Indiana 0.00%. Although the ticket ran under various party names it would be the Freedom and Peace Party that future list-makers would tie to them.

Election history:
1961-1963 - New York State Assembly (Democratic)
1962 - US House of Representatives (NY) (Democratic) - primary - defeated

Other occupations: soldier (US Army), attorney, author

Buried: ?

Notes:
"Richard Nixon is living in the White House today because of what happened that night in Chicago. Hubert Humphrey lost that election by a handful of votes -- mine among them -- and if I had to do it again I would still vote for Dick Gregory."--Hunter S. Thompson
Lane later co-authored, with Gregory, the book Code Name Zorro about the MLK assassination.
Was present and hiding in the jungle during the 1978 Jonestown mass suicide.