Earl Farwell Dodge Jr.

Earl Farwell Dodge Jr., December 24, 1932 (Revere, Mass.) - November 7, 2007 (Denver, Colo.)

VP candidate for Prohibition Party (aka National Prohibition Party aka Independent) (1976)
VP candidate for National Statesman Party (aka Independent aka Statesman Party) (1980)

Running mate with nominee (1976, 1980): Benjamin Calvin Bubar Jr. (1917–1995)
Popular vote (1976): 15,932 (0.02%)
Popular vote (1980): 7,206  (0.01%)
Electoral vote (1976, 1980): 0/538

The campaign (1976):

The Prohibition Party nominee for President was Benjamin Bubar, a Maine printer and ordained Baptist preacher. He had experience being elected to public office serving in the State Legislature and local offices as a Republican.

Commenting on the Party's conservative non-alcohol platform issues, Bubar said in later years "We're not a one-issue party. We've always had more than one string in our fiddle. We've been around for a long time ... We believe in a representative republic, but what we've got right now is a socialist democracy bordering on anarchy."

The 1976 platform reads like a Christian nationalist document although there are some nods to social welfare. Apparently the convention narrowly voted to oppose capital punishment, but that plank did not make it to print.

The AP described the convention:

The national convention, first ever held west of the Mississippi River, was attended by about 100 delegates from 19 states, but only about 60 were still on hand to sing "Onward Christian Soldiers" and wave their signs after the candidates were selected. Most were in their 60's and 70's and had been party members all their lives. There were almost no young people in attendance as the 106-year-old party prepared to shut down its gathering.

The real story behind the 1976 race for the Prohibition Party was the debut national-level appearance of the VP choice, who according to some accounts was an obstructionist in his role as a Party official in implementing some of Bubar's ideas for streamlined management and marketing of the Party.

Earl Dodge had been involved with the Party for over two decades before he stepped into the role of a national candidate. After 1976 he would basically be the face of the Party for a quarter century or so. Like many other third parties where one individual has been in power too long, his tenure as a Party leader was a good news/bad news thing, and according to present day Prohibition Party literature the bad news half got worse with each passing year until he was finally overthrown.

Oddly, the 1976 convention took place in the same area where Dodge's body was laid to rest decades later.

On the good news side Dodge kept the home fires burning during a period of time where the Prohibition Party could have easily died. Granted, those fires were allowed to become feeble embers with each passing election. The controversial side will emerge in the course of my profiles of Prohibition Party VPs and inner conflict within this organization over the subsequent decades.

As the campaign began, Dodge told the press the Party needed to change their image from that of stovepipe hat wearing humorless moralists who look like "they are perpetually sucking on a sour lemon." He added, "I'm sure most people think members of the party have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel."

Also early in the campaign Bubar told a newspaper that he aimed to, in the reporter's words, "Broaden the party's appeal to the same constituency as Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace."

After the initial news coverage of the June 1975 convention the media all but ignored the Bubar/Dodge ticket except for the occasional fluff jokey article.

The Bubar/Dodge ticket had results from a dozen states including some write-ins. As testimony to how well regarded Mr. Bubar was in his home state, they finished with 0.72% of the popular vote in Maine. Next best results were in Alabama 0.56%, Colorado 0.27%, and Kansas 0.15%. This would be the last election to date (Dec. 2019) that the Prohibition Party earned more then 10,000 votes or finished with a percentage as high as 0.02% of the national popular vote.

The campaign (1980):

The same ticket was revived in 1980 but with less success. In an effort to add some pizzazz and get away from the image of being a single-issue party, the name was changed to the National Statesman Party. Although the name had changed, the platform remained in the hard Right.

The ascent of Ronald Reagan had provided Christian conservatives and Protestant evangelicals with a political home and no doubt robbed the Prohibition/National Statesman Party of potential voters. To this day the Prohibition Party platform seems almost parallel and redundant with the Republican Party and other Right-wing groups in many ways-- except for alcohol.

Any centrists or progressives who might agree with the Party about the seriousness to public safety and general well-being posed by alcohol or other substances would find it difficult to support the rest of their platform. Years later Prohibition Party Presidential candidate Gene Amondson lamented to me how it bugged him that it was actually the Democrats who clamped down on public smoking. The Prohibition Party missed a chance to focus on different aspects of public health and form positive alliances across the political spectrum. Earl Dodge bears quite a bit of responsibility for perpetuating this political isolation and having the Party's platform be an extension of his own extremely conservative views. As we have seen in election results and dwindling membership one could propose this has not done them any favors in terms of a broader appeal.

If the media had not covered the Party very well in the 1976 campaign they practically ignored the Bubar/Dodge ticket in 1980. The true descent into near oblivion had begun.

With votes reported in a dozen states including write-ins they finished strongest in New Mexico 0.28%, Arkansas 0.16%, Alabama 0.13%, Colorado 0.10%, and Kansas 0.08%. The 0.01% national vote result was the worst percentage in the long history of the Prohibition Party.

Although the organization had changed their name to the National Statesman Party they were listed as either Statesman Party or Independent on the ballots. The Party returned to their previous name by the next election.

Other occupations: dealer in political memorabilia, Prohibition Party editor, Colorado State Elections Advisory Board 1974, Prohibition Party Presidential Elector 1968 (Mich.)

Election history:
1954 - Massachusetts Governor's Council (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1956 - Massachusetts Secretary of State (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1958 - Kosciusko County Commission (Ind.) (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1959 - Winona Lake (Ind.) Council (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1960 - US House of Representatives (Ind.) (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1966 - US Senate (Kan.) (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1969 - Kalamazoo (Mich.) City Commission (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1974 - Governor of Colorado (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1978 - Governor of Colorado (National Statesman Party) - defeated
1982 - Governor of Colorado (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1984 - US President (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1986 - Governor of Colorado (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1988 - US President (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1990 - US Senate (Colo.) (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1992 - US President (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1994 - Governor of Colorado (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1996 - US President (Prohibition Party) - defeated
1998 - Regent At Large, Colorado State University (Prohibition Party) - defeated
2000 - Independent American Party nomination for US President - defeated
2000 - US President (Prohibition Party) - defeated
2004 - Prohibition Party nomination for US President - defeated
2004 - US President (National Prohibition Party) - defeated
2008 - US President (National Prohibition Party) - died before election

Buried: Crown Hill Cemetery (Wheat Ridge, Colo.)

Notes:
Joined the Prohibition Party in 1952. He was formerly a Republican. 
Member of the National Christian Citizens Committee.
Alternate sources give his birthplace as Malden, Mass., which is where he was raised.
Winner of the 1960 election was Charles Halleck.
Winner of the 1974, 1978, 1982 elections was Dick Lamm.
Buried in the same cemetery as Barbara Bates, Richard James Biggs, and ironically, Adolph Coors.
Baptist.
Quite possibly holds the record among third party VPs for running for office the most times without
 ever winning.

David Peter Bergland

David Peter Bergland, June 4, 1935 (Mapleton, Iowa) – June 3, 2019 (Kennewick, Wash.)

VP candidate for Libertarian Party (1976)

Running mate with nominee: Roger MacBride (1929-1995)
Popular vote: 172,557 (0.21%)    
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In 1972 a faithless Elector in Virginia named Roger MacBride cast his vote for the Hospers/Nathan Libertarian Party ticket instead of Richard Nixon. This action generated talk within Libertarian Party circles of rewarding MacBride with the 1976 Presidential nomination in the Party's second run for the White House. MacBride had also been a Republican member of the Vermont State Legislature and he could pump some of his personal wealth into the campaign so his experience and resources was a definite plus.

MacBride nixed the first two people who looked to be likely Vice-Presidential nominees. Jim Trotter was a public tax-resister and John Vernon was openly Gay. MacBride claimed they would hurt the image of the Party and he wanted to be taken seriously. Incredibly, the convention allowed him to do this.

I'm no political scientist so bear with me here as I share my personal impressions. To say there are Left or Right factions within the Libertarian ranks doesn't really work as this group defies that old model. I'm sure Libertarians themselves have their own esoteric language and terms for this, but I'll just make it simple and identify the divisions in their early years as hardcore and moderate. The differences between these two camps did involve political philosophy but it as was really concerning form and method. The hardcore felt that by being purists and not playing the Establishment's dirty game they would attract voters who were seeking a clear and honest alternative. The moderates appeared to be open to political alliances and performing outreach that might possibly involve compromise since that is how the political world traditionally functions. MacBride's running-mate was California attorney David Bergland, who I would place in the hardcore faction. So the 1976 ticket really had both wings represented.

One of the saving graces for the Libertarian Party was the lack of a central iconic household name personality, especially in their early years. In many other of the non-major parties in US history where such an individual existed (e.g. William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, George Wallace, Ross Perot), the power struggle to fill the vacuum after that person was gone utterly destroyed their organizations. But the Libertarians have managed to survive in spite of inner conflicts or perhaps have grown stronger because of them. Today they are regarded as America's most major minor party.

In mid-October Bergland told a newspaper, "If we get 1% of the vote nationally, we'll consider that a tremendous success." It didn't quite turn out that way, but they fared better than most of the other third parties. When you consider that in 1972 they had been on the ballot in only two states it becomes apparent 1976 was really the first year the Party introduced itself to the whole country and with that in mind their election results were quite impressive. They placed 4th, behind Eugene McCarthy.

They were on the ballot in over 30 states and write-ins in several more. Their strongest showings were Far West regional with Alaska giving them a whopping 5.49%, Hawaii 1.35%, Idaho 1.04%, Arizona 1.03%, Nevada 0.75%, California 0.72%, South Dakota 0.54%, Colorado 0.49%, and Utah 0.45%. It is difficult to say which of the major candidates they might have impacted the most. 13 of their top 15 states voted for President Ford.

Bergland will return as the 1984 Libertarian Presidential nominee.

Other occupations: soldier (US Army), lifeguard, firefighter, city inspector for Los Angeles, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, attorney, author, adjunct professor of law

Election history:
1974 - Attorney General of California (Libertarian Party) - defeated
1978 - California State Senate (Libertarian Party) - defeated
1980 - US Senate (Calif.) (Libertarian Party) - defeated
1984 - US President (Libertarian Party) - defeated

Buried: ?

Notes:
Was a write-in candidate in the 1974 race.
Endorsed the Free State Project in 2006.
"Libertarians approach political, economic, and social issues by placing the highest priority on letting
 people solve their own problems, their own way, according to their own values. This usually results
 in proposals to replace clumsy, counterproductive government approaches with more effective and
 compassionate voluntary cooperation."--David Bergland
Joined the Libertarian Party in 1973.
Martial arts enthusiast and bodybuilder.
Winner of the 1978 race was John G. Schmitz.
Winner of the 1980 race was Alan Cranston.
Another Washington State connection! Bergland lived up here in his later years.

Edmund O. Matzal

Edmund O. Matzal, July 1, 1933 (Newark, NJ) - June 10, 2010 (Livingston, NJ)

VP candidate for American Party (aka American Independent Party) (1976)

Running mate with nominee: Lester Maddox (1915-2003)
Popular vote: 7716 (0.00%)
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 and issue that most of America, including many in this Right-wing party, wanted to put behind them and move on.

In New Jersey the situation was a bit different. In that state Christian F. Larson was nominated for President and Dr. Edmund O. Matzal was the VP. Matzal, a well known local tax activist, jokingly described himself as, "an interested citizen somewhere to the right of Sen. Buckley, a real John Bircher, way out." Also, they were called the American Party when in fact they were actually allied with the American Independent Party.

On Sept. 20, 1976 Matzal was indicted for failing to pay taxes for three years in a row in the early 1970s. "I'm perfectly willing to pay a constitutional tax," he told the press. A few days later Christian F. Larson, who said he always thought of himself as a stand-in candidate simply for filing purposes, stepped down and Lester Maddox became the new name for the Electors' pledge. In spite of Matzal's indictment, he remained on the ticket.

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. Since Matzal was something of a single-issue activist as far as politics went he never really went on record about Maddox or the AIP platform that I can find.

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.

Maddox/Matzel placed 5th out of 12 with 0.26% of the vote in New Jersey.

In July 1977 Matzal was sentenced to three years' probation for willfully failing to file his federal income taxes. He viewed his crime as a form of civil disobedience against the "involuntary servitude" of complying with federal taxation on income. Although he became a tax revolt hero as a result, Matzal appears to have lived a much quieter public life in the following decades.

Other occupations: physician, Medical Director of New Jersey Pain and Rehabilitation Institute, inventor, tax activist

Election history:
1967 - New Jersey State Senate (Essex Conservative Party) - defeated
1968 - US House of Representatives (NJ) (Essex Conservative Party) - withdrew

Buried: Hope Moravian Cemetery (Hope, NJ)

Notes:
Converted from deism to Christianity in 1997.
His father was an Austrian immigrant, his mother from Germany.
Winner of the 1968 race was Peter Rodino.
Supported Barry Goldwater in 1964.

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)

Rufus Edward Shackelford

Rufus Edward Shackelford, March 6, 1926 (Wauchula, Fla.) - June 17, 1992 (Manatee, Fla.)

VP candidate for American Party (aka Americanist Party aka Independent aka American Constitution Party) (1976)

Running mate with nominee: Thomas Jefferson Anderson (1910-2002)
Popular vote: 158,724 (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.

The 1976 American Party convention was an unenthusiastic, sparsely attended event according to news accounts. Continuing the John Birch Society trajectory as set by 1972 Presidential nominee John G. Schmitz, the Party's 1976 top pick was the old 1972 running mate, Tom Anderson. Some of the Party faithful wanted Anderson and company to wait and see if Ronald Reagan would be the Republican choice or if George Wallace would be the Democratic standard bearer so they could endorse one of those two. But Anderson wouldn't have it. He wanted to run.

The VP choice was Rufus E. Shackelford, a very wealthy tomato grower from Wauchula, Fla. with operations in California and Texas. He owned his own plane and the size of his pocketbook probably helped in the selection process which was not an unusual practice for several minor parties. This was the only time Shackelford had ever run for public office.

Shackelford was "born a Democrat" and then became a Republican before joining the American Party in 1969.

His stump speeches pulled no punches:

This may sound corny, but I have always felt very close to the Constitution and those two parties have gotten away from it. That's why I belong to the American Party. I find that the other parties are alright to a point. But after you leave the local and state level and get them to Washington, they're the same. You've got Socialism A and Socialism B. We're bogged down in the bureaucratic sense of socialism.

This country is financially, morally and spiritually bankrupt, and all due to the foolishness of the Democrats and the Republicans.

Not many people know this, but it's a fact. The Republicans and Democrats alike are governed and looked after by a single organization, the Council on Foreign Relations. And it's because of this organization the willingness of the two political groups that this country is in the mess it's in today.

The Commies are desperately trying to destroy the very fibre of this nation through the destruction of the Christian concept, and I will not stand for it.

I feel that Henry Kissinger is one of the most unqualified and evilest men in the White House today. How can a man who doesn't even have a complete control of the English language try to solve our foreign problems? I'll tell you this right now, I will have nothing to do with this man.

On Lester Maddox and the American Independent Party: He (Maddox) has no organization. He's a populist movement. We are not a movement. We are a political party and we've got some 700 candidates running for office in this country.

The 1976 American Party platform included: opposition to abortion and euthanasia, dramatically scale back government commercial regulations, support capital punishment, no court plea bargaining for criminals, no federal day care centers, encourage nuclear and solar power, oppose the Equal Rights Amendment, oppose any form of gun control, oppose socialized medicine, abolish the Federal Reserve, oppose quota systems in employment, eliminate public welfare, abolish foreign aid, no detente with Communist states, keep the Panama Canal, remove the United States from the United Nations.

On Election Day the American Party placed 6th, right on the heels of the American Independent and Libertarian parties with all three in a tight 0.19% - 0.21% range. Anderson/Shackelford were on the ballot or had recorded write-ins in 28 states. Consistent with their 1972 results, the John Birch Society-inspired American Party had their strongest support in the Far West: Utah 2.45%, Montana 1.76%, and North Dakota 1.24%. Other states where they, relatively speaking, did well: Virginia 0.98%, Mississippi 0.87%, Kentucky 0.71%, Minnesota 0.70%, Shackelford's Florida 0.68%, and Indiana 0.63%. Anderson actually beat Maddox, both of them write-ins, in the latter's home state of Georgia.

Immediately after the election Shackelford expressed gratitude that Carter had won over Ford because the Georgia Governor would be "the most closely watched man in history" and his inexperience would mean he would certainly face stumbling blocks in getting his "socialist program" through Congress. Shackelford also made a prediction that over time revealed his strength was not in punditry: "Anybody who sees the Republican party as being conservative is crazy. The Republican party is a tool of Nelson Rockefeller and the Ripon Society and will be four years from now despite what columnist Jack Anderson says about Ronald Reagan reorganizing the party."

Other occupations: soldier (WWII), President of 4 Star Tomato

Election history: none

Buried: New Hope Baptist Cemetery (Wauchula, Fla.)

Notes:
Baptist, born-again Christian.
In 1977 Shackleford was endorsed by the American Party leadership in California for President in
 1980.
Financially backed NH Gov. Meldrim Thomson's short-lived 1980 bid for President as a third party
 nominee.
Was a member of Democrats for a Better Government in 1964, an anti-LBJ group.
Earliest Presidential election with a Florida-born VP on the ticket.
His obituaries had no mention of his 1976 VP run.

Willie Mae Reid

Willie Mae Reid, March 27, 1939 (Memphis, Tenn.?) -

VP candidate for Socialist Workers Party (aka Independent) (1976, 1992)

Running mate with nominee (1976): Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche (1939-2008)
Running mate with nominee (1992): James Warren (b ca1952)
Popular vote (1976): 90,986 (0.11%)
Popular vote (1992): 2789 (0.00%)
Electoral vote (1976 and 1992): 0/538

The campaign (1976):

The 1976 Socialist Workers Party ticket named Peter Camejo for President and Willie Mae Reid for VP. Camejo had a special focus and experience in tapping into student unrest on college campuses and Reid was an activist in Chicago for African American and women's civil rights. Both of them reminded progressive voters that just because the Vietnam War had ended and Nixon had resigned there remained a multitude of social and economic problems to solve.

Reid spent time campaigning in Australia and New Zealand, connecting with allied political movements.

The student political activity that had helped several Leftist third parties enjoy a spike in popular votes in the 1960s and early 1970s was already cresting. Those that remained in the battlefield seemed to be growing smaller in number but also more militant, which in turn created more divisions within the Party. Camejo himself was expelled from the SWP by the next Presidential election. There is a considerable body of literature attempting to understand and define the subsequent decline of the SWP with descriptions of inner-Party authoritarianism being a common thread.

1976 remains as the year of the highest number of popular votes ever garnered by the SWP in a Presidential election. On the ballot in 27 states and Washington, DC they placed 7th nationally and outpolled all of the other traditional Leftist third parties. Their best showings were in Virginia 1.05%, New Mexico 0.59%, Mississippi 0.36%, District of Columbia and Massachusetts both 0.32%, and Indiana 0.26%.

Both Camejo and Reid would reappear on Presidential tickets.

The campaign (1992)

James "Mac" Warren, the SWP's 1992 Presidential candidate had a few things in common with Willie Mae Reid including that he was a Chicago-based African American who had run against a member of the Daley family for Mayor. Also, Warren and Reid had previously been on Presidential tickets. Warren was the SWP nominee in 1988.

Warren's running mate in the now much more depleted SWP was Estelle DeBates, a staff writer for The Militant, a SWP organ. DeBates was 32 years old, younger than the minimum age mandated by the Constitution for Vice-President. On this basis there were some states that would not allow her name on the ballot, so Willie Mae Reid was chosen to act as a stand-in VP in those jurisdictions. By 1992 Reid was living in Houston, Tex., possibly having moved there as part of the SWP's 1980s activist relocation program-- not unlike missionary work.

Reid was the official running mate in Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, Tennessee (her native state), Utah, and Wisconsin. She was considered the write-in SWP VP in Delaware and Ohio. The Warren/Reid team finished strongest in Utah with 0.04%. Warren's total popular vote with both running mates was 23,612 (0.02%).

Other occupations: author, garment worker, office worker, computer programmer, hospital kitchen worker

Election history:
1974 - US House of Representatives (Ill.) (Socialist Workers Party) - defeated
1975 - Mayor of Chicago, Ill. (Socialist Workers Party) - defeated
1985 - Mayor of Houston, Tex. (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1990 - US House of Representatives (Tex.) (Independent) - defeated
1991 - Mayor of Houston, Tex. (Nonpartisan) - defeated
1996 - US House of Representatives (Mich.) (Independent) - defeated

Notes:
Opponents in the 1975 race included Richard Daley (winner) and write-in J. Quinn Brisben. Daley
 had been the running mate with Pigasus in the Youth International Party in 1968 and Brisben would
 be the Socialist Party USA VP in 1976, so the 1975 Chicago Mayoral election had three third party
 vice-presidential candidates in competition. Pretty groovy, eh?
Winner of the 1996 race was John Conyers.
Joined the SWP in 1971.
Some sources give her year of birth as 1937.
Moved to Chicago in 1960.

Ronald Wayne Evans

Ronald Wayne Evans, March 23, 1927 (Michigan) - May 3, 1996 (New York, NY)

VP candidate for U.S. Labor Party (aka United States Labor Party aka Labor Party aka International Development Bank) (1976)

Running mate with nominee: Lyndon LaRouche (1922–2019)
Popular vote: 40,018 (0.05%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The U.S. Labor Party was one of the more controversial groups to run in 1976. It would be easy to go down a winding rabbit hole attempting to summarize this party that many, including the Cult Education Institute, consider to be more of a cult than a political movement. Instead I'll begin with a personal story.

The first time I learned about the U.S. Labor Party and Lyndon LaRouche was in 1974 when I was in college. Not being much of a joiner by inclination, I was never a member of any campus political groups but several of my friends were active. They told me about this new U.S. Labor Party and they nicknamed them "The Nazis." According to our local Leftists, the LaRouche followers used a lot of Left-wing buzzwords in their rhetoric but were actually very militantly Right-wing in their policies and tactics, which included beating their third party rivals with billy clubs and other crude instruments.

I was friendly acquaintances with two brothers on campus and had actually previously worked with their father (a local Democratic Party kingpin) during a Congressional election campaign (which we won!). The more serious of the brothers was already involved with the U.S. Labor Party and from what I can glean quickly rose in the LaRouche organization over the decades and remains active to this day. I must say I could never imagine him swinging a billy club, but he was a very resolute fellow and his rhetoric was complex and difficult to follow. The other brother, who I was closer to, was a happier more carefree person with apparently more of an objective view concerning the U.S. Labor Party.

Flash forward three years later when I run into the fun brother on a street corner in Seattle's University District. He was hawking LaRouche newspapers in a most evangelical and stridently zealous way. In the 1970s it was not unusual to see friends drift away and get sucked into cults but this guy was totally gone. I asked him how he was doing and he exclaimed inches from my face, "Gotta stop Carter's drive for war!!!" After a couple more attempts to chat I realized he was encased in some kind of protective force field that would not be broken by trivial social human interaction.

Lyndon LaRouche originally entered the political realm through the Socialist Workers Party in the late 1950s/early 1960s but by 1973 he had created his own organization, called a personality cult by many, with a complex conspiracy-centered platform and named it the U.S. Labor Party. The USLP was the political organ of LaRouche's National Caucus of Labor Committees, formed in 1969. When I was first exposed to the U.S. Labor Party it was only about a year old.

1976 was LaRouche's first of many attempts for the Presidency. His debut running mate was R. Wayne Evans, a former chemical factory worker from Michigan and he was a true believer. One source reported Evans was just three years away from collecting his pension when he quit his job to devote his energies to the U.S. Labor Party. With LaRouche frequently out of the country, Evans shouldered a lot of the frontline campaigning.

In newspaper interviews Evans had dire predictions for the economic fate of the country if the U.S. Labor Party ticket failed to emerge victorious on Election Day. The Rockefellers and Henry Kissinger were subject to vitriolic attacks and it would seem the LaRouche/Evans team viewed Jimmy Carter as more of threat to society than President Ford. They felt Carter would start a thermonuclear war. Their platform promoted nuclear power and stepped up production of natural resources such as coal and oil while downplaying any environmental impact.

I found the gung-ho pro-nuclear policy quite interesting because the father of the U.S. Labor Party brothers was strongly anti-nuclear power.

The U.S. Labor Party and later LaRouche incarnations appeared to be very well financed compared to other struggling third parties and they used their resources in legal fights for ballot access and set precedents for the benefit of other minor political parties.

Not only did they seem to enjoy a generous source of funding but for a new party right out of the gate they were well organized. They were on the ballot in DC and 23 states-- an impressive achievement. Their strongest states were Virginia (0.44%), Idaho (0.22%), Massachusetts (0.19%), Connecticut (0.13%), Ohio (0.11%), and Vermont (0.10%).

After the election the USLP filed suit in three states challenging Carter's victory. Although the U.S. Labor Party no longer existed by the 1980 election, LaRouche made seven more runs for the White House chiefly via the Democratic Party primaries and his story becomes even more bizarre in the 1980s. Meanwhile, Wayne Evans fades from the political scene following 1976.

Other occupations: steelworker, chemical plant worker

Election history:
1974 - Lt. Governor of Michigan (U.S. Labor Party) - defeated

Buried: cremated

Notes:
Was a Democrat until 1974.
One source cites his death date as March 3, 1996.
Possibly a member of the Beaverton, Mich. City Council at one time?