While Walter Mondale remains the only major-party politician to have accomplished this feat, commenter John Galt asks "What about all those minor third party candidates we see every 4 years?" Yes, there are some, but probably not as many as you think.
First of all, we're only talking about candidates who have run after 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii became states. And then the candidate had to get on the ballot in all 50 states, which even today is not the easiest thing in the world.
Here are the "other" Presidential candidates who have lost all 50 states:
- 1980: John B. Anderson (Independent)
- 1980: Ed Clark (Libertarian)
- 1992: Ross Perot (Independent)
- 1992: Andre Marrou (Libertarian)
- 1996: Ross Perot (Reform)
- 1996: Harry Browne (Libertarian)
- 2000: Pat Buchanan (Reform)
In addition, the running mates of the above candidates have to be considered:
- 1980: John B. Anderson: Patrick Lucey
- 1980: Ed Clark: David H. Koch
- 1992: Ross Perot: James Stockdale
- 1992: Andre Marrou: Nancy Lord
- 1996: Ross Perot: Pat Choate
- 1996: Harry Browne: Jo Jorgensen
- 2000: Pat Buchanan: Ezola B. Foster
The only caveat is the in some states the third-party deadline to get on the ballot is such that the official running mate hasn't been named by then, so they put a placeholder on the ballot.
Any others I've missed?
I've had the privilege of spending quality one-on-one time with both John Anderson and the late Harry Browne.
Both men were eminently more qualified for the Oval Office than the current fella who plays the president on TV...
Posted by: J. Gravelle | 10/08/2009 at 08:07 AM