Yahoo News 18 Presidential Candidates Who Make You Wonder What They Were Thinking
You didn't know? Anyone can run for president!
Whether or not they win is a whole other story, though.
As the presidential elections near, I'm revisiting some of the most random people who've ever ran for president.
1.Ye (f.k.a. Kanye West)
This was a no-brainer. Ye's campaign for president was disastrous, to say the least, especially after his first (and only?) campaign rally. However, he reportedly managed to get 60,000 votes across the 12 states where he was a registered candidate.
2.Gabriel Green
A UFOlogist who claimed to have been in contact with extraterrestrials ran as a write-in candidate in the U.S. Presidential Elections in 1960 and 1972.
3.Isabel Masters
Masters was a teacher who holds the record for most presidential campaigns of any woman in history. According to the Pasadena Star-News, She ran as a candidate for the Looking Back Party in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential elections. She announced her daughter as her running mate during her 1996 stint, while her son campaigned in the same role four years earlier.
4.Peter Camejo
A former Sailing Olympian, Camejo was selected as the Socialist Workers Party nominee for president in 1976 and won 96,000 votes, per NACLA.
5.Cherie DeVille
Deville is best known for her work within the adult film industry, but in 2017, she announced plans to run for president with Coolio as her running mate. Two years later, she withdrew her bid, citing a lack of campaign funds and the "cultural climate" at the time, per the Washington Examiner.
6.Gene Amondson
A painter and pastor, Amondson ran as the presidential nominee for the Prohibition Party in 2004 with a primary focus to ban alcohol. "This country cannot afford what alcohol costs us," Amondson told Seattle PI. "Many of this country's problems are tied up with alcohol."
7.Vermin Supreme
The performance artist has run as a satirical nomination in every presidential election since 1992. He ran as a Republican, Libertarian, and Democrat before launching his party, the Free Pony Party, which ran on the campaign promise of giving a pony to every American. His campaign is often rooted in outrageous promises that primarily intend to mock the political system at large.
8.Jonathon Sharkey
The musician, wrestler, and self-proclaimed "right-leaning vampire" and Luciferian ran as an Independent candidate in 2004 and 2008 and as a Republican candidate in 2012. He wanted to legalize and regulate cannabis and prostitution, ban abortions, and legalize same-sex marriage.
9.Waka Flocka Flame
10.Andy Martin
Another oddball presidential candidate, Martin was the one responsible for pushing the birther conspiracy surrounding Barack Obama. He's run for the Republican party but hasn't had any luck landing on the ballot.
11.Jello Biafra
The frontman of punk band the Dead Kennedys once attempted to run for president as the nominee for the Green Party nomination in 2000, only to come in Ralph Nader, according to Global Green. He reportedly chose the incarcerated political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal as his running mate.
12.Bo Gritz
Running under the Populist Party in the 1992 presidential race, Bo Gritz advocated for a Christian nation, abolishing federal income tax, and ending foreign aid, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Moreover, his manifesto, "The Bill Of Gritz," pushed for the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border. Gritz received 106,152 votes, with notable support in Utah and Idaho, where he nearly outpolled Bill Clinton in one county.
Though now regarded as a staunch Trump supporter, Barr actually tried her hand at politics over a decade ago. In January 2012, she filed as the Green Party's presidential candidate with the Federal Election Commission. Unfortunately for her, she came in second during the Green Party's presidential primaries.
14.Eric Weinrib
15.William Dudley Pelley
An occultist, far-right political figure, Pelley founded the fascist organization Silver Legion, which promoted anti-Semitic and pro-Hitler views in the 1930s. He ran for president in 1936 under the Christian Party, through which he advocated for a fascist government in the U.S.
16.Dr. Benjamin Spock
Dr. Benjamin Spock wore many hats: he wrote a groundbreaking child care book in 1946, was a former Olympic rower, and advocated against the Vietnam War. He entered the presidential race in 1972, campaigning for peace, healthcare, and marijuana legalization.
17.Zoltan Istvan
A futurist and transhumanist, Zoltan Istvan ran for president with a platform focused on advancing human evolution through technology, per CNET. He advocated for life extension, brain-computer interfaces, and AI integration, believing that it could address social issues across the country. He announced plans to run in the 2016 election under the Transhumanist Party but never placed his name on any ballot. Then, he ran against Trump in the 2019 Republican Primaries.
18.Jeff Boss
A conspiracy theorist who believes that the NSA was responsible for 9/11, Boss ran for president in 2008, per NJ.com.
