A.J. "Victor" Albritton (Alabama)
A.J. Albritton touts himself as the nominee of the "American Republican Party" -- an unknown entity for which it appears he is the only party member. A frequent write-in candidate, Albritton is making his fourth consecutive run for President in 2004. He was also a write-in candidate for Congress in 1988 ... and for Governor in 2002. Albritton describes the purpose of his campaign as follows: "The American candidate who is also the Victorian Candidate. The Victorian Era to be the New Model Victorian Era -- from the male point of view." Huh? He promises a "new model Star Spangled Banner" and relocation of the federal capitol. A prodigious emailer, it seems like Albritton sends out at least one or two notes to his list each day!
Joe Bellis, a computer software project manager and former evangelical minister, founded America's Party in 1998 because he was disillusioned by the existing political choice presented to the American people. A former Republican and self-proclaimed "average American" who buys his clothes at garage sales, Bellis used the amusing campaign slogan of "Not a Lawyer! Not a Washington Insider! Not a Politician! Just an American, like you" in 2000. He ended his previous campaign in July 2000 and subsequently endorsed Pat Buchanan for President. Then, in September 2000, Bellis announced his candidacy for President in 2004 -- with the proposed slogan of "Your Voice for Change" (note: this was before he even knew whether it would be Bush or Gore he was proposing to replace in 2004). Bellis says he is a "strict constructionist conservative." He wants to outlaw all abortions, end federal involvement in public education, transfer most crime-fighting powers to the states, withdraw the US from the United Nations and the World Bank, cancel the NAFTA and GATT treaties, tighten immigration restrictions, repeal the 16th amendment (and abolish the IRS), and block "the socialization of American medicine." He vows to run an "internet-based campaign." And he's changed his slogan again -- now he's "The Quiet Voice for a Conservative America."
Joseph K. "Joe" Bellis III (Kansas)
Kenneth M. Bonnell (Mississippi)
Except for the fact that Bonnell filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
Henri Calitri sent Politics1 a lengthy, handwritten note explaining that he plans to run for President in 2004. It also set forth his rather ... umm ... unusual platform. Here are some excerpts from Calitri's note: "My political party believes in expressing as many laws to put forth as can possibly be conceived ... My dreams consist of forming a unit composed of a modern couple who will assimilate information on the magic techniques of penis enlargement through articles in popular magazines and medical journals ... I am looking forward to creating a large research office in discovering immortality for a human being to live till the age of 925 years ... At this time, I believe that I must become the President of the United States of America, or something similar, to be able to effectively do this. I want human beings to survive, most certainly on earth, as a beautiful organism, in sync with all aliens also living in this zone of space, occuring in the dimension [of] Hell." Huh? From other info found on the net, Calitri is apparently an Aries, a tow truck operator and involved in pagan/wiccan groups. He's also written an article about how tow trucks would have been useful to the ancient Egyptians during the building of the great pyramids. No campaign site yet ... but I can't wait to see it!
After briefly contemplating a run for Congress, retired school teacher Fred Cook decided to instead make a write-in bid for President in 2000 after "nearly 50 people showed up at my front door ... [and] urged me to run for political office." By March 2000, Cook boasted that he was going to "steal the election away" because a "national online poll" had him at 34%. Of course, the poll he referenced was the one he himself conducted on his own web site! Needless to say, his 2000 campaign fizzled (he claims he won 4,217 write-in votes -- but official election statistics compiled by the FEC and others reflect that he won only a handful of write-in votes). Undaunted, he's back for a second White House bid in 2004. Although he moves in and out of the Republican Party, Cook seems to now be a Religious Right candidate running as an Independent (although he also expressed ties to the past to the little-known Christian Alliance Party). As for issues, Cook supports tax cuts, an end to Affirmative Action programs, federal term limits, educational system improvements and increased military spending. Considering that the guy was a teacher, it was a bit sad that his 2000 site contained numerous spelling errors -- including the instruction for voters to "right his name in on the ballot." Cook is upset that we mentioned this (and the vote total correction) -- as his site now has a "Fred Cook speaks out against Politics1.com" under the Breaking News header on Cook's homepage.
Except for the fact that Davis filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
Except for the fact that DiGiulio filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President as the candidate of the Children's Party, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
All we know about Dorn came from an email he sent Politics1 in April 2003: "Please include my name on your list of Presidential candidates for the 2004
election ... I am an Independant from Washington ... I am a musician band leader by trade ... My band's name is Melchi. I am a Christian by faith, led by the Holy Spirit, and founded upon the New King James Bible. I attend Alderwood Manor Community Church in Lynnwood."
Except for the fact that Frank filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
A writer, this candidate explains that he assumed the identity "John Galt Jr." several years ago after being deeply influenced by the John Galt character in Ayn Rand's classic libertarian novel Atlas Shrugged. Galt is waging a write-in campaign for President in 2004, just as he did in 2000. As for views, he supports drug legalization, "direct democracy, that is to say [having] the people voting on what should and shouldn't be laws." Galt advocates environmentalist views, supports drug legalization -- and, surprisingly, is also rather hostile towards corporations ("We need new laws to limit the powers and scopes of corporate involvement in community and politics"). Galt's 2000 VP runningmate was Kay Lee, a drug legalization activist from Florida.
Jack Grimes -- who previously ran for President as a write-in candidate in 2000 -- bills himself as the "Leader and Director of the United Fascist Union." As for his use of the word "Fascist," Grimes explains he wants to restore a New World Order based upon the governmental style of Imperial Rome "to institute a military dictatorship form of government over the Earth." Grimes believes that "the psychic is the next great step in the evolution of humankind on this planet." And it gets more weird: Grimes wants to address "the dilemmas now facing America and the whole of Western civilization: Democracy, Christianity, International Capitalism, Earth Changes, U.F.O.'s, government cover-ups, and others." Citing to Cayce and Nostradamus, Grimes predicts that "the United States will be reduced from its present size to a small triangular-shaped land mass through the loss of many of its coastal states." While those quotes come from his old 2000 campaign site, his 2004 is equally entertaining. Be sure to visit the "Pictures" page to view Grimes and his girlfriend (presumably) posing in their homemade black uniforms ... and to view pictures of them eating at different local restaurants. Or visit the "Speeches" page to read Grimes' 1998 remarks delivered to the "Flying Saucer Society of Dover, DE." Best of all is the Discussion Boards section of his site, in which Grimes exalts his followers to worship Satan -- plus you can read about the problem he was having getting to a campaign event in another state (because Mom's car was broken, etc.). While Grimes failed to achieve ballot status in any states in 2000, he falsely boasts on his site that he was on the ballot in 45 states and placed 6th in the race.
Michael "Mike" Halpin (New York)
Except for the fact that Halpin -- a teacher and Vietnam War veteran -- filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
Larry Hines -- briefly sought the Libertarian Party's Presidential nomination in 2000 as "The Openly Gay Candidate for U.S. President." A former US Marine Corps NCO and legal secretary, Hines is also active in numerous gay community organizations. The main goal of his 2000 campaign was "to introduce to society the idea that one day there will be an openly gay President." Hines' platform was largely libertarian, including a call for the legalization of drugs and prostitution. After waging an energetic effort within the Libertarian Party and qualifying to appear on the primary ballot in a few states, Hines withdrew from the LP race in February 2000 and announced he instead intended to seek the Presidential nomination of Jesse Ventura's new Independence Party. The IP never got off the ground in 2000 -- and now Hines is back making another run in 2004 as an Independent.
Georgia Hough is a high school teacher making her first run for elective office. Hough -- who has bachelor's and master's degrees in history -- has been teaching classes for over 26 years. In fact, teaching is a family tradition as she notes her mother and both grandmothers were also teachers. Hough says that teaching social studies classes has given her "a good understanding of the underlying issues driving our government and our economy." She also stated that she "comes from a family with a strong Methodist heritage ... [that] has led to an active roll in the church" by teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, etc. Her write-in bid for President seems mainly inspired to get students interested in the political process.
Judd, who described himself as a bongo drums "musician" when he last ran for office, was a write-in candidate for Albuquerque Mayor in 1993. Judd attempted to qualify as a write-in candidate for New Mexico Governor in 1994, but abandoned that race. In 2000, he filed paperwork to run as a write-in candidate -- but showed no signs of waging any campaign. Judd -- who has since moved to a new state -- filed paperwork in Florida to again run as a write-in candidate for President in 2004.
Darren E. Karr (Party X - Oregon) 
Not much is know about Karr -- except that he filed federal paperwork -- but his nascent party espouses views. Party X supports abolition of income taxes, an end to political correctness, an end to federal government involvement in schools, an increase to at least 30-days of paid vacation time for workers, and "eventually see a four-day work week without a reduction in pay."
Except for the fact that he's from Rhode Island and filed paperwork in Florida to run as a write-in candidate for President in 2004, no other info is known about this hopeful.
Joseph "Joe" Martyniuk Jr. (Illinois) 
Joe Martyniuk -- a frequent candidate for various offices over the years ranging from town council to the US Senate -- holds an MBA degree from the University of Chicago. He describes himself as an "inventor, investor, computer guru, and entrepreneur [who] owns JoeyDots.com, PracticeComputers.com, JoeyInternet.com, and CheapNursingHomes.com." From that description, it almost seems his candidacy exists to promote his business ventures. Martyniuk isn't accepting campaign contributions, because he intends to run an Internet-based campaign. "Don't send me any money. The internet is a cheap way to campaign for president," he wrote. While Martyniuk is running as an Independent in 2004, he typically ran as a Democrat while seeking offices in the past.
David Mevis, 43, is the son of a career Air Force serviceman. "I have worked in several different industries and know first hand what it means to look for a job, suffer through periods of unemployment, and struggle to support a family," writes Mevis. "I have been through a divorce and know the loss and suffering that divided families endure." Mevis also currently co-hosts a -- sometimes profane -- netcast news and commentary show. He would like to move the US to a purely defensive military posture, repeal some of the post 9-11 homeland security laws, end US weapon sales to aggressor nations, eliminate PAC contributions and spending in campaigns, end the "War on Drugs", reform Social Security, and simplify the tax code. Mevis also wants to place a cap on maximum corporate officer compensation at an amount no more than 200 than the amount earned by the lowest paid employee in the corporation. Finally, he wants to call for a new Constitutional Convention "to overhaul the Constitution and to provide adequate checks and balances for today’s technological changes." Mevis -- another of those candidates who wants to appear on FX's proposed Presidential candidate game show -- describes himself as a "grassroots Independent" candidate. Muadin -- yup, he just uses one name -- is an announced write-in candidate for President. His slogan is a New Age-sounding mantra of "One People, One Planet, One Awareness." Muadin writes he is the candidate of the "E-Democratic Party" -- an unknown entity which he apparently created. What does he stand for? Here are his own words: "The people of earth must use the Internet to network and organize at the grassroots level, outside of the corporate global power structure, in a leaderless revolution of awareness and ideas, a second enlightenment, aimed at establishing e-democracy at every level of human government and in every aspect of human society and affairs. The e-democratic spirit of this leaderless cyber-revolution must culminate in a planetary e-democratic federal government through which all executive, legislative, judicial, and economic power ultimately rests directly in the hands of the people of earth." This focus includes is a requirement that Congressmen and US Senators must vote based upon e-votes on each issue cast by their constitutuents -- and that the federal government be changed from three branches into five branches (don't ask!). Other positions in his platform include a 10% flat tax, abolition of the death penalty, a constitutional ban on political parties (so all candidates must run as Independents), federal term limits, separate national election of the Vice President, repeal of the Second Amendment (gun rights) ... in fact, when we last checked, Muadin was proposing 18 constitutional amendments. If you dig through Muadin's off-beat campaign site, you can also find pix of Muadin badly cropped into poses in the White House ... and a picture of "future First Lady" Jessica Muadin (who, unlike her husband, has a full name). Muadin describes himself as a motivational speaker and President of the Planet Pilgrims Center for E-Democracy and Planetary Awareness. Andisheh "Andy" Nouraee (Georgia) Andy -- as he is simply identified throughout his campaign web site -- waged a rather racy and unusual run for President in 2000. Along with links to music and photography interests, Andy's site also gave "shopping" tips to would-be Y2K looters ("Steel garbage cans aren’t just useful for breaking storefront windows, you can also use them to carry away looted goods"). He also recommends an array of rather graphic sex books in the "notebook" section of his site. Among his various campaign slogans: "I'm So F***ing President", "Putting the 'racy' back in democracy" and "Putting the 'vice' back in service." In his humorous 2000 concession speech -- posted on the site in English and Spanish -- he wrote that he plans to "resume the writing and distribution of petulant, self-serving essays with the intent of positioning myself well for winning the presidency in 2004." Presumably, that means a second run is in the works. A businessman with a degree from Harvard, Jeffrey Peters formerly served two terms on the Greenwich Town Council in Connecticut. His one-issue campaign is based entirely upon a demand for major campaign finance reform to the current "corrupt system." In 2000, Peters ran for President as the nominee the "We The People, American People's Party" (an unknown new third party) -- and actually campaigned in the general election as a write-in hopeful. Peters also competed in the 2000 New Hampshire Democratic primary and captured 156 votes (9th place). He had hoped his 2000 New Hampshire bid would capture media attention for his effort -- but instead ended up bitterly complaining that the media ignored him and labeled him a "fringe candidate." Peters grabbed a few headlines in October 2000 with his "Boston TV Party" -- when he vowed to dump some TV sets into Boston harbor to protest the exclusion of third party candidates (like himself) from the first Bush-Gore Presidential Debate in Boston. From text on his website, he's planning to make a second run for the White House in 2004 -- although some have emailed that Peters may now be thinking of abandoning his planned 2004 run.
Jeffrey B. Peters (New Hampshire)
It's hard to take a Presidential candidate seriously when his campaign site is peppered with comments like "When I die, I want my remains scattered in a nice wooded area. The only catch is that I don't want to be cremated first" and "One of my resolutions for this year my resolution is to do something useful around the house each day, like flush." Rotramel readily admits he has no chance of winning. Instead, he wants to "make my positions on various issues known. I hope to influence some to a more enlightened way of seeing the world." His liberal platform includes abolishing the death penalty, legalizing prostitution and narcotic drugs, and amending the constitutional Bill of Rights to guarantee a right to food, shelter and health care. He also wants to make anarchist professor Noam Chomsky -- who recently called the US the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism" -- the National Security Advisor.
Joe C. "Average Joe" Schriner (Ohio) "Average Joe" Schriner, the director of an "Independent Catholic Ministry" and a former substance abuse counselor, made his first White House run in 2000. A former newspaper reporter, he also works these days as a freelance journalist. Schriner's campaign slogan: "The common Joe for the common good." As for issues, he is pro-life, pro-nuclear disarmament, pro-solar energy and wants to find ways to reduce America's high divorce rate. Although he began his 2000 campaign as a Republican, Schriner became a write-in Independent candidate in mid-2000 in order to continue his campaign. Traveling by recreation vehicle, he logged more than 13,000 driving miles on the road during the 2000 race. Schriner is making a second Presidential run -- as an Independent -- in 2004.
Dan Snow is waging an Independent write-in campaign for President in 2004. Snow is a US Marine Corps veteran and an insurance agent. He is also very active in groups related to bass fishing. He was the two-time President of the Kentucky Bass Federation, a Founding Board Member of the Bass Research Foundation, and the first Chairman of the Angler's Advisory Committee to the Bass Research Foundation. When President Carter loosened travel restrictions to Cuba, Snow was the first to organize a group trip there (and, yes, it was a bass fishing group). If elected, he promises to "restore the 'freedom to travel' for the American people." As for foreign policy, he condemned the Iraq war against Saddam Hussein as "an illegal and immoral war." He also supports abolishing the IRS, establishing a system of universal health care, the election of federal judges, legalization of prostitution and drugs, ending the tax-exempt status for churches, passage of the livable wage, and "an end to vulgar and profane music being played on public TV and radio."
Brian B. Springfield (Virginia) Except for the fact that Springfield filed paperwork with the FEC to run for President, no other info is yet known about this Independent hopeful.
Lemuel Tucker was a candidate for Michigan Governor in 2002 -- but failed to qualify for the ballot. Now he's filed his FEC paperwork to make a run for President. Beyond that, we have no information on this candidate. Da Vid is the nominee of "The Light Party" -- which is a political entity entirely controlled by party founder "Da Vid, M.D., Wholistic Physician, Human Ecologist & Artist." He ran as a write-in candidate for President in 1996 and 2000 with little result -- and is again running as a write-in candidate for President in the 2004 election. He describes his ideology as "a synthesis of the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, and Green Parties ... to create a new reality with health, peace & freedom for all." Vid's platform promotes holistic medicine, national health insurance, organic foods, solar energy, nuclear disarmament and a flat tax. When you join the Light Party (cost: a $33 donation), Vid will send you a CD of New Age music and a music video" designed to inspire, delight, heal & enlighten" ... but, wait, there's more. If you join now, he'll throw in a "Wholistic Health Maintenance and Rejuvenation Manual" and other groovy stuff ... operators are waiting for your call. He says that he is not running to win votes, but rather to focus attention on some issues he really cares about -- and says that "millions of people" support the goals of his political movement. Kurt Weber-Heller (Pennsylvania) Kurt Weber-Heller co-founded the Christian Phalangist Party of American (CFPA) in 1985. A "Falangist" -- just in case you've forgotten -- is a follower of the authoritarian political views advocated by the late Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (to wit: largely a blend of 1930s fascist ideology, strong nationalism and conservative Catholic theology). Outside of Spain, Falanagists in Lebanan succeeded in electing Bashir Gemayel as President in 1982 -- but he was assassinated by Muslim terrorists before taking office. The CFPA "is dedicated to fighting the 'Forces of Darkness' which seeks to destroy Western Christian Civilization." The CFPA site explicitly defines "Forces of Darkness" as being "Radical Islam, Communism/Socialism, the New World Order, the New Age movement, Third Position/Neo-Nazis, Free Masons, Abortionists, Euthanasianists, Radical Homosexuals and Pornographers." Numerous attacks against Islam can be found throughout the CFPA site. Yet, despite this lengthy list of foes that it wishes to destroy -- umm, "defend" themselves against (the wording they use) -- the CFPA helpfully notes it is "not a hate organization and does not condone acts of violence or hatred towards those of differing or opposing viewpoints and lifestyles, nor does it condone racism in any form." The CFPA promises to "bring excitement to the otherwise boring American political arena" by fielding CFPA National Chairman Kurt Weber-Heller as a write-in candidate for President in 2004. Tom Wells -- the founder of the Family Values Party and a self-described "Messiahian Jew" -- is a frequent write-in candidate for Congress. He also ran for President as a write-in Candidate in 2000. Now Wells is running for President again in 2004 for the same reason that he founded the ultra-conservative, theocratic party: because -- explains Wells on his site -- God directly spoke to him in his bedroom on December 25, 1994 at 2:00 a.m. and commanded him to do so. Wells' political platform is largely derived from religious fundamentalism -- including numerous citations to Biblical passages -- with an ultimate goal of banning all abortions ("the premeditated murdering of GOD'S innocent children"). He is also opposed to homosexuality, tobacco products, tattoos, alcohol, drugs and gambling -- and supports all of the Ten Commandments. If you disagree with any of these views, Wells writes on his site you are not allowed to contribute any money to his campaign. Wells is listed here as an Independent because the FVP appears to merely be an alter-ego of the candidate. Wright -- along with runningmate Leonard "Len" Foster -- are conservatives who denounce both major parties, former President Clinton, the FBI, etc. Like several others listed on this page, the Wright-Foster team is running an Internet-based campaign under the banner of "Independence USA." Blasting "politicians, corporations, and foreign powers," Foster vows to return control of "America to the Americans" and protect individual rights. Wright was previously a write-in candidate for President in 1992 and 2000. Except for adding a mid-page reference to the Wright Presidential Campaign 2004, it is hard to find any updates to the site since his 2000 run.
