List of African-American United States presidential and vice presidential candidates
The following is a list of African-American United States presidential and vice-presidential nominees and candidates for nomination. Nominees are candidates nominated or otherwise selected by political parties for particular offices. Listed are those African-Americans who achieved ballot access for the national election in at least one state. They may have won the nomination of one of the US political parties (either one of the major parties, or one of the third parties), or made the ballot as an independent, and in either case must have votes in the election to qualify for this list. Exception is made for candidates whose parties lost ballot status for additional runs.
Not included in the second and third tables are African-Americans who ran campaigns in nominating conventions or primary elections for their party's nomination (or who have not yet completed that process), write-in candidates, potential candidates (suggested by media, objects of draft movements, etc.), or fictional candidates. The fourth table includes African-Americans who ran for their party's presidential nomination but who were not nominated, as well as those who are currently pursuing their party's presidential nomination (when applicable).
There have been two African Americans on a major party ticket in U.S. history: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in 2008 and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2020.
Barack Obama was the first African American and first biracial president of the United States, being elected in the 2008 election and re-elected in the 2012 election.
Kamala Harris became the first Indian American, and female vice president of the United States of America, being elected in the 2020 election alongside former Vice President Joe Biden.
U.S. presidential candidates: party nominees[]
Denotes winning candidate.
Candidates receiving electoral votes[]
Year | Name | Party | Running mate | Popular votes | Electoral votes | Total electoral votes |
Opponent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Barack Obama | Democratic Party | Joe Biden | 69,498,215 | 365 | 538 | John McCain |
2012 | Barack Obama | Democratic Party | Joe Biden | 65,915,796 | 332 | 538 | Mitt Romney |
2016 | Colin Powell | Not applicable[1] | Not applicable | — | 3 | 538 |
Candidates receiving popular votes[]
Year | Name | Party | Running mate | Popular votes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1904 | George Edwin Taylor[2] | National Liberty Party | W.C. Payne | Scattering[3] |
1960 | Clennon King | Independent Afro-American Party | Reginald Carter | 1,485 |
1964 | Clifton DeBerry | Socialist Workers Party | Ed Shaw | 32,706 |
1968 | Eldridge Cleaver | Peace and Freedom Party | Various candidates | 36,623[4] |
1968 | Dick Gregory | Freedom and Peace Party | Various candidates | 47,097 |
1968 | Charlene Mitchell | Communist Party | Michael Zagarell | 1,076 |
1976 | Margaret Wright | People's Party | Benjamin Spock | 49,013 |
1980 | Clifton DeBerry | Socialist Workers Party | Matilde Zimmermann | 38,738 |
1980 | Andrew Pulley | Socialist Workers Party | Matilde Zimmermann | 6,264[5] |
1984 | Workers World Party | Gloria La Riva | 17,985 | |
1984 | Dennis L. Serrette | New Alliance Party | Nancy Ross | 46,853 |
1984 | Edward Winn | Socialist Equality Party | Helen Halyard | 10,801 |
1988 | Lenora Fulani | New Alliance Party | Joyce Dattner | 217,219 |
1988 | Workers World Party | Gloria La Riva | 7,846 | |
1988 | James Warren | Socialist Workers Party | Kathleen Mickells | 15,602 |
1988 | Edward Winn | Socialist Equality Party | Helen Halyard | 18,693 |
1992 | Ronald Daniels | Peace and Freedom Party | Asiba Tupahache | 27,949 |
1992 | Lenora Fulani | New Alliance Party | Maria Elizabeth Muñoz | 73,714 |
1992 | Helen Halyard | Workers League | Fred Mazelis | 3,050 |
1992 | Isabell Masters | Looking Back Party | Walter Masters | 327 |
1992 | James Warren | Socialist Workers Party | Various candidates | 23,533 |
1996 | James Harris | Socialist Workers Party | Laura Garza | 8,476 |
1996 | Monica Moorehead | Workers World Party | Gloria La Riva | 29,083 |
1996 | Isabell Masters | Looking Back Party | Shirley Jean Masters | 752 |
2000 | James Harris | Socialist Workers Party | Margaret Trowe | 7,038 |
2000 | Monica Moorehead | Workers World Party | Gloria La Riva | 4,795 |
2000 | Randall A. Venson | Independent | Gene Kelly | 547 |
2004 | James Harris[6] | Socialist Workers Party | Margaret Trowe | 7,102 |
2004 | John Parker | Workers World Party | Teresa Gutierrez | 1,646 |
2008 | James Harris[6] | Socialist Workers Party | Alyson Kennedy | 2,424 |
2008 | Alan Keyes | America's Independent Party | 47,756[7] | |
2008 | Cynthia McKinney | Green Party | Rosa Clemente | 150,061 |
2008 | Barack Obama | Democratic Party | Joe Biden | 69,498,215 |
2012 | Stewart Alexander | Socialist Party | Alejandro Mendoza | 4,405[8] |
2012 | Andre Barnett | Reform Party | Ken Cross | 956[8] |
2012 | James Harris | Socialist Workers Party | Maura DeLuca | 4,117[8] |
2012 | Peta Lindsay | Party for Socialism and Liberation | Yari Osorio | 7,791[8] |
2012 | Barack Obama | Democratic Party | Joe Biden | 65,915,796[8] |
2016 | Monica Moorehead | Workers World Party | Lamont Lilly | 4,314 |
2016 | Khadijah Jacob-Fambro | Revolutionary Party | Milton Fambro | 748 |
2016 | Clifton Roberts[9] | Humane Party | Breeze Harper[10] | 86[11] |
2020 | President R19 Boddie[12][13] | C.U.P. | Eric Stoneham | 3,177 |
2020 | Dario Hunter[14] | Oregon Progressive Party | Dawn Neptune Adams | 5,403 |
2020 | Princess Khadijah Jacob-Fambro[14] | Unaffiliated | Khadijah M. Jacob | 497 |
2020 | Ricki Sue King[15] | Genealogy Know Your Family History | Dayna R. Chandler | 546 |
2020 | Jade Simmons[16] | Independent | Claudeliah Roze[17] | 6,958 |
2020 | Kanye West | Birthday Party | Michelle Tidball | 70,294 |
U.S. vice-presidential candidates: party nominees[]
Denotes winning candidate.
Candidates receiving electoral votes[]
Until the 2020 presidential election, no African-American candidates had received electoral votes for vice president.
Year | Name | Party | Running mate | Electoral votes | Total electoral votes |
Popular votes | Opponent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Kamala Harris | Democratic Party | Joe Biden | 306 | 538 | 81,268,867 | Mike Pence |
Candidates receiving popular votes[]
Year | Name | Party | Running mate | Popular votes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1872 | Frederick Douglass[18] | Equal Rights Party | Victoria Woodhull | Unreported |
1928 | Simon P. Drew | Interracial Independent Party[19] | Jacob S. Coxey[20][21] | |
1932 | James W. Ford | Communist Party | William Z. Foster | 102,991 |
1936 | James W. Ford | Communist Party | Earl Browder | 80,195 |
1940 | James W. Ford | Communist Party | Earl Browder | |
1952 | Charlotta Bass | Progressive Party | Vincent Hallinan | 140,023 |
1968 | Paul Boutelle | Socialist Workers Party | Fred Halstead | |
1972 | Julius Hobson | People's Party | Benjamin Spock | 78,759 |
1972 | Jarvis Tyner | Communist Party | Gus Hall | |
1976 | Willie Mae Reid | Socialist Workers Party | Peter Camejo | 90,986 |
1976 | Jarvis Tyner | Communist Party | Gus Hall | |
1980 | Angela Davis | Communist Party | Gus Hall | 43,871 |
1984 | Angela Davis | Communist Party | Gus Hall | 36,386 |
1984 | Helen Halyard[22] | Socialist Equality Party | Edward Winn | 10,801 |
1988 | B. Kwaku Duren[23] | New Alliance Party | Lenora Fulani | 31,180 |
1988 | Helen Halyard | Socialist Equality Party | Edward Winn | 18,693 |
1988 | Mamie Moore[24] | New Alliance Party | Lenora Fulani | 26,487 |
1988 | Florence M. Rice[25] | Consumer Party | Eugene McCarthy | 25,109 |
1992 | Willie Mae Reid | Socialist Workers Party | James "Mac" Warren | |
1996 | Shirley Jean Masters | Looking Back Party | Isabell Masters | 752 |
2000 | Ezola B. Foster | Reform Party | Pat Buchanan | 449,225 |
2004 | Arrin Hawkins | Socialist Workers Party | Róger Calero | 3,689 |
2004 | Jim Lawrence | Socialist Equality Party | Bill Van Auken | 1,857 |
2008 | Stewart Alexander | Socialist Party | Brian Moore | 7,315 |
2008 | Eugene Puryear | Party for Socialism and Liberation | Gloria La Riva | 7,478 |
2016 | Ajamu Baraka | Green Party | Jill Stein | 1,457,044 |
2016 | Osborne Hart | Socialist Workers Party | Alyson Kennedy | 11,667 |
2016 | Lamont Lilly | Workers World Party | Monica Moorehead | 4,003 |
2016 | Eugene Puryear | Peace and Freedom Party | Gloria La Riva | 43,445 |
2016 | Angela Nicole Walker | Socialist Party USA | Mimi Soltysik | 2,579 |
2016 | Milton Fambro | Revolutionary Party | Khadijah Jacob-Fambro | 748 |
2016 | Breeze Harper[10] | Humane Party | Clifton Roberts[9] | 86[11] |
2020 | Karla Ballard[26] | Independent | Brock Pierce | 49,700 |
2020 | Dayna R. Chandler[15] | Genealogy Know Your Family History | Ricki Sue King | |
2020 | Kamala Harris | Democratic Party | Joe Biden | 81,268,867 |
2020 | Khadijah M. Jacob[14] | Unaffiliated | Princess Khadijah Jacob-Fambro | |
2020 | Malcolm Jarrett[27] | Socialist Workers Party | Alyson Kennedy | 6,791 |
2020 | Cynthia McKinney[28] | Green Party of Alaska | Jesse Ventura | 3,291 |
2020 | Melissa Nixon[17] | Independent | Jade Simmons | 181 |
2020 | Raechelle Pope | Independent | Michael Laboch | |
2020 | Claudeliah Roze[29] | Independent | Jade Simmons | 6,777 |
2020 | Angela Nicole Walker | Green Party and Socialist Party USA | Howie Hawkins | 404,021 |
2020 | Adrian Wallace | Independent | Mark Charles | 3,040 |
2020 | Kanye West[30] | American Independent Party | Rocky De La Fuente | 60,160 |
U.S. president: other candidates for party nomination[]
Candidates who failed to receive their party's nomination (or who are currently campaigning for their party's nomination). Candidates who won the nomination belong in the above tables only.
Year | Name | Party | Details | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|---|
1848 | Frederick Douglass | Liberty Party | 1 vote at national convention[31] | Gerrit Smith |
1888 | Frederick Douglass | Republican Party | 1 vote at national convention | Benjamin Harrison |
1968 | Channing E. Phillips | Democratic Party | 67.5 votes at national convention | Hubert Humphrey |
1972 | Shirley Chisholm | Democratic Party | 152 votes at national convention | George McGovern |
1972 | Walter Fauntroy | Democratic Party | 1 vote at national convention; 21,217 votes (71.78%) and winner of Washington, D.C., primary | |
1976 | Barbara Jordan | Democratic Party | 1 vote at national convention | Jimmy Carter |
1976 | Walter Fauntroy | Democratic Party | 10,149 votes (30.49%) (2nd place) in Washington, D.C. primary | |
1984 | Jesse Jackson | Democratic Party | 466 votes at national convention | Walter Mondale |
1988 | Jesse Jackson | Democratic Party | 1218.5 votes at national convention | Michael Dukakis |
1992 | Douglas Wilder | Democratic Party | Withdrew before Iowa caucuses | Bill Clinton |
1992 | Alan Keyes | Republican Party | 1 vote at national convention. Keyes was the Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate election in Maryland at the time, and was not actively seeking the presidency in 1992. | George H.W. Bush |
1996 | Alan Keyes | Republican Party | 1 vote at national convention | Bob Dole |
1996 | Isabell Masters | Republican Party | 1052 votes (7th place) in Oklahoma primary[32] | |
2000 | Alan Keyes | Republican Party | 6 votes at national convention | George W. Bush |
2000 | Angel Joy Rocker[33] | Republican Party | 6 votes in Alabama straw poll[34] | |
2004 | Carol Moseley Braun | Democratic Party | Withdrew before Iowa caucuses | John Kerry |
2004 | Al Sharpton | Democratic Party | Earned 26 delegates in 5 primaries and caucuses | |
2008 | Alan Keyes | Republican Party | Keyes withdrew from Republican Party on April 15, 2008, but remained on the Republican ballot in several states. | John McCain |
2008 | Alan Keyes | Constitution Party | 125.7 votes (24.36%) (2nd place) at national convention. | Chuck Baldwin |
2012 | Herman Cain | Republican Party | Withdrew on December 3, 2011. | Mitt Romney |
2016 | Willie Wilson | Democratic Party | Announced candidacy on June 1, 2015. | Hillary Clinton |
2016 | John Fitzgerald Johnson | Democratic Party | Announced candidacy on August 23, 2015. | |
2016 | Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry | Green Party | 14.5 votes (3rd place) at national convention | Jill Stein |
2016 | Monica Moorehead | Peace and Freedom Party | 1,369 votes (30%) (2nd place) in California primary[35] | Gloria La Riva |
2016 | Ben Carson | Republican Party | Announced candidacy on May 3, 2015. Withdrew on March 4, 2016. Earned 9 delegates. | Donald Trump |
2020 | Cory Booker | Democratic Party | Withdrew before Iowa caucuses | Joe Biden |
2020 | Kamala Harris | Democratic Party | Withdrew before Iowa caucuses. Harris later became the 2020 Democratic nominee for vice president. | |
2020 | Wayne Messam | Democratic Party | Withdrew before Iowa caucuses | |
2020 | Deval Patrick | Democratic Party | Announced candidacy on November 14, 2019. Withdrew on February 12, 2020. | |
2020 | Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry | Green Party | 11.5 votes (3rd place) at national convention | Howie Hawkins |
U.S. vice president: other candidates for party nomination[]
Year | Name | Party | Details | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|---|
1856 | Frederick Douglass | Political Abolitionist[19] | Samuel T. McFarland[36] | |
1880 | Blanche Bruce | Republican Party | 8 votes at national convention[37] | Chester A. Arthur |
1888 | Blanche Bruce | Republican Party | 11 votes at national convention[37] | Levi P. Morton |
1968 | Julian Bond | Democratic Party | 48.5 votes at national convention | Edmund Muskie |
1972 | Julian Bond | Democratic Party | 1 vote at national convention | Thomas Eagleton |
1972 | Shirley Chisholm | Democratic Party | 20 votes at national convention | Thomas Eagleton |
1972 | Ron Dellums | Democratic Party | 4 votes at national convention | Thomas Eagleton |
1976 | Barbara Jordan | Democratic Party | 17 votes in national convention | Walter Mondale |
1980 | Mel Boozer | Democratic Party | 49 votes in national convention[38] | Walter Mondale |
2016 | Larry Sharpe | Libertarian Party | 264 votes in national convention (1st ballot); 409 votes in national convention (2nd ballot) | William Weld |
2016 | Derrick Grayson | Libertarian Party | 48 votes in national convention (1st ballot); 9 votes in national convention (2nd ballot) |
See also[]
- African-American candidates for President of the United States
- List of female United States presidential and vice-presidential candidates
- Jesse Jackson 1984 presidential campaign
- Jesse Jackson 1988 presidential campaign
Notes[]
- ^ Colin Powell did not run for president in 2016. He received the votes of 3 faithless electors from Washington. Powell, a Republican, had endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and received his electoral votes from Democratic electors.
- ^ Wisconsin Labor Advocate, La Crosse, Wis. : Geo. E. Taylor, 1886- Archived September 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The World Almanac & Encyclopedia. 1908. p. 268. "they received only a few scattering votes of which there is no exact record."
- ^ Does not include 27,887 votes cast for the party's ticket in California and Utah, where Cleaver's name did not appear on the ballot because he was under 35 years old.
- ^ Leip, David (2005). "1980 Presidential General Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
- ^ Jump up to: a b In 2004 and 2008, Harris served as a stand-in nominee for the Socialist Workers Party in states where the party's main presidential nominee, Róger Calero, was ineligible because he was not a natural-born citizen.
- ^ Winger, Richard (January 9, 2009). "2008 Presidential Vote (not final)". Ballot Access News. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Federal Elections 2012 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission. 2013. p. 5.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Gunzburger, Ron (2016). "2016 Presidential Candidates". Politics1. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Breaking: Humane Party announces Dr. Breeze Harper as Vice Presidential nominee". The Onion Knight Show. June 10, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "2016 Presidential Election by State". The Green Papers. February 5, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ^ "President R19 Boddie". Media and American Politics. February 6, 2020.
- ^ "Candidate Inquiry". voterportal.sos.la.gov.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "2020 General Election Candidate List". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Iowa's first Black woman presidential candidate doesn't want your vote". Bleeding Heartland. August 16, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ "Native Charlestonian Jade Simmons Running For President 2020". The Charleston Chronicle. July 9, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Melissa Nixon was on the ballot instead of Roze only in Florida.
- ^ Douglass did not acknowledge the nomination or participate in the campaign.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Walton, Hanes. Invisible politics: Black political behavior. p.92.
- ^ Guzman, Jessie Parkhurst. Negro Year Book - An Annual Encyclopedia of the Negro 1931-1932 p.87.
- ^ "National Affairs: Fifth Party". Time. June 18, 1928. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010.
- ^ Edward Bergonzi was an alternate candidate for Helen Halyard in some states, including Ohio.
- ^ Duren was on the ballot only in California.
- ^ Moore was on the ballot as an alternate candidate for Joyce Dattner in some states, including Minnesota.
- ^ Rice was on the ballot in three states, including Michigan.
- ^ "Entrepreneur, Karla Ballard, Joins Brock Pierce for President as Vice President". PR Newswire. July 20, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ "Meet the SWP candidates: Alyson Kennedy & Malcolm Jarrett". The Militant. Vol. 85 no. 5. February 1, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Green Party of Alaska (September 1, 2020). "Green Party Of Alaska Rejects National Candidate, Nominates Jesse Ventura" (Press release). Anchorage Press. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ "Independent Presidential Candidate, Jade Simmons, Announces Her VP Running Mate, Claudeliah J. Roze". PRLog. September 28, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Winger, Richard (August 15, 2020). "American Independent Party Nominates Rocky De La Fuente for President and Kanye West for Vice-President". Ballot Access News. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ "Proceedings of the National Liberty Convention, held at Buffalo, N.Y., June..." 1848. Archived from the original on February 9, 2001. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "White House bid wants serious attention", St. Petersburg Times, March 24, 1999. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
- ^ "Republican Party". Archived from the original on February 9, 2001.
- ^ "President Peace and Freedom - Statewide Results". Office of the Secretary of State of California. Government of California. June 8, 2016. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
- ^ Wesley, Dr. Charles H. (March 14, 1953). "The Greatest American". The Afro-American. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Ragsdale, Bruce; Joel D. Treese (1990). Black Americans in Congress, 1870-1989. Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives. p. 8.
- ^ Sears, p. 389
References[]
- Sears, Thomas James (2001). Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones: Queering Space in the Stonewall South. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2964-6.
- Lists of candidates for President of the United States
- African-American candidates for President of the United States
- Lists of African-American people