List_of_African-American_United_States_presidential_and_vice_presidential_candidates

List of African-American United States presidential and vice presidential candidates

List of African-American United States presidential and vice presidential candidates

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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.

In 1848, Frederick Douglass became the first African-American presidential candidate of the US. His candidacy largely preceded black suffrage and coincided with legal slavery in the U.S.
In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African-American presidential candidate nominated by a major party, namely the Democrats. He was the first African-American to be elected (and re-elected) president of the United States.
In 2021, Kamala Harris became the first African-American, first female, and first Indian-American vice president of the United States.

Not included in the first and second sections are African-Americans who ran unsuccessful 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 third section 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 major party tickets in U.S. history: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 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 African American vice president of the United States of America, being elected in the 2020 election alongside President Joe Biden. She is also the first female vice president. She is the second biracial vice president, the first being Charles Curtis.

U.S. presidential candidates: party nominees

† Denotes winning candidate.

Candidates receiving electoral votes

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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.

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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.

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U.S. vice president: other candidates for party nomination

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See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    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.
  2. [2]
    Wisconsin Labor Advocate, La Crosse, Wis. : Geo. E. Taylor, 1886- Archived September 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. [3]
    The World Almanac & Encyclopedia. 1908. p. 268. "they received only a few scattering votes of which there is no exact record."
  4. [4]
    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.
  5. [5]
    Leip, David (2005). "1980 Presidential General Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  6. [6]
    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.
  7. [7]
    Winger, Richard (January 9, 2009). "2008 Presidential Vote (not final)". Ballot Access News. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  8. [8]
    Federal Elections 2012 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission. 2013. p. 5.
  9. [9]
    Gunzburger, Ron (2016). "2016 Presidential Candidates". Politics1. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  10. [10]
    "Breaking: Humane Party announces Dr. Breeze Harper as Vice Presidential nominee". The Onion Knight Show. June 10, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-06-10. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  11. [11]
    "2016 Presidential Election by State". The Green Papers. February 5, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  12. [12]
    "President R19 Boddie". Media and American Politics. February 6, 2020.
  13. [13]
    "Candidate Inquiry". voterportal.sos.la.gov.
  14. [14]
    "2020 General Election Candidate List". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  15. [15]
    "Iowa's first Black woman presidential candidate doesn't want your vote". Bleeding Heartland. August 16, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  16. [16]
    "Native Charlestonian Jade Simmons Running For President 2020". The Charleston Chronicle. July 9, 2020. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. [17]
    Melissa Nixon was on the ballot instead of Roze only in Florida.
  18. [18]
    Douglass did not acknowledge the nomination or participate in the campaign.
  19. [19]
    Walton, Hanes. Invisible politics: Black political behavior. p.92.
  20. [20]
    Guzman, Jessie Parkhurst. Negro Year Book - An Annual Encyclopedia of the Negro 1931-1932 p.87.
  21. [21]
    "National Affairs: Fifth Party". Time. June 18, 1928. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010.
  22. [22]
    Edward Bergonzi was an alternate candidate for Helen Halyard in some states, including Ohio.
  23. [23]
    Duren was on the ballot only in California.
  24. [24]
    Moore was on the ballot as an alternate candidate for Joyce Dattner in some states, including Minnesota.
  25. [25]
    Rice was on the ballot in three states, including Michigan.
  26. [26]
    "Entrepreneur, Karla Ballard, Joins Brock Pierce for President as Vice President". PR Newswire. July 20, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  27. [27]
    "Meet the SWP candidates: Alyson Kennedy & Malcolm Jarrett". The Militant. Vol. 85, no. 5. February 1, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  28. [28]
    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.
  29. [29]
    "Independent Presidential Candidate, Jade Simmons, Announces Her VP Running Mate, Claudeliah J. Roze". PRLog. September 28, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  30. [30]
    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.
  31. [31]
    "Proceedings of the National Liberty Convention, held at Buffalo, N.Y., June..." 1848. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  32. [32]
    "1996 Republican Race for President". Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2008.
  33. [33]
    "White House bid wants serious attention", St. Petersburg Times, March 24, 1999. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  34. [34]
    "Republican Party". Archived from the original on February 1, 2009.
  35. [35]
    "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.
  36. [36]
    Wesley, Dr. Charles H. (March 14, 1953). "The Greatest American". The Afro-American. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  37. [37]
    Ragsdale, Bruce; Joel D. Treese (1990). Black Americans in Congress, 1870-1989. Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives. p. 8.
  38. [38]
    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.
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