You Thought The Last Election Was Weird? Check Out These 5 Past Candidates!


Regardless of political standpoints, I think we can all agree that the last election was like a roller coaster. I often found myself looking at the news to see if anything particularly outrageous had happened; for example, remember Deez Nuts? There’s more weird where that came from, though. A lot of strange people have run for president in the past, and I’m about to show you five of them. Feel free to look these up – they’re all real.

1. Vermin Supreme


Vermin Love Supreme (he had his name legally changed) is known for his advocacy of dental hygiene, his interest in ponies, and that one time he poured glitter all over Randall Terry, thus “turning him gay.” I know what you’re thinking: is this guy serious? The answer, unsurprisingly, is no. Supreme is actually a performance artist and satirist that aims to parody the current state of politics, and he’s been running for office since the 1980s.

Oddly enough, people actually vote for him, but as he states, a vote for him is a vote thrown away.

2. The Impaler

Via Thrillist

A name like “The Impaler” certainly sounds presidential, don’t you think? Ex-wrestler Jonathon Albert Sharkey, better known as The Impaler, ran for president in 2012, advocating for personally torturing criminals, banning abortion and the teaching of evolution, and a healthcare system that would be paid for with taxes on marijuana and prostitution (which he would make legal). He also publicly called George W. Bush a communist, and was outspoken about his obsession with blood.

It’s not surprising that he lost, but in today’s world, who knows what people will vote for?

3. Jimmy McMillan (The Rent Is Too Damn High)

Remember this guy? Yeah, he ran for president in the last election. Sadly, he withdrew early, so we didn’t get to see much of his antics. For those of you that don’t know, Jimmy McMillan is a political activist, veteran, karate expert, and former male stripper who is very outspoken about the rent being, as he puts it, too damn high. A few years back, he became well-known when he ran for mayor of New York and a video of one of his speeches went viral.

Listen to his speech above – he’s a very entertaining speaker (and he actually has some good points).

4. Mike Gravel

Kudos to you if you watched the entire video. Alaska Senator Mike Gravel actually has a few more videos like these that were created to promote him during the 2008 election. I’m not sure if I would want to vote for someone who is able to stare at me without blinking for a solid minute. Maybe he’s a better person when he’s not being creepy?

Why did he do this? Watch him explain here.

5. Deez Nuts

Via Fox 40

This one is very recent; in the last election, 15-year-old Brady Olson decided to mess with our two-party system to make a statement, giving birth to “political candidate” Deez Nuts in the process. Shockingly, a good 9% of voters gave their vote to him, with Harambe the gorilla being another popular “candidate.” In the minds of many, this incident somewhat served as an example of how ridiculous politics have become, and many decided to vote for Deez Nuts because they disliked the other two candidates.

Either way, it sure was weird to see “Deez Nuts” next to Clinton and Trump on my TV screen.

Featured image via Thrillist

Sources: Thrillist and Wikipedia articles for Vermin Supreme, The Impaler, Jimmy McMillan, and Deez Nuts