Andre Barnett

Last updated

Andre Barnett
Personal details
Born
Andre Nigel Barnett

(1976-06-02) June 2, 1976 (age 48)
Zanesville, Ohio, U.S.
Political party Reform (Before 2014)
Republican (2014–present)
Alma mater Austin Peay State University
Western Governors University
Website Vote Andre Barnett for President
(archived October 18, 2012)

Andre Nigel Barnett (born June 2, 1976) is an American entrepreneur, politician, and model. After founding an information technology company, he was the presidential candidate of the Reform Party in the 2012 United States presidential election, and later sought a New York seat in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican.

Contents

Born in Zanesville, Ohio, Barnett attended Austin Peay State University and Western Governors University before serving in the United States Army for four years. After he was injured and discharged in 2000, he became a male fitness model and founded WiseDome, Inc., an IT company.

In May 2011, Barnett announced his intention to seek the presidential nomination of the Reform Party of the United States for the following year's presidential election. He faced several other candidates, and secured the support of 95 percent of delegates at the party's nominating convention the following year. He ran as a moderate conservative, supporting a smaller role for the federal government, and took socially conservative stands on issues like abortion and same-sex partnerships. He appeared on the ballot in one state and was a certified write-in candidate in several others, ultimately receiving just under 1,000 votes nationally. In 2014, he ran for the Republican nomination in New York's 18th congressional district, but failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Background

Barnett was born in Zanesville, Ohio on June 2, 1976, to Terry and Brenda Barnett. He had one sister, LaTanya, and as a child participated in football and track, as well as studying music and acting. [1] He graduated from Zanesville High School in 1994. He then attended Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he studied music; he did not graduate, and later completed coursework in information technology through online university Western Governors University. [1] [2]

In 1996, Barnett enlisted in the United States Army. He served until 2000, when he was discharged following a helicopter accident in Sarajevo which left Barnett disabled and forced to undergo surgery. [1] [3] In the following three years, he became a fitness model and founded WiseDome, an IT company for which he is today best known. [2] [4] Barnett's modeling work appeared on websites which drew a primarily gay male readership. [2] [5] [6] [7]

2012 presidential candidacy

Campaign

Ballot access of Andre Barnett in the 2012 presidential election Ballot access of Andre Barnett in the 2012 US Presidential Election.PNG
Ballot access of Andre Barnett in the 2012 presidential election

On April 20, 2011, Barnett filed his Declaration of Intent of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, and publicly announced his candidacy for the Reform Party presidential nomination on May 6, 2011. [8] [9] At the Reform Party of New Jersey's state convention on April 14, 2012, Barnett defeated former Governor of Louisiana Buddy Roemer in the party's presidential straw poll with 70 percent of the vote. [10] Barnett was officially nominated for President of the United States by the Reform Party on August 12, 2012, at the party's National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [11] [12] In the delegate vote, which used approval voting, Barnett received 95 percent approval, approximately five percentage points ahead of the second-place finisher, Kenneth R. "Ken" Cross of Arkansas, the owner of a consulting company and a 2008 presidential candidate. [13] [14] Cross was then made Barnett's running mate. [8] Between April 1 and December 31, 2011, Barnett's campaign reported $1,808.20 in receipts and $2,208.20 in disbursements. [15]

Although Barnett secured the party's nomination, two state parties filed to grant their nominations to other candidates: the Kansas Reform Party awarded their nomination to pastor and 2008 Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin, while the Mississippi Reform Party nominated Barbara Dale Washer. [16] [17] The Kansas Reform Party had also nominated Baldwin for president in 2008 against the wishes of the national party. [16] National party officials testified to the Kansas State Objections Board to argue that they, not the state party, has the right to determine which candidate appears as the party's nominee on the ballot, but the board concluded that the state party has the final authority. [16]

On October 4, 2012, Barnett appeared at a third-party presidential debate hosted by the Huffington Post with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson. [18] Barnett was listed as a candidate in a Florida poll conducted by Suffolk University, which found him drawing zero percent support in the state. [19]

Political positions

Barnett stated that he considers himself a conservative and that he would considerably downsize the federal government if elected. [20] [21] Barnett has been described as a "conservative with a conscience", while OnTheIssues classified him as a moderate conservative. [22] [23] Barnett proposed restructuring the Department of Education and giving states most control over schools; he also indicated support for prayer in schools and opposition to school voucher programs. [23] [24] On foreign policy, Barnett argued for removing the military from abroad and instead using it to address homeland security. [25] He indicated in a questionnaire that he supports expanding free trade, although his platform included the implementation of tariffs on imported goods. [23] [25] In a January 2012 OnTheIssues questionnaire, Barnett indicated that he opposed same-sex domestic partnerships, a position which some political commentators felt was in opposition to his audience during his fitness modeling career. [2] [5] [6]

Supporters

The Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York, a conservative public policy and educational organization, praised Barnett in an October 2011 article, deeming him a true conservative and commending his political positions; however, the article did not formally endorse Barnett, and urged him to consider running with the Republican Party instead. [22] In October 2012, The Sword, a gay porn website, issued a humorous endorsement of Barnett, stating that they were "proud to endorse him because his body is insane" but calling him "a complete and total asshole" on actual policy. [6]

Results

Summary

Barnett appeared on the ballot in one state, Florida, in addition to being a qualified write-in candidate in six states: Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Texas, and Utah. Barnett received a total of 956 votes nationwide, 820 of them in Florida and 87 of them in Texas. [26] This marked an improvement from the national party's vote totals in 2008, when their presidential ticket appeared on the ballot in only Mississippi and failed to attain write-in access in any state; that year, they had received 481 votes nationally. [27]

The Mississippi Reform Party's presidential nominee, Barbara Dale Washer, received 1,016 votes, while the Kansas Reform Party's presidential nominee, Chuck Baldwin, received 5,017 votes. [26]

State-by-state results

Adapted from the Federal Election Commission's Federal Elections 2012 report. [26]

StateBallot lineVotes %Place
Florida Reform 8200.01%10th
Kansas Write-in190.00%10th
Maryland Write-in190.00%12th
Minnesota Write-in40.00%16th
Montana Write-in20.00%9th
Texas Write-in870.00%11th
Utah Write-in50.00%10th (tie)
Total9560.00%29th

2014 congressional campaign

In the 2014 election for New York's 18th congressional district, Barnett filed to stand as a candidate in the Republican primary, against former congresswoman Nan Hayworth; the victor would go on to challenge incumbent Democratic Representative Sean Patrick Maloney in the November election. [28] [29] He also signed a term limits pledge from the nonpartisan nonprofit group U.S. Term Limits, vowing not to serve more than three terms in the House and two in the Senate if elected. [30] Barnett initially filed 1,252 petition signatures to appear on the Republican primary ballot. [29] However, 86 of the signatures were found to be invalid, meaning that Barnett fell short of the required 1,250 valid signatures. [29] Hayworth thereby avoided a Republican primary. [29]

Personal

Barnett and his wife Kimberly reside in Poughkeepsie, New York. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution Party (United States)</span> American political party

The Constitution Party, named the U.S. Taxpayers' Party until 1999, is an ultra-conservative political party in the United States that promotes a religiously conservative interpretation of the principles and intents of the United States Constitution. The party platform is based on originalist interpretations of the Constitution and shaped by principles which it believes were set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1876 United States presidential election</span> 23rd quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1876 United States presidential election was the 23rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 1876.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partisan primary</span> Election that narrows the field of candidates before an election for office

Party primaries or primary elections are elections in which a political party selects a candidate for an upcoming general election. Depending on the country and administrative division, there may be an "open primary", in which all voters are eligible to participate, or a "closed primary", in which only members of a political party can vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reform Party of the United States of America</span> American political party

The Reform Party of the United States of America (RPUSA), generally known as the Reform Party USA or the Reform Party, is a centrist political party in the United States, founded in 1995 by Ross Perot.

In United States presidential elections, an unpledged elector is a person nominated to stand as an elector but who has not pledged to support any particular presidential or vice presidential candidate, and is free to vote for any candidate when elected a member of the Electoral College. Presidential elections are indirect, with voters in each state choosing electors on Election Day in November, and these electors choosing the president and vice president of the United States in December. Electors in practice have since the 19th century almost always agreed in advance to vote for a particular candidate — that is, they are said to have been pledged to that candidate. In several elections in the 20th century, however, competitive campaigns were mounted by candidates who made no pledge to any presidential nominee before the election. These anomalies largely arose from fissures within the Democratic Party over the issues of civil rights and segregation. No serious general election campaign has been mounted to elect unpledged electors in any state since 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 Republican National Convention</span> Political convention of the Republican Party

The 1968 Republican National Convention was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Dade County, Florida, USA, from August 5 to August 8, 1968, to select the party's nominee in the general election. It nominated former Vice President Richard Nixon for president and Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew for vice president. It was the fourth time Nixon had been nominated on the Republican ticket as either its vice presidential or presidential candidate (1960). Symbolic of the South's changing political affiliation, this was the first Republican National Convention held in a prior Confederate State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1912 Republican National Convention</span> American political convention

The 1912 Republican National Convention was held at the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, from June 18 to June 22, 1912. The party nominated President William Howard Taft and Vice President James S. Sherman for re-election for the 1912 United States presidential election.

The Libertarian Party of the United States was formed in Colorado Springs in the home of Luke Zell by a group of individuals led by David Nolan on December 11, 1971, after several months of debate among members of the Committee to Form a Libertarian Party, founded July 17. The formation was prompted in part by price controls and the end of the Gold Standard implemented by President Richard Nixon. The Libertarian Party viewed the dominant Republican and Democratic parties as having diverged from what they viewed as the libertarian principles of the American Founding Fathers. This group included John Hospers, Edward Crane, Manuel Klausner, Murray Rothbard, Roy Childs, D. Frank Robinson, Theodora (Tonie) Nathan, and Jim Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States presidential election</span> An election in United States of America

The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not directly for those offices, but instead for members of the Electoral College. These electors then cast direct votes, known as electoral votes, for president, and for vice president. The candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes is then elected to that office. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes for president, the House of Representatives elects the president; likewise if no one receives an absolute majority of the votes for vice president, then the Senate elects the vice president.

This article contains lists of official third-party and independent candidates associated with the 2012 United States presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Fellure</span> American politician (1931–2022)

Lowell Jackson Fellure was an American perennial political candidate and engineer. He was the presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party for the 2012 presidential election.

The Virgil Goode presidential campaign of 2012 began when former U.S. Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia announced his decision to seek the 2012 presidential nomination of the Constitution Party in February 2012. During the nomination campaign, he put forth a four-point plank that included his plans to restrict immigration, balance the federal budget, decrease the size of government, and institute congressional term limits.

This article contains lists of official and potential third-party and independent candidates associated with the 2016 United States presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Republican Party presidential primaries</span>

Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place in many U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories from February 3 to August 11, 2020, to elect most of the 2,550 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention. Delegates to the national convention in other states were elected by the respective state party organizations. The delegates to the national convention voted on the first ballot to select Donald Trump as the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, and selected Mike Pence as the vice-presidential nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third-party and independent candidates for the 2020 United States presidential election</span>

This article lists third-party and independent candidates, also jointly known as minor candidates, associated with the 2020 United States presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in Alabama</span>

The 2020 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated. Alabama voters chose nine electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Mike Pence, against Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, United States Senator Kamala Harris of California. Also on the ballot was the Libertarian nominee, psychology lecturer Jo Jorgensen and her running mate, entrepreneur and podcaster Spike Cohen. Write-in candidates were permitted without registration, and their results were not individually counted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in Alaska</span>

The 2020 United States presidential election in Alaska took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated. Alaska voters chose three electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Mike Pence, against Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, United States Senator Kamala Harris of California. The Libertarian, Green, Constitution, and Alliance Party nominees were also on the ballot, as was an Independent candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howie Hawkins 2020 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 2020 presidential campaign of Howie Hawkins, both the co-founder of the Green Party of the United States and thrice its gubernatorial candidate in New York, was informally launched on April 3, 2019, when Hawkins announced the formation of an exploratory committee and formally announced his campaign on May 28, 2019, to seek the Green Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2020 presidential election and later the Socialist Party USA. On May 5, 2020, Hawkins announced that former Socialist Party USA vice presidential candidate Angela Nicole Walker would be his running mate. Hawkins and Walker were nominated by the Green Party on July 11, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in Mississippi</span>

The 2024 United States presidential election in Mississippi is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Mississippi voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. Mississippi's six votes in the Electoral College were unaffected by reapportionment after the 2020 United States census.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Welcome > Candidate Biography". Andre Barnett 2012. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cantor, Paul (October 15, 2012). "Former Softcore Gay "Fitness" Model Andre Barnett is Running for President". Complex. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Meet 14 others running for president". Columbus Dispatch. September 25, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  4. ↑ Vago, Mike (March 8, 2020). "Meet Trump's used car salesman primary challenger". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Avery, Dan (October 15, 2012). "Countdown Election 2012: A Softcore "Fitness" Model Is Running For President". Queerty. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 Gray, Rosie (October 9, 2012). "The Only Presidential Candidate This Year Who Dabbled In Gay Porn". Buzzfeed. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Meet Andre Barnett, who was nominated by the Reform Party, and is also a softcore gay pornstar". Yahoo! News. October 15, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "2012 Presidential Hopefuls Sorted by FEC Total Receipts". The Green Papers. January 5, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  9. ↑ Benac, Nancy (October 31, 2011). "So you want to run for president? Just sign here". KXAN-TV. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Convention: Recap". Reform Party of New Jersey. Archived from the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Reform Party Chooses Andre Barnett for President", Ballot Access News . August 13, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Reform Party Nominates Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates" Archived August 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , C-SPAN.org. August 12, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  13. ↑ "The Reform Party Runs Andre Barnett for President". Newswire (Press release). October 30, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Ken Cross Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Barnett, Andre N — Financial Summary". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 "Kansas State Officials Reject Attempt to Place Andre Barnett on the Ballot as the Reform Party Nominee". Ballot Access News. September 13, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Mississippi Secretary of State Recognizes the Shawn O'Hara Faction of the Reform Party". Ballot Access News. September 10, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  18. ↑ "OtherVoices: Third Party Candidates Debate The Economy". Huffington Post. October 4, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Suffolk University/WSVN-TV Miami 9/27 – 9/30 Likely General Election Voters" (PDF). Suffolk University. Suffolk University/WSVN-TV Miami. September 27–30, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Local Tea Party Hold Caucus". YNN Rochester. March 3, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  21. ↑ Mikolay, Dennis "DJ" (March 18, 2012). "Reform Party Rising". Atlantic Highlands Herald . Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  22. 1 2 "Meet Andre Barnett- a Black Conservative Running for President in 2012". The Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York. October 21, 2011. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  23. 1 2 3 "Andre Barnett VoteMatch Responses". OnTheIssues. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  24. ↑ Klein, Alyson (October 10, 2012). "What Do Third-Party Candidates Think About K-12?". Education Week. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  25. 1 2 Cellania, Miss (September 4, 2012). "15 Third-Party Presidential Candidates". Mental Floss. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 Federal Elections 2012: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives (PDF). Washington, DC: Federal Election Commission. July 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  27. ↑ Federal Elections 2008: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives (PDF). Washington, DC: Federal Election Commission. July 2009. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  28. ↑ Barnett, Andre. "Say You're In New York". Vote Andre Barnett for Congress. Archived from the original on May 1, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Kornbluh, Jacob (May 1, 2014). "NY18 – Hayworth and Maloney To Face Off In June Primary For The Independence Party Line". JP Updates. Archived from the original on May 7, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  30. ↑ "New York: 2014 Candidates". U.S. Term Limits. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
Party political offices
Preceded by Reform nominee for President of the United States
2012 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.