While the nation awaits to see which family dynasty will put forth a candidate to run for president in 2016, over 150 people have already thrown their hat into the race, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
As the Center points out, everyone from "President Emperor Caesar," a Democrat, to "Ole' Savior," a Republican, have filed documents with the Federal Election Commission, indicating their interest in the race.
The list also includes a Detroit native, Cherunda Fox, who filed her statement of candidacy this past May. Fox, a Republican, filed papers a month later to form a presidential exploratory committee.
Reached by phone this afternoon, Fox declined to offer comment to MT.
Besides Fox, at least six other Michiganders have filed statement of candidacies, according to Eric Ostermeier of the Smart Politics blog at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs. In a July 2014 post, Ostermeier pointed out that twice-as-many lesser-known candidates have submitted filings for president when compared to the 2012 election cycle.
The question probably on your mind: Who are these people?
At the time of Ostermeier's post, 112 candidates had submitted paperwork, more than two-thirds being Republican candidates "carried by Obama in the 2012 election," Ostermeier wrote. A pair of candidates, in an apparently humorous attempt to poke fun at those on The Hill, bridged our two major parties into one, filing as "Democrat & Republican," including one Daniel Lane Dean of Los Angeles.
Dean's campaign committee, Ostermeier says, is named "Let's Unite America."
A number of candidates have also filed as representatives of some inspired parties, including: All Mother Earth, America's Third Party, and the Anti-Hypocrisy Party.
Another Detroit candidate, Andre Ventura, already has announced his VP in the race. From Ostermeier, Ventura's form stated:
Running Mate
Name: God
Address: Omni Present
Phone: Prayer
Ostermeier also points out another tidbit from an Onaway, Michigan candidate:
When All Mother Earth candidate Todd Wade Willey from Onaway, Michigan was asked to fill out the state and district in which he lives, he wrote, "Planet Earth."At the time of Ostermeier's post, Michigan carried the fourth largest amount of candidates of any state, only behind California (17), Florida (15), and Texas (11).
