Darcy Richardson

Darcy Richardson
Author, political historian and progressive activist Darcy Richardson.
Personal details
Born	Darcy G. Richardson December 6, 1955
Political party	Peace and Freedom
Alma mater	Temple University
Website	Darcy Richardson 2012

Darcy G. Richardson (born December 6, 1955) is an American author, historian and political activist.

In the 2012 presidential election, Richardson challenged incumbent Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in five states. He was later a candidate for the presidential nomination of the Reform Party of the United States of America

Author and Activist

Richardson is the author of A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign, published in 2002. The book describes in detail the "Clean for Gene" phenomenon that led to President Lyndon B. Johnson's startling withdrawal from the race and Robert F. Kennedy's opportunistic last-minute candidacy, as well as the campaigns of Republican Richard M. Nixon and others. He has also authored four books of a planned seven volume series on the history of third party politics in the United States, with a heavy focus on progressive movements. The first volume, "Others: Third-Party Politics From the Nation's Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party" earned a Choice magazine Outstanding Academic Title (OAT) award for 2005.^[1]

Richardson has written for several left-wing blogs and is the co-founder of a blog called Uncovered Politics, which focuses on insurgent candidates and third party politics.

Between 1989 and 1992, Richardson served as the National Chairman of the New Democrats, a liberal reformist group that included Eugene McCarthy and Gary Hart.^[2][3]

Political Campaigns

Darcy Richardson 2012 presidential campaign logo

Although a registered Democrat and elected Montgomery County precinct committeeman at the time, Richardson was nominated to run for the position of Pennsylvania Auditor General in 1980 on the Philadelphia-based Consumer Party's ballot line. In that race he finished third with 48,783 votes.^[4]

In 1988, the Consumer Party again nominated Richardson, this time to run for U.S. Senate.^[5] That same year, Richardson was the national campaign manager of former Senator Eugene McCarthy's presidential campaign. McCarthy was also running on the Consumer Party ticket. Richardson was later a senior advisor to McCarthy's final presidential campaign, in which he ran as a candidate in the 1992 Democratic primaries.^[6]

Richardson was a candidate for the lieutenant governor of Florida in 2010, running with independent gubernatorial candidate Farid Khavari.^[7]

2012 Presidential campaign

On October 21, 2011, Richardson filed as a candidate in the 2012 New Hampshire Democratic primary and became the first Democrat to file in a primary against President Barack Obama.^[8][9] A total of 14 Democrats, including Obama, eventually filed for the primary ballot.^[10] Richardson stated in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that he decided to enter the race after failing to convince former Labor Secretary Robert Reich to mount a bid. Richardson also noted his campaign was to be national in scope, with plans to file in numerous other states where ballot access laws would allow him to either pay a qualifying fee or gather signed petitions.^[10] In addition to New Hampshire, he qualified for a spot on the Missouri, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas Democratic primary ballots,^[11][12] and accumulated 41,730 votes at the end of the primary season.^[13]

In April 2012, Richardson suspended his presidential campaign,^[14] and announced plans to support Reform Party presidential candidate and former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer in the general election.^[15] After Roemer ended his campaign, Richardson decided in June 2012 to renew his campaign and seek the nomination of the Reform Party and that of several single-state qualified parties.^[16]

After withdrawing from the Reform Party presidential nomination race, Darcy Richardson endorsed Roseanne Barr's presidential campaign and organized a Florida chapter of the Peace and Freedom Party.^[17]

Electoral history

Pennsylvania United States Senate Election, 1988[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	H. John Heinz III (Incumbent)	2,901,715	66.45
	Democratic	Joseph Vignola	1,416,764	32.45
	Consumer	Darcy Richardson	25,273	0.58
	Libertarian	Henry E. Haller II	11,822	0.27
	Populist	Samuel Cross	6,455	0.15
	New Alliance	Sam Blancato	4,569	0.11
Majority			1,484,951	34.00
Turnout			4,366,598
	Republican hold		Swing

Books by Darcy G. Richardson

• A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign (2002) ISBN 978-0-595-23699-2
• Others: Third-Party Politics From the Nation's Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party (2004) ISBN 978-0-595-31723-3
• Others: Third Parties During the Populist Period (2007) ISBN 978-0-595-44304-8
• Others: Third Parties from Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party to the Decline of Socialism in America (2007) ISBN 978-0-595-47701-2
• Others: "Fighting Bob" La Follette and the Progressive Movement: Third-Party Politics in the 1920s (2008) ISBN 978-0-595-48126-2

External links

• Darcy Richardson for President 2012
• Uncovered Politics Blog

References

1. "ALA Outstanding Academic Titles". American Library Association. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
2. Herman, Steven L. (December 4, 1989). "The "New Democrats" are Liberals and Proud of It". Associated Press.
3. Stack, Barbara White (December 13, 1989). "Small uprising developing among national Democrats". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
4. OurCampaigns.com PA Auditor Race 1980
5. "Heinz well on road to win". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 9, 1988. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
6. BattlegroundBlog.com About Page
7. "Write-ins and Independents Fill Out Ballot". The Ledger of LAKELAND. October 3, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
8. Winger, Richard (October 21, 2011). "Darcy Richardson Files in New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Primary". Ballot Access News. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
9. Schoenberg, Shira (October 28, 2011). "N.H. primary ballot becomes equalizer between top-tier, perennial candidates". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
10. Memoli, Michael A. (October 28, 2011). "Even Democratic ballot will be crowded in New Hampshire primary". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
11. "Associated Press". December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
12. "Oklahoma Board of Elections". December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
13. "The Green Papers". July 15, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
14. "Darcy Richardson suspends Democratic Party presidential campaign". Wikinews. April 28, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
15. "Darcy Richardson to seek Reform Party presidential nomination". Wikinews. June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
16. "Darcy Richardson to Seek Reform Party Presidential Nomination". Independent Political Report. June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
17. http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2012/08/darcy-richardson-comments-on-reform-national-convention-2012-endorsement/
18. "PA US Senate". OurCampaigns. Retrieved 5 July 2012.