Mormons for President

Joseph Smith presidential campaign poster (1846)

Here’s a list of 11 Mormons who’ve run for U.S. President* beginning with Joseph Smith’s 1844 campaign.

(*Eldridge Cleaver was not yet a Mormon when he ran
*Sonia Johnson was no longer a Mormon when she ran
*Ezra Taft Benson never ran bc his Prophet wouldn’t let him)

Mormons have been politically active since their founding. Mike Lee, Mitt Romney, and the Udall family are all from power Mormon Pioneer dynasties who gained and maintained power and wealth through land theft.

Currently Mormons represent 1.7% of the 117th Congress (and 2% of the US population). They serve and have served as members of the State Dept, as US ambassadors, as well as the CIA, FBI, and many federal courts.

But no Mormon has ever been US President despite being a uniquely U.S. American religion and repeated attempts by members.

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​1) Joseph Smith, 1844, Independent 

• Mormon-founder, Prophet, Priest, King, and self-appointed Lt. Gen of his personal army,, the Nauvoo Legion, (was abt ⅓ the size of the U.S. Army) ran for U.S. President in 1844.
• Smith proposed to end slavery, reduce the size of Congress, re-establish a national bank, annex Texas, California, & Oregon, reform prisons, & authorize the federal government to protect the liberties of Latter Day Saints & other minorities. 
• Smith was murdered. Polk won.

2) George W. Romney, 1968 Republican

• Romney, of a prominent Mormon pioneer ancestry, was the Gov. of MI and president of American Motors. He ran in 1968 on fiscal responsibility, welfare reform, and the Vietnam War.
• On Aug 31, ‘67, Romney changed his position on the Vietnam War saying: "When I came back from Viet Nam, I'd just had the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get…I no longer believe that it was necessary for us to get involved in South Vietnam to stop Communist aggression.”
• Romney withdrew. Nixon won. Romney was appointed Sec. of HUD in Nixon Admin.

3) *Ezra Taft Benson, 1968, American Independent

• Also in ‘68 Politically active anti-Communist, Mormon Apostle, and former-Sec of Ag., Benson was selected by the wh!te supremacist org, the John Birch Society, to run for president with segregationist Strom Thrumond as VP.
  
• After white-supremacist George Wallace became the presidential candidate for this party, Benson was asked to be VP. Pres. But, Mormon Pres McKay wouldn’t let him.
• Nixon won. Wallace took third.

4) Eldridge Cleaver, 1968, Peace and Freedom Party

• He went on to become politically far-right and joined this church in the 1980s.
• Nixon won

5) Morris “Mo” King Udall, 1976, Democrat

• 30 year Rep from AZ, and also of multiple branches of powerful Mormon colonists and a political dynasty, Udall ran in the Dem primaries and lost to Jimmy Carter as well as the white supremacist & and almost Benson’s running mate, George Wallace.
• Carter went on to win the Presidency.

6) *Sonia Johnson, 1984, Citizens

• Johnson is a feminist activist and writer who was excommunicated in ‘79 for her advocacy for the ERA and speaking out against Mormon leadership. She ran under the Citizens party and took 5th with 0.08% of the vote. 
• Reagan won with HW Bush as VP

7) James Gordon “Bo” Gritz, 1992, Populist / America First

• Former Green Berret during the Vietnam war, Gritz ran under the slogan "God, Guns and Gritz". He called for staunch opposition to what he called "global government" and the "New World Order", ending all foreign aid, and abolishing the federal income tax and the Federal Reserve System. He proclaimed the United States to be a "Christian Nation", stating that the country's legal statutes "should reflect unashamed acceptance of Almighty God and His Laws.” or only 0.14 percent of the popular vote.
• Bill Clinton won.

8) Orrin Hatch, 2000, Republican 

• He ran on a traditional Republican platform of tax cuts, stronger military, and opposition to abortion.
• Despite his decades of experience as a senator, Hatch was unable to gain support as a presidential candidate. After withdrawing from the primaries, he threw his support behind Texas Governor George W. Bush.
• G.W. Bush won.

9) Mitt Romney, 2008 & 2012, Republican

• Son of George Romney, of power pioneer ancestry, Romney extracted his wealth by destroying jobs & bankrupting businesses (and calls this “helping”). He ran for Republican two campaigns in a row, but lost both times. He was Governor of Mass. and current Senator from Utah. He lost the Primaries to McCain in 2008 and lost the 2012 general to Obama. 
• Obama won in both 2008 & ‘12

10) Jon Huntsman Jr., 2012, Republican

• Like Romney, Huntsman is of a deeply powerful Pioneer family. He has been Utah Governor & a US diplomat under 5 presidents 
• Pulled out during the primaries. ​

11) Evan McMullin, 2016, Independent 

• McMullin ran as the anti-Trump conservative candidate and “I believe Donald Trump poses a true threat to our constitution and those who support him are sustaining that threat." 
• McMullin received 0.52% of the votes.
• Donald Trump won.