List of perennial candidates in the United States

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for public office without a reasonable chance of winning. The term is the opposite of an incumbent politician who repeatedly defends their seat successfully. In the U.S., perennial candidates are often affiliated with third party politics.

Generally speaking, candidates are considered perennial if they seek a specific elected office or general high office (such as president, governor, congressperson or mayor) more than three times without success.^[1][2][3]

The United States, a representative democracy with low hurdles to running for elected office, has a long tradition of perennial candidates.

Notable American perennial candidates who have run for president

Candidate		Occupation	Current/final political party	Home state	Notable elections lost	Notable results
Jeff Boss		Conspiracy theorist, website owner	Democratic	New Jersey	3 presidential elections (2008, 2012, 2016) U.S. Senate (2008, 2014) New Jersey gubernatorial (2009, 2013)	8.3% in the 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election Democratic primary
Harry Braun		Renewable energy consultant	Democratic	Arizona	4 presidential elections (2004, 2012, 2016, 2020) 2 congressional (1984, 1986)	Democratic nominee for U.S. House, Arizona district 1 in 1984 and 1986
Mark Callahan		Technology consultant	Republican	Oregon	2012 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary 2014 United States Senate election in Oregon 2016 United States Senate election in Oregon 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon	Republican nominee, 2016 United States Senate election in Oregon Republican nominee, Oregon's 5th congressional district, 2018
John H. Cox		Businessman, real estate developer	Republican	California	Illinois's 10th congressional district (2000) 2002 United States Senate election in Illinois 2008 Republican Party presidential primary 2018 California gubernatorial election 2021 California gubernatorial recall election	Republican nominee, 2018 California gubernatorial election
Jacob Coxey		Businessman, landowner	Democratic	Ohio	1932 United States presidential election U.S. Senate in Ohio (1916, 1928) Governor of Ohio (1895, 1897) Congressman from Ohio (1894, 1922, 1924, 1928, 1936)	Mayor of Massillon, Ohio Farmer–Labor Party nominee, 1932 United States presidential election
Eugene V. Debs		Trade unionist	Socialist	Indiana	5 presidential elections: 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912 and 1920	Indiana State Senate (1885–1889) 6% of popular vote, 1912 United States presidential election
Rocky De La Fuente		Automobile dealer	Reform	California	2016 presidential election 2017 New York City mayoral election 10 U.S. Senate elections since 2018 21st California congressional district, 2020	Reform presidential nominee in 2016 and 2020
David Duke		KKK leader, political commentator	Republican	Louisiana	2 presidential (1988, 1992) 3 U.S. Senate (1990, 1996, 2016) 1 gubernatorial (1991) U.S. House (1999)	Louisiana House of Representatives (1989–1992) Top Republican: 1990 United States Senate election in Louisiana 1991 Louisiana gubernatorial election
Joe Exotic		Animal park owner	Democratic	Oklahoma	2016 presidential election 2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial election 2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries 2024 Libertarian Party presidential primaries	18.7%, 2018 Oklahoma Libertarian Party gubernatorial primary
Jack Fellure		Engineer	Republican	West Virginia	Every presidential campaign between 1988 and 2020	2012 Prohibition Party presidential nominee
Paul Noel Fiorino		Ballet instructor, museum director	Unity	Colorado	2024 United States presidential election Every Denver mayoral election since 2011 Every Colorado gubernatorial campaign since 2006	2024 Unity Party presidential nominee 5.6%, 2015 Denver mayoral election
Howie Hawkins		Political executive, blue collar worker	Green	New York	2006 United States Senate election in New York New York's 25th congressional district (2000, 2004, 2008) 3 gubernatorial (2010, 2014, 2018) 2017 Syracuse mayoral election 2020 presidential election	2020 Green Party presidential nominee
Henry Hewes		Real estate developer	Democratic	New York	1989 New York City mayoral election 1994 United States Senate election in New York 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries	New York State Right to Life Party nominee for Mayor of New York City and U.S. Senate
E.W. Jackson		Minister, lawyer	Republican	Virginia	2012 United States Senate election in Virginia 2013 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election 2018 United States Senate election in Virginia 2024 United States presidential election	Republican nominee, 2013 Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election
Bob Kelleher		Attorney	Republican	Montana	1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries 5 gubernatorial (1980, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2004) 3 U.S. Senate (2002, 2006, 2008) 1 U.S. House (1968)	Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Montana, 2008 Democratic nominee for U.S. House, Montana District 2, 1968
Alan Keyes		Diplomat, political scientist, government official	Republican	Maryland	3 presidential (1996, 2000, 2008) 3 U.S. Senate (1988 and 1992 in Maryland, 2004 in Illinois)	5% in 2000 Republican Party presidential primaries 3-time Republican nominee for U.S. Senate
Gloria La Riva		Editor, activist	Peace and Freedom	California	Every presidential campaign between 1984 and 2020 3 gubernatorial (1994, 1998, 2018) 1983 San Francisco mayoral election California's 8th congressional district (2008)	Peace and Freedom Party presidential nominee, 2016 and 2020
Lyndon LaRouche		Leader of the LaRouche movement	Democratic	New Hampshire	Every presidential campaign between 1976 and 2004	Founder of the LaRouche movement
Andy Martin		Journalist	Republican	New Hampshire	4 presidential (1988, 2000, 2012, 2016) 7 U.S. Senate (1978, 1980, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2010, 2014) 3 U.S. House (1986, 1992, 2018) 2 gubernatorial (1990, 2006) 1977 Chicago mayoral special election	1996 Republican nominee for Florida State Senate, District 35
Jimmy McMillan		Veteran, activist	Rent Is Too Damn High	New York	New York City mayoral (1993, 2005, 2009, 2013) New York gubernatorial (1994, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries[4] 2017 New York City Council election	Second place finisher, District 2, 2017 New York City Council election
Ralph Nader		Lawyer, author, environmentalist	Independent	Connecticut	4 presidential campaigns (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008)	3% of popular vote, Ralph Nader 2000 presidential campaign
Pat Paulsen		Comedian	Independent	California	Every presidential campaign between 1968 and 1996	1%, 1992 Republican Party presidential primaries 1%, 1996 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary
Paperboy Prince		Artist	Democratic	New York	U.S. House in New York's 7th district (2020, 2022) 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary 2024 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary	Second place, NY-7 Democratic Congressional primary in 2020, 2022
Joe Schriner		Journalist, rehab counselor	Independent	Ohio	Every presidential campaign since 2000	Candidate in the 2020 American Solidarity Party presidential primary
Jerome Segal		Philosopher	Democratic	Maryland	2018 United States Senate election in Maryland 2020 presidential election (Bread and Roses Party) 2022 Maryland gubernatorial election 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries	3.6%, 2018 Maryland U.S. Senate Democratic primary
Sam Sloan		Former broker-dealer, chess executive	Democratic	New York	2 Gubernatorial elections (2010, 2014) 2 Presidential elections (2012, 2016) 2013 New York City mayoral election 3 congressional elections (2014, 2016, 2020)	Second place finisher, 2014 New York congressional district 13 Democratic primary
Harold Stassen		Attorney, military officer, government official	Republican	Minnesota	Every Republican presidential primary between 1944 and 1992, except for 1956 and 1972 U.S. Senate (1978, 1994) U.S. House (1986) Governor of Minnesota (1982) Governor of Pennsylvania (1958, 1966) 1959 Philadelphia mayoral election	Governor of Minnesota (1939–1943) Chair of the National Governors Association (1942–1943) Delegate to the 1944, 1948, 1952, 1964, 1968, and 1992 Republican National Conventions
Jill Stein		Physician	Green	Massachusetts	2012, 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns 2 Gubernatorial (2002 and 2010)	Member of the Lexington Town Meeting (2005–2010) Green Party presidential nominee, 2012, 2016 and 2024.
Vermin Supreme		Performance artist	Libertarian	Massachusetts	Every presidential campaign since 2004	2020 Libertarian National Convention, third place His running mate in the 2020 Libertarian primaries, Spike Cohen, became Libertarian vice presidential nominee in the general election
Randall Terry		Anti-abortion activist	Constitution	West Virginia	2012 and 2024 presidential campaigns New York's 26th congressional district (1998) Florida State Senate (2006) Florida's 20th congressional district (2012)	Constitution Party presidential nominee, 2024 18%, 2012 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary 13% in Florida's 20th congressional district, 2012
Norman Thomas		Minister	Socialist	New York	6 presidential runs between 1928 and 1948 1 gubernatorial in 1924 1 U.S. Senate in 1934 1929 New York City mayoral election	6-time Socialist Party presidential nominee
Willie Wilson		Businessman	Democratic	Illinois	2016 Democratic Party presidential primary 3 Chicago mayoral elections (2015, 2019, 2023) 2020 United States Senate election in Illinois	3rd place, 2015 Chicago mayoral election and 2020 United States Senate election in Illinois
John Wolfe Jr.		Attorney	Democratic	Tennessee	2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee Tennessee's 3rd congressional district (1998, 2002, 2004, 2010)	Second place finisher, 2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Local, statewide and federal candidates

Northeastern United States

• Shiva Ayyadurai, an anti-vaccine activist and entrepreneur who claims to be the inventor of email, ran for the United States Senate twice in Massachusetts; he received 3.4% of the vote as an independent candidate in 2018, then lost the Republican nomination to Kevin O'Connor in 2020. He then mounted an independent bid for president in 2024, where he received the lowest number of votes of any third-party candidate in the election, with just 0.02%. He also announced a bid for Governor of Massachusetts in 2022, but never filed to run.^[5]
• Peter Diamondstone ran in many elections in Vermont from 1970 until 2016; he died in 2017. He usually ran under the Liberty Union Party, but occasionally ran in Democratic and Republican primaries.
• Cris Ericson, Vermont^[6]
• Greg Fischer, has run, unsuccessfully, for elected office in New York 16 times. He has run for United States Congress (2020), New York State Comptroller (2014), New York State Senate (2008, 2010, 2016, 2018), Suffolk County Executive (2019), Riverhead Town Supervisor (2011), Riverhead Town Council (2007), Riverhead Town Tax Assessor (2013, 2015), and Riverhead School Board (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018). He generally ran as a Democrat, but at times ran on the Working Families, Riverhead First, and The Rent is Too Damn High lines.^{[citation needed]}
• Howie Hawkins, an activist and co-founder of the Green Party of the United States. Has run for office and lost more than 20 times, often in New York state.^[7]
• Lyndon LaRouche, a fringe political figure, ran for president of the United States in eight elections, beginning in 1976. He ran once as a U.S. Labor Party candidate and seven times as a Democrat. In 1992, he campaigned while in federal prison. Many of his followers have also run for office repeatedly, including Sheila Jones and Elliott Greenspan, both of whom made eight campaigns for a variety of offices.
• Andy Martin (also known as Anthony Martin-Trigona), a journalist and self-described consumer advocate has run for several local, state and federal offices dating back to at least 1977, including two runs for president and six runs for Senate. He has run as a Democrat, a Republican, and as an independent.
• Jimmy McMillan, founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, has run for Mayor of New York City in 1993, 2005, 2009 and 2013, US Senate in 2000, Governor of New York in 1994, 2006, and 2010, and President of the United States in 2012.
• Paperboy Prince, perennial candidate in New York.
• Sam Sloan, a polymath with interests in board games, obscure foreign languages, and over-the-counter stock trading, has run for Governor of New York in every election since 2006, for the U.S. presidency in 2012 and 2016, New York City Mayor in 2009 and 2013, New York's 15th congressional district in 2014 and New York's 13th congressional district in 2016. He has run as a Democrat, a Libertarian, and under various third parties.
• Jill Stein, a physician and member of the Green Party. Stein has run for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010, president in 2012, 2016, and 2024, Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2004 and Secretary of the Commonwealth in 2006. She successfully won election as Town of Lexington Town Meeting Representative in 2005 and 2008.
• Vermin Supreme, former candidate for Mayor of Baltimore, Mayor of Detroit, Mayor of Mercury, Nevada, campaigned in the Democratic Party primary in 2004 and 2016, and in New Hampshire Republican Party primary in 2008 and 2012. He made an unsuccessful bid for the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party in 2020.
• Norman Thomas was the Socialist Party's candidate for President of the United States on six occasions from 1928 to 1948 inclusive. He also ran for Governor of New York in 1924, for Mayor of New York in 1925, for New York State Senate in 1926, for Alderman in 1927, for Mayor of New York again in 1929, and for the US Senate in New York in 1934. Unlike most other perennial candidates, Thomas influenced American politics to a considerable degree with many of his policies being appropriated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

Southern United States

• David Duke, American white supremacist, activist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, Holocaust denier, a convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. A former Republican Louisiana State Representative, Duke was a candidate in the Democratic presidential primaries in 1988 and the Republican presidential primaries in 1992. Duke also ran unsuccessfully for the Louisiana State Senate, United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, and for Governor of Louisiana.
• Joe Exotic is a former zookeeper and convict, known for his G.W. Zoo and made especially famous by the documentary series Tiger King. He has run unsuccessfully for public office two times notably and three times in total. Exotic first ran for President of the United States in 2016 as an independent and then for Governor of Oklahoma in 2018 as a Libertarian. Exotic filed to run for the Libertarian nomination in 2020 before his gubernatorial run.
• Jack Fellure ran for the Republican Party nomination in every presidential election from 1988 to 2016, and declared that he will run in 2020. In the 2012 campaign, he withdrew from the Republican nomination race, and become the presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party.
• Ben Frasier, a South Carolina perennial candidate for Congress
• Gatewood Galbraith, a politician known for his outspoken advocacy of civil liberties and legalization of marijuana, ran unsuccessfully for state and federal offices in his home state of Kentucky no fewer than nine times. He ran twice for the U.S. House, once for state agriculture commissioner, once for the state attorney general, and five times for governor. His final run for governor ended less than two months before his death in January 2012.
• Alan Grayson, a Democrat, is a former U.S. Representative from the state of Florida. He represented Florida's 8th Congressional District from 2009 to 2011 and Florida's 9th Congressional District from 2013 until 2017. Grayson then started an unsuccessfully streak of running for various federal positions from the state of Florida. He lost the Democratic Primaries for U.S. Senate in 2016, the 9th District in 2018, and for the 10th Congressional District in 2022. Grayson also withdrew his bid for U.S. Senate in 2022 in order to run in the 10th District. In 2024, Grayson withdrew his bid for U.S. Senate in 2024 and declared his candidacy for State Senate for the 25th District, finishing third in the primary.^[8]
• Calvin H. Gurley, an accountant who has run for elected office in the District of Columbia in thirteen different elections between 1986 and 2020
• John Jay Hooker, a Tennessee Democrat, ran for several Tennessee offices, in later years mainly to gain standing for lawsuits against more serious candidates on the grounds of campaign finance violations.
• E.W. Jackson, a minister and lawyer, has run for office in Virginia on three different occasions. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and 2018, coming in last in the Republican primary both times. At the 2013 Republican Party of Virginia convention, he won the nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in the 2013 election, but proceeded to lose the general election to Ralph Northam. He also attempted to mount a bid for President in 2024 as a Republican, but failed to get on the ballot in any state.
• Larry Kilgore, Texas^[9]
• Heerak Christian Kim, an educator, has sought office in Virginia four times since 2020. He ran for Virginia's 8th congressional district in 2020, 2022, and 2024, failing to win the Republican nomination in the conventions and primaries. He is currently running for Virginia's 6th congressional district in 2026.^[10]
• Basil Marceaux, during the 2010 election cycle filed as a candidate for the Republican nominations for governor in the Tennessee gubernatorial election^[11] and U.S. House of Representatives in Tennessee's 3rd congressional district.^[12] Before his 2010 candidacies for governor and the U.S. House, Marceaux had previously run as a candidate for the Tennessee State Senate three times, the United States Senate once and the Governor of Tennessee in three separate elections.
• Peppy Martin, perennial candidate in Kentucky.
• Prince Mongo ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee ever since 1979.^[13] He has never won an election.
• George P. Mahoney, a building contractor who undoubtedly with his candidacies led to the creation of a future Vice President. Mahoney, a conservative Democrat from Maryland who ran for U.S. Senate in 1952, 1956, 1958, 1968, and 1970 and for Governor of Maryland as a Democrat in 1950, 1954, 1962, and 1966. Mahoney won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1966 with just 30% of the vote. U.S. Representative Carlton R. Sickles (30%) and Attorney General of Maryland Thomas B. Finan (27%) split the vote and allowed Mahoney, who ran on a segregationist and anti-open housing campaign to triumph. In the general election, Mahoney's slogan, "Your home is your castle; protect it", as well as his stance on many civil rights issues, prompted Baltimore City Comptroller Hyman A. Pressman to enter the race as an Independent candidate. Mahoney's controversial stances caused many liberals in the Maryland Democratic Party to split their support between Spiro Agnew, due to his pro-civil rights, socially moderate views, and Pressman. This split helped Agnew to win the election with a plurality, taking 70% of the black vote. Agnew in 1969 became Vice President of the United States under Richard Nixon.^[14]
• John Randolph Neal Jr. unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senator 18 times, for Governor of Tennessee 9 times, and for the U.S. House of Representatives variously as a Democrat and Independent.
• John Raese, a Republican, unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate from West Virginia in 1984, 2006, 2010, and 2012. Raese also ran for Governor in 1988, but lost the Republican primary.
• Jim Rogers, an Oklahoma Democrat notorious for his secrecy and almost complete lack of campaigning, ran for the state's two U.S. Senate seats every election from 2002 to 2014, serving as the Democratic nominee in the 2010 U.S. Senate election. He died less than two weeks after his last race in 2012; Rogers also ran in the 2012 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary, finishing in third place with 15% of the vote.
• Annette Taddeo is a Democratic politician in South Florida who has run for numerous positions in the national, state, and local governments. She has unsuccessfully run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, 2016, and 2022; She won the Democratic nominations in both 2008 and 2022 but not in 2016, losing to Joe Garcia, who himself lost to Republican Carlos Curbelo in the general election. In 2010, after losing to Republican U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, she ran for the Miami-Dade County Commission. She placed third in the nonpartisan primary. In 2014, she was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor, with former Governor Charlie Crist as her running mate. They were defeated by incumbent Republicans Rick Scott and Carlos Lopez-Cantera. Her only successful elections thus far were the 2017 special election for the Florida Senate in District 40, and her re-election to the position the following year in 2018. She had initially run for Governor of Florida in 2022 but withdrew and chose to run for Congress instead, losing to incumbent Republican Maria Elvira Salazar in the general election. She is currently running for Miami-Dade County Clerk and Comptroller.^[15]
• Randall Terry is an anti-abortion activist who has run for numerous positions in the national and state governments, including for the presidency. He is notorious for getting glitterbombed by candidate Vermin Supreme at the 2012 lesser-known Democratic presidential debate.
• Geoff Young, perennial candidate in Kentucky.

Midwestern United States

• Jacob Coxey best known for his 1894 March on Washington DC, Coxey ran 3 times for US Senate for Ohio, and twice as the People's Party nominee for Governor of Ohio in 1895 and 1897. Coxey also was the Mayor of Massilon, OH from 1931 to 1933 in addition to losing numerous congressional races.
• Eugene V. Debs was a presidential candidate for the Social Democratic Party in 1900 and thereafter for the Socialist Party in four more elections: 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920. In the 1920 election, while in federal prison for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 with a speech opposing the draft, he received 913,664 votes, the most ever for a Socialist Party presidential candidate.
• Alan Keyes, former assistant secretary of state and conservative activist, ran for President of the United States in 1996, 2000, and 2008. He was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maryland against Paul Sarbanes in 1988 and Barbara Mikulski in 1992, as well as in Illinois against Barack Obama in 2004. Keyes lost all three elections by wide margins.
• Arthur J. Jones is a Neo-Nazi who unsuccessfully pursued the Republican nomination in Illinois's 3rd congressional district seven times since 1984 before winning the nomination unopposed in 2018, and then losing in the general election. His candidacy was strongly denounced by national and local party officials. Additionally, he has lost bids for Mayor of Milwaukee, Mayor of Chicago, and Chicago City Council.
• Jim Oberweis, a dairy magnate, has run for office in Illinois multiple times. He lost in the Republican primaries for the U.S. Senate in 2002, 2004 and Governor in 2006, and was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the special and regular elections in Illinois's 14th congressional district in 2008 and 2020 and the U.S. Senate in 2014. He was eventually elected to the Illinois Senate in 2012 and reelected in 2016.
• Claude R. Porter unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat three times for Iowa governor and six times for U.S. senator.
• Roland Riemers, a North Dakotan who has run for state house twice, congress twice (1972, 2020), U.S. Senate twice (1976, 2006), Governor twice (2004, 2012), North Dakota Secretary of State (2014), and North Dakota State Auditor (2016). He is most notable for winning the 1996 North Dakota Democratic presidential primary when President Clinton did not appear on the ballot due to a dispute between the state and national Democratic parties.
• Harold Stassen is one of the most famous and distinguished perennial presidential candidates in U.S. history, along with Ralph Nader. A one-time governor of Minnesota and former president of the University of Pennsylvania, he ran for the Republican nomination for president nine times between 1944 and 1992. While Stassen was considered a serious candidate in 1944, 1948, and 1952, his persistent attempts were increasingly met with derision and then amusement as the decades progressed. He also ran in 10 other races for lower offices.
• Leonard Steinman, a native of Jefferson City, Missouri who ran for president, U.S. Senate, twice for Governor, 3 times for U.S. House, 1 time for State House, twice for mayor and twice for city council, never winning.
• Rick Stewart, founder of Frontier Natural Products Co-Op, has run unsuccessfully in Iowa for U.S. Senate (2014, 2020), Linn County Sheriff (2016), Secretary of Agriculture (2018), and governor (2022).^[16][17]
• Bob Vander Plaats ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Iowa in 2002, 2006, and 2010 and lost as nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa in 2006.
• Willie Wilson, a businessman from Chicago, has unsuccessfully run three times for mayor of his home city. He also ran in the Democratic primary for president in 2016 and as a third-party candidate for United States Senate in 2020.

Western United States

• Joan Jett Blakk, an activist and drag queen. Blakk ran for mayor of Chicago in 1991, president in 1992 and 1996, and mayor of San Francisco in 1999. Blakk was affiliated with the Queer Nation activist organization.
• Edgar Blatchford served as mayor of Seward, Alaska from 1999 through 2003, and has run unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senate in Alaska in 2016, 2020 and 2022 as well as for Lieutenant Governor in 2018.
• James P. Bradley, a Republican healthcare executive, has run for office in California four times since 2018. He ran for the United States Senate three times, in 2018, 2022, and 2024; he came in third in the blanket primaries in 2018 and the 2022 special election, in both cases narrowly missing out on advancing to the general election, while he came in sixth place in both of the regular elections in 2022 and 2024. He was also the Republican nominee for California's 33rd congressional district in 2020.
• Mark Callahan has sought numerous offices under several different parties since 2009, including the Oregon House of Representatives, the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, several boards of education, and President of the United States. As of April 2020, his sole victories in a contested election were the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate from Oregon in 2016 and the Republican Primary for Oregon's Fourth Congressional District in 2018. He subsequently lost both general elections.
• Mike Cargile, an independent filmmaker, was the Republican nominee for California's 35th congressional district three consecutive times, in 2020, 2022, and 2024, losing to incumbent Representative Norma Torres every time.^[18] He also ran for Chairman of the California Republican Party in 2023, losing to incumbent Chairwoman Jessica Patterson.
• John Carroll served four terms in the Hawaii House of Representatives and one term in the Hawaii Senate, but also ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Hawaii in 2002, 2010, and 2018, for the United States House of Representatives in 1966 and 2002, and for the United States Senate in 2000, 2012, and 2016.
• Campbell Cavasso served three terms in the Hawaii House of Representatives, but unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii in 2002, the United States Senate in 2004, 2010, and 2014, and for the United States House of Representatives in 2018.
• Greg Conlon, a certified public accountant (CPA), has run for office in California on ten different occasions from 2002 to 2024. This includes three bids for California State Treasurer in 2002, 2014, and 2018, two bids for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and 2016, two bids for California's 12th congressional district in both the special election and general election in 2008, California's 21st State Assembly district in 2010, California Insurance Commissioner in 2022, and a seat on the Menlo Park city council in 2024.^[19] Of the nine partisan races in which he has run (excluding the city council race), he won the Republican nomination in six elections, advancing to the general elections in every case except for his two Senate races and his Insurance Commissioner race.
• John H. Cox, a Republican talk radio host, has run for various positions in his home state of Illinois including U.S. Congress, U.S. Senate, and Cook County Recorder of Deeds, the latter in an attempt to eliminate the position; which he saw as unnecessary. Cox ran unsuccessfully for the 2008 Republican nomination for President of the United States. He was the Republican nominee in the 2018 California gubernatorial election after placing second in the nonpartisan blanket primary, losing the general election to Democrat Gavin Newsom. He ran for governor once again in the 2021 recall election, coming in fifth place among all replacement candidates.
• Earl Dodge, a long-time activist in the temperance movement, was the Prohibition Party's presidential candidate in six consecutive elections, from 1984 to 2004. He was also that party's vice-presidential candidate in 1976 and 1980. He ran for Governor of Colorado on five occasions (1970, 1974, 1982, 1986, and 1994) as well. He also ran for senator of Kansas in 1966.
• Eric Early is an attorney who has run for office in California multiple times, including for Attorney General of California in 2018 and 2022, the U.S. Senate in 2024, and California's 28th congressional district in 2020.^[20] He was the runner-up for the Republican nomination in both of his Attorney General races, while he won the nomination but lost in a landslide to then-Representative Adam Schiff in his congressional race. He came in fifth place in both the regular and special primary elections for the Senate in 2024, again losing to Schiff.
• Justin Fareed, a Republican businessman, ran for California's 24th congressional district on three different occasions in 2014, 2016, and 2018. He lost the nomination in 2014 but advanced to the general election in 2016 and 2018, losing to Salud Carbajal both times.
• Rocky De La Fuente has unsuccessfully run for President of the United States on multiple tickets, for senate in nine different states in the same election and for the Mayor of New York, and has never been elected to any office.
• Goodspaceguy, who legally changed his name from Michael George Nelson, has run for local, state, and federal office in Washington state more than a dozen times.
• Eddie Hamilton, a Nevada Republican, runs on an almost yearly basis. He has run for Nevada's 1st Congressional District in 2008,^[21] Governor of Nevada in 2014,^[22] Henderson City Council in 2011^[23] and 2015, US Senate in 2006, 2010 (as a Democrat),^[24] 2012 and 2016, Mayor of Henderson in 2013 and 2017.^[25] Each time he runs, he uses a different nickname such as "Fast Eddie", "Mr. Clean" "In Liberty" and "Swamper".
• Robert Kelleher unsuccessfully ran for public office 16 times on various party tickets, including a bid for the Presidency in 1976, four runs for Governor of Montana in 1980, 1984, 1992, and 1996, and three runs for Senator from Montana in 1988, 2002, and 2008.
• Stan Lippman, a disbarred attorney and anti-vaccination activist, has unsuccessfully run for office more than eight times in the state of Washington.
• Daniel Mercuri, who is running for Governor of California in 2026, has previously run for governor in 2021 and 2022. He also ran for California's 25th congressional district in both the special election and regular election in 2020.
• Uncle Mover, known for many years as Mike The Mover, who was born Michael Shanks but legally changed his name twice, has run for public office in Washington state more than 17 times to help promote his furniture moving business.
• Omar Navarro, a conspiracy theorist and convicted criminal, has run against Representative Maxine Waters in California's 43rd congressional district four times. In 2016, 2018, and 2022, he won the Republican nomination but lost to Waters in a landslide every time, while he lost the nomination in 2020.
• Robert C. Newman II, a psychologist and farmer, ran for Governor of California seven consecutive times, running in every election from 2003 to 2022. He ran as a Republican in every election except for 2014, when he ran as an independent.
• Pat Paulsen, a comedian best known for his appearances on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, first ran for president in 1968 as both a joke and a protest. He ran again in 1972 and in succeeding elections until 1996, one year prior to his death.
• Richard Pope, a Bellevue, Washington, attorney, has run for local and state office in Washington state a dozen times, though has yet to be elected.
• Pro-Life, born Marvin Richardson, is an Idaho farmer who is well known for his staunch opposition to abortion which inspired his name change has run as an independent or as a Constitution Party candidate for the state House of Representatives, governor, and both houses of the United States Congress. He has expressed a commitment to continue running for public office until his death.
• Rex Rammell unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for the Idaho House of Representatives in 2002, 2004, and 2012, for Governor of Idaho in 2010 and for Representative from Wyoming in 2016. He also unsuccessfully ran as an independent for Senator from Idaho in 2008 and as the Constitution nominee for Governor of Wyoming in 2018.
• Arturo Pacheco Reyes has run for U.S. Senate in Hawaii in the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2024 elections. Reyes has also ran for US House in Hawaii's 1st District in 2020 and 2022. Reyes has run as a Democrat, Independent, and most recently as a Republican, but has never qualified for the general election ballot. The closest Reyes came to qualifying was in 2018, when he won the non-partisan primary, but did not receive enough votes under Hawaiian law make it to the general election.^[26]
• Gloria La Riva, a socialist activist, has run as either a presidential or vice-presidential candidate in every U.S. presidential election since 1984.
• Art Robinson was the Republican nominee for Oregon's 4th congressional district in five consecutive elections, losing to incumbent Democrat Peter DeFazio in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. He also served as chair of the Oregon Republican Party from 2013 to 2015. Robinson finally won elected office in 2020, when he was elected to represent Oregon's 2nd Senate district; he chose not to seek re-election.
• Mike Schaefer has run for office 30 times in four different states over the course of nearly 60 years. He was first elected to the San Diego City Council in 1965 and re-elected in 1967. He then ran for a variety of offices, including the Senate, House, state legislature, mayor, sheriff, district attorney, city council, and board of supervisors in the states of Arizona, California, Maryland, and Nevada. He ran primarily as a Republican until 2004, when he switched to the Democratic Party. He finally won office again in 2018, winning a seat on the California State Board of Equalization.^[27]
• Danny Tarkanian, a Republican businessman from Las Vegas and son of UNLV Basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian and Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian. He has run for Nevada State Senate, Secretary of State, US Senate in 2010 and 2018, Nevada System of Higher Education and Nevada's 4th and 3rd districts in 2012 and 2016 respectively. He did not reside in either congressional district during his last two campaigns.
• Glen H. Taylor, a Democrat known as "The Singing Cowboy," ran for Congress in Idaho seven times (1938, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1950, 1954 and 1956). His 1944 Senate run was his only successful campaign. Taylor was also the Progressive Party vice presidential nominee in 1948.
• Joel Ventresca has run for office repeatedly in California since 1995, particularly in San Francisco. He ran for Mayor of San Francisco in 1995, 1999, and 2019, as well as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2002. He also ran for governor in 2021 and 2022.
• Laura Wells, a Green Party activist, has repeatedly run for office in California since 2002. She has run for California State Controller four times, in 2002, 2006, 2014, and 2022. She also ran for governor in 2010. In 2018, Wells ran a write-in campaign for California's 13th congressional district; she received more votes than Republican candidate Jeanne Solnordal and thus advanced to the general election, where she lost to incumbent Representative Barbara Lee.
• Don Wright, as president of the Alaska Federation of Natives during the early 1970s, played a major role in the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Wright is also known as a perennial candidate, having run for statewide office in Alaska 15 times since 1968. Wright has run for governor of Alaska 11 consecutive times since 1974. Wright ran 7 of those campaigns under a major party but lost in the primary election each time. The remaining four times (1978, 2002, 2006 and 2010), he was the nominee of the Alaskan Independence Party.