David McReynolds

David McReynolds
McReynolds at the 2009 Left Forum in New York City
Personal details
Born
David Ernest McReynolds[1]

(1929-10-25)October 25, 1929
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 17, 2018(2018-08-17) (aged 88)
New York, New York, U.S.
Political partyIndependent (2015–2018)
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Party (1951–2015)
Prohibition Party (before 1951)[2]
Green (affiliated non-member)
Alma materUniversity of California Los Angeles
OccupationActivist, politician, writer
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David Ernest McReynolds (October 25, 1929 – August 17, 2018) was an American politician and social activist who was a prominent democratic socialist and pacifist activist. He described himself as "a peace movement bureaucrat" during his 40-year career with the War Resisters League.[3][4] He was a resident of New York City.[5] McReynolds was twice a candidate for President of the United States, running atop the ticket of the Socialist Party USA in 1980 and 2000. He was the Socialist Party USA's first openly gay presidential candidate.[6] He was also America's first gay presidential candidate if not counting John Hospers - although multiple sources, including the Libertarian Party, have referred to John Hospers, who was in 1972 the first presidential nominee of the newly formed Libertarian Party,[7] as the first openly gay person to run for president of the United States,[8][9][10] The Guardian’s obituary stated that his family “strenuously denied” he was gay.[11]

  1. ^ James T. Havel. The Elections, 1789-1992, Macmillan Library Reference USA, (1996)
  2. ^ Mulkerin, Joseph. "A socialist presidential candidate — no, not that one — looks back". The Villager, August 27, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  3. ^ David McReynolds, "Thinking About Retirement", Nonviolent Activist, March–April 1999, p. 7.
  4. ^ Duberman, Martin (March 1, 2011). A Saving Remnant: The Radical Lives of Barbara Deming and David McReynolds. The New Press. ISBN 978-1595583239.
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - David McReynolds". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  6. ^ "David McReynolds, pacifist and socialist leader, is dead at 88 - The Villager | The Villager". www.thevillager.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019.
  7. ^ Boaz, David (2008). "Hospers, John (1918– )". In Hamowy, Ronald (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; Cato Institute. pp. 228–229. doi:10.4135/9781412965811.n139. ISBN 978-1412965804. LCCN 2008009151. OCLC 750831024.
  8. ^ Walker, Jesse (June 13, 2011). "John Hospers, RIP". Reason Online. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
  9. ^ Riley, John (November 23, 2018). "In final tally, Libertarian gay couple outperforms top Republican in D.C. elections". Metro Weekly. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  10. ^ "Gay Libertarian couple outpolls GOP in DC". Libertarian Party. November 11, 2018. The first openly gay presidential nominee of any U.S political party was John Hospers
  11. ^ O'Grady, Jane (July 13, 2011). "John Hospers obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved June 19, 2023.