 | |
| Campaign | U.S. presidential election, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Candidate | Chuck Baldwin, 2004 Constitution Party Vice Presidential nominee Darrell Castle, Lawyer |
| Affiliation | Constitution Party |
| Status | Lost election November 4, 2008 |
| Headquarters | Pensacola, FL |
| Key people | Mary Starrett (National Communications Director) Lowell Patterson (Campaign Finance Director) |
| Receipts | US$.131 (2008-08-31) |
| Website | |
| baldwin08.com (archived - November 4, 2008) | |
TheChuck Baldwin presidential campaign of 2008 began April 10, 2008 as pastor and radio hostChuck Baldwin ofFlorida announced his candidacy for theConstitution Party presidential nomination. He previously served as the party's vice-presidential nominee in2004. Baldwin's main opposition for the nomination was former ambassadorAlan Keyes, who had just left theRepublican Party. After a campaign touting his stands oncivil liberties, foreign affairs, andreligion, Baldwin won the nomination at the April 26Constitution Party National Convention. Attorney Darrell Castle was selected as his running mate.
During the general election, Baldwin expressedpaleo-conservative positions on a number of issues includingprotectionism on trade,nonintervention inforeign affairs, religious practice in the public sphere, andnativism. He cast himself as a close ally of 2008 Republican presidential candidate,RepresentativeRon Paul, who ultimately endorsed Baldwin's campaign.
With 199,750 votes, about 0.15% of the total, Baldwin finished fifth in the race, ahead ofGreen Party nomineeCynthia McKinney, but behind both independentRalph Nader andLibertarianBob Barr, as well as Republican nomineeJohn McCain and the eventual winner,Democratic nomineeBarack Obama.[1]
Chuck Baldwin was initially a Democrat, but changed his party affiliation to Republican in 1980. In the 1970s, he founded CrossroadBaptist Church inPensacola, Florida, which PresidentRonald Reagan recognized for its growth and influence. As a Republican, Baldwin headed the Florida branch ofMoral Majority, which promotedsocial conservatism. He also hosted a radio show calledChuck Baldwin Live, which focused on conservative issues. It made its national radio debut on the Genesis Communications Network in 2001.[2]
Baldwin left the Republican Party in 2004, believing it had become a "second big-government, big-spending party" that could be characterized as "more liberal than the Democratic Party...in practice."[3] He joined the Constitution Party, but still considered himself apolitical independent.[4] That year, Constitution Party presidential candidateMichael Peroutka asked Baldwin to be hisrunning mate. The ticket won the nomination at the 2004Constitution Party National Convention.[2] In the general election, they received 143,630 popular votes for 0.12%.[5]
While considering a run for president, during an October 2006 interview withThe Conservative President 2008 website, Baldwin expressed his frustration with theRepublican Party, which he believed was on a course of "self-destruction" and that was only kept afloat by the "absurdliberalism ofDemocrats."[3] He praised CongressmenTom Tancredo andRon Paul as well as activistsPat Buchanan and Alan Keyes, but stated that the Republican Party had steered too far to the left for him to support any of their candidates for president.[3] When asked if he would run for president in 2008 he stated that he had "no desire to run" but that he was "always open toGod's will."[3] Baldwin endorsed Ron Paul for the Republican presidential nomination in a message posted toYouTube on December 19, 2007.[6]
During a March 25, 2008 interview withMiller Politics, two weeks before Baldwin officially entered the race, he commended Alan Keyes as a possible Constitution Party candidate but stated that he "needs to clarify his foreign policy positions for the party." He describedLibertarian Party candidateBob Barr as a "very attractive candidate" whom he "like[s]...very much." When asked about his own presidential aspirations, he responded by saying that "There are many great people in our party that, in my opinion, are much more qualified [to be the presidential nominee] than I am. I have always tried to be open to God's will. At this time, however, I have no inclination that this is God's will for me."[7]
Baldwin announced on April 10, 2008, that he would seek the Constitution Party presidential nomination at the party's April 23–26 convention inKansas City, Missouri.[8] His run was believed to have arisen fromdraft efforts within the Constitution Party, who feared the party would nominate a pro-Iraq War candidate like Alan Keyes.[9] Until the convention, Baldwin did not campaign and in an April 17 interview withMiller Politics, he stated that he was "not running" but merely placing his name into consideration, "trusting that God will reveal His will accordingly."[9]
During the convention, the party's founderHoward Phillips endorsed Baldwin and gave a passionate speech in which he referred to Keyes as "theNeocon candidate" who "lingered in theRepublican Party until a week ago."[10] Afterwards, Baldwin defeated Keyes, 383.8 to 125.7, winning approximately 74% of the delegates. He won the majority of delegates from most states with the exceptions ofMissouri,Maryland, andOklahoma, where Keyes narrowly edged Baldwin.[11] At Baldwin's request, the delegates then chose attorney Darrell Castle of Tennessee as his running mate.[12]
Though Baldwin was not included on many mainstream polls, a May 2008Fox News opinion poll revealed favorable news for the campaign. It showed that 47% of the public were open to voting for a third-party presidential candidate such as Baldwin, compared to 39% who were not. Moreover, aZogby poll discovered that 42% of conservatives (whom the Baldwin campaign targeted) said they would never vote for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain and found that 86% of "very conservative" respondents were displeased.[13]
Baldwin expressed his own discontent with the Republican Party in a May 22 interview withMontana News. He expressed frustration withevangelicals who "coalesc[e] around John McCain" despite his "twenty-plus year track record of liberal policies."[14] Baldwin highlightedglobalism as the main threat to the nation stating that "Immigration, theU.N....,NATO,NAFTA,CAFTA, theNorth American Union, theSuperhighway, thewar in Iraq,China's threat to our peace...are connected"[14] through globalism. Baldwin stated thatIran would only be a threat "by sneaking people into our country. And that would be far more difficult with a sealed border."[14] He stated that the border could be sealed by deploying troops to those areas.[14]
At the end of May and the beginning of June, several controversial developments concerning the Baldwin campaign hit the press. Comments surfaced that were made by Baldwin, raising the possibility of a9/11 conspiracy theory of acontrolled demolition stating, "I don't know whether there was any kind of an inside apparatus involved in this or not... If there's duplicity involved in some kind of conspiracy, then let's find out who it is and prosecute whoever's involved."[15]
The campaign also increased a drive for ballot access, appealing to supporters for help to get on the presidential ballot inPennsylvania,Massachusetts,Maryland, andWest Virginia.[27]
The campaign began in August by announcing its plans to participate in a demonstration against illegal immigration inDenver during theDemocratic National Convention. Baldwin was joined by Bob Barr, Alan Keyes and Tom Tancredo at the "Rally Against Illegal Immigration" during the first day of the convention.[28] Later in August, Baldwin campaigned inSpartanburg, South Carolina where he criticized both parties' presidential nominees as "globalists". He declared his opposition to theFederal Reserve, which he stated has "subjugated" the nation to "foreign dependence". He railed against the use of theNational Guard in the Iraq War remarking that the forces should be used to "repel" the "invasion" of illegal aliens from the southern border, and described theUnited Nations as "a sinister organization run byMarxists,socialists andcommunists." Baldwin criticized both major parties for not cuttingspending stating that "the only difference between Democrats and Republicans is Democrats want to tax and spend and Republicans want to borrow and spend." He promised that slashing spending would be a priority in his administration.[29]
On September 10, Baldwin appeared on theLou DobbsTonight television program onCNN where he proclaimed that if elected president he would release U.S. Border agentsJose Compean andIgnacio Ramos. The agents were sentenced to 11 and 12-year terms in prison, respectively, after shooting adrug smuggler on theUS-Mexico border. Baldwin promised he would release the men during his first day on the job as president.[30]
In October, Baldwin was interviewed byNPR where he discussed his opposition to the Federal Reserve, which he described as a "fraudulent system" and which he blamed for the2008 financial crisis. He attacked Republicans for "reneg[ing] on their promises" in 1994'sContract with America to "eliminate five federal departments, such as Department of Education, Energy, Commerce..." and to "slash spending." He also criticized Republicans' failure to criminalize abortion during their years in government. As president Baldwin stated he would eliminate the IRS and cut government spending as well. He stated that the "responsibility of government [is] to protect life, even life in the womb."[31]
Baldwin participated in a third party debate with Independent candidateRalph Nader on October 23, broadcast onCSPAN-2. During the debate, Baldwin often agreed with Nader on as wide-ranging issues as corporations and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He stood in solidarity with Nader in expressing the need to open the presidential debates to third-party candidates. He emphasized his connections to Congressman Ron Paul throughout the debate, even suggesting that as president he would appoint "somebody like Ron Paul" asUnited States Secretary of Treasury. He articulated his opposition to theUSA PATRIOT Act and questioned how an ideological conservative could support the legislation. But, he marked a disagreement with Nader on health care, criticizing government involvement in favor of free market solutions but with use of regulation to lowerhealth care costs. Baldwin stated that if elected his first priority would be to secure the border. Throughout the debate Baldwin repeated his party's pro-life platform and support for the right to bear arms.[32]
On election day, Baldwin was on ballot in 37 states.[33] He was a write-in candidate in eleven additional states includingMontana where Ron Paul was listed as the party's nominee. Baldwin was completely absent from ballots inOklahoma,North Carolina and theDistrict of Columbia.[1]
Baldwin's campaign ended after receiving 199,314 or 0.15% of the popular vote on Election Day. He finished in fifth place, but won the largest percentage of votes for his party sinceHoward Phillips in1996. 14,865 of his votes were won in Michigan, but he won his largest percentage in Utah with 1.26% of the state's votes.[1]
Baldwin relocated to Montana in 2010, and founded the Liberty Fellowship,[2] believing the people of the state responded well to his constitutionalist message. In 2012, he briefly ran forLieutenant Governor of Montana as the running mate ofRepublican gubernatorial primary candidate Bob Fanning, but dropped out due to the lack of campaign funds.