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Myra Tanner Weiis | |
|---|---|
 Myra Tanner Weiss in 1956 | |
| Born | (1917-05-17)May 17, 1917 |
| Died | September 13, 1997(1997-09-13) (aged 80) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Utah |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Political party | Socialist Workers |
| Spouse | |
Myra Tanner Weiss (May 17, 1917 – September 13, 1997) was an AmericanCommunist followingTrotskyism, and a three time U.S. vice presidential candidate of theSocialist Workers Party (SWP).
Myra Tanner was born inSalt Lake City. Her grandfather had abandonedthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when it stopped supporting polygamy.[1] She was recruited to the AmericanTrotskyist movement in 1935,[2] while at theUniversity of Utah inSalt Lake City. In 1942, she married Murry Weiss, also a member of the SWP. They were living and working for the Party inLos Angeles, and Myra Tanner ran for the mayor of Los Angeles in 1945 and 1949.[3]
Myra Tanner Weiss was the SWP's vice-presidential candidate in1952,1956 and1960, withFarrell Dobbs running forPresident of the United States.[4] In 1952, she and Dobbs received 10,312 votes in the presidential election.[5] In 1956 they received 7,797 votes, though they increased their support in the 1960 election to 40,165 votes.[6]
Beginning in the 1950s, a split developed in the SWP between the supporters of Murry and Myra Weiss on one side and Farrell Dobbs and Tom Kerry on the other.[7] The two groups argued over their approach to the Cochranites, the supporters ofBert Cochran who advocated for closer work within theCommunist Party.[8] Working withJames P. Cannon, the Weisses and their supporters, known as the Weissites, attempted to preserve the independence of the SWP as a Trotskyist organization outside of the Communist Party.[9] She resigned from the SWP in 1963, following disagreements with the party about the expulsions ofJames Robertson and other members of his Revolutionary Tendency group.[10] Later in life, she and her husband Murry Weiss became political supporters of theFreedom Socialist Party.[11]
| Preceded by | Socialist Workers Party nominee for Vice President 1952,1956,1960 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
