Novelty candidate

Vermin Supreme, one of the best-known contemporary novelty candidates in the United States.

A novelty candidate (also known as satirical candidate, parody candidate or joke candidate) is a person who runs for political office in an election as a form of satire or protest, without seriously expecting to win. Novelty candidates often (but need not) propose ridiculous policies, which are unreasonably specific and trivial, overwhelmingly unpopular or of other characteristics that make them ridiculous.

Novelty candidates are sometimes additionally perennial candidates, but whereas perennial candidates sometimes run on substantive policy issues, novelty candidacies are typically run for satirical purposes.

Examples

Main article: List of novelty candidates

In the United Kingdom

Novelty candidates and parties are a staple of British general elections, as running for Parliament of the United Kingdom typically only requires a £500 deposit and 10 signatures from registered voters. Candidates may either be affiliated with a novelty party, run as independents, or create their own political party.^{[ citation needed ]}

The oldest and most prominent novelty party is the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, founded in 1982. Notably, a handful of their policy proposals (such as pubs being allowed to stay open throughout the day, the abolition of dog licenses and the phasing out of the Eleven-plus exam) have actually been implemented. ^[1]

Other examples include Lord Buckethead, "independent space warrior" Count Binface, Mr. Fishfinger, ^[2] the Elmo-costumed Bobby Smith, an AI chatbot, and a pub owner who listed his pub as a political party and himself as a candidate for advertising purposes. ^[3]

In Iceland

In 2024, the Icelandic glacier Snæfellsjökull was running in the Icelandic presidential election. ^[4] Icelandic law requires presidential candidates to be at least 35 years old, hold Icelandic citizenship, and have no criminal record. To meet these criteria and secure the glacier’s place on the nomination list, campaign founder Dr. Angela Rawlings legally changed her middle name to "Snæfellsjökull". ^[5] The unconventional candidacy drew international media attention, sparking debates on the political representation of nonhuman entities. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

In the United States

A 1976 Nobody for President campaign button.

Vermin Supreme is an American politician and performance artist who has run as a novelty candidate in various local, state, and national elections in the United States as a Republican, a Democrat, and a Libertarian. He is known for wearing a rubber boot on his head and his campaign promises have included enforcing mandatory tooth-brushing, funding time travel research, raising awareness for a zombie apocalypse, ^[9] and using time travel to kill baby Hitler. ^[10]

Pigasus, a 145-pound male hog, was the candidate nominated by the Youth International Party for the 1968 United States presidential election. The action resulted in arrests and was part of the overarching 1968 Democratic National Convention protests. The hog's later fate remains unknown.

Nobody was the candidate nominated by the Youth International Party for the 1976 United States presidential election, as well as the subsequent 1980, 1984, and 1988 presidential elections.

Hank the Cat was a Maine Coon nominated for the 2012 United States Senate election in Virginia, running as a write-in candidate. The campaign drew over 7000 votes, with Hank the Cat coming in third in the election.

Deez Nuts was a presidential candidate during the 2016 United States presidential election, running as an independent alongside other popular write-in candidates such as Captain Crunch and Harambe. Deez Nuts was the highest-polling novelty candidate during that year which was actually represented by a real human being, since Vermin Supreme had lost the Libertarian nomination at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention. Polls indicated that he occasionally ranked higher than the legitimate Green Party candidate Jill Stein, despite having no active publicity campaign.

Winning novelty candidates

On very rare occasions, novelty candidates may actually win the elections they run in.^{[ citation needed ]} A famous example occurred in Hartlepool in 2002, when Stuart Drummond, standing as the local football club mascot H'Angus the Monkey, won the Hartlepool mayoral race and was subsequently re-elected. ^[11]

See also

• List of novelty candidates
• List of frivolous political parties
• Non-human electoral candidates
  • List of animals in political office
• Nuisance candidate, Philippine political term for a candidate deemed unfit to run for public office

References

1. Edwards, Brian (6 May 2015). "7 Monster Raving Loony Party policies which are now part of UK law". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 26 November 2025.
2. Smith, Mikey (9 June 2017). "Tim Farron holds on to his seat - but Mr Fish Finger still manages to upstage him on TV". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 9 October 2025.
3. "UK elections feature novelty candidates blurring lines between politics and satire". RFI. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
4. "Icelandic glacier running for president". BBC . 11 April 2024.
5. "Bid to secure spot for glacier in Icelandic presidential race heats up". The Guardian . 19 April 2024.
6. "Das Streiflicht". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 19 March 2024.
7. "'Snaefellsjökull for president': is een gletsjer straks kandidaat bij IJslandse verkiezingen?". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 21 April 2024.
8. "El glaciar de Islandia que quiso ser presidente del país". National Geographic (in Spanish). 4 July 2024.
9. "Commentary: If Elected, No Flying Toothbrush Monkeys (audio)". National Public Radio . 9 January 2004. Archived from the original on 14 November 2011.
10. Warren, Thomas (22 May 2020). "Vermin Supreme Gets Satirically Serious in Libertarian Presidential Campaign". The Amarillo Pioneer. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
11. "H'Angus the Monkey ex-Hartlepool mayor Stuart Drummond relocating". BBC. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2024.