Politics1: Presidency 2000 - David McReynold (Socialist Party USA

PRESIDENCY 2000:

DAVID E. McREYNOLDS of New York
Socialist Party USA
Presidential Nominee

"I spent time enjoying Politics1 and your very comprehensive and, I thought,
fair summary of the different minor parties." -- David McReynolds

DAVID McREYNOLDS BIOGRAPHICAL FACTS:

POLITICAL: Socialist Party nominee (write-in) for Congress, 1958. Peace & Freedom Party nominee for Congress, 1968. Socialist Party nominee for President, 1980. National Co-Chair, Socialist Party, two terms. National Committeeman, Socialist Party. Arrested over a dozen times for participation in peace, civil rights, and labor demonstrations -- resulting in three short jail sentences and no felony convictions.

PROFESSIONAL: Editorial Secretary, Liberation Magazine, 1957-60. Organizer/Staff Member, War Resisters League, 1960-99. Retired in 1999.

EDUCATION: B.A. (Political Science), University of California Los Angeles, 1953.

PERSONAL: Born October 25, 1929 in Los Angeles, California. In an email, McReynolds added: "Homosexual, no children. Lives with two Siamese cats in East Village since 1956. Religious Atheist."

MARY CAL HOLLIS of Colorado
Socialist Party USA
Vice Presidential Nominee

Hollis, originally from Arkansas, works as a special education teacher. A former Democrat, she has also been active for many years on behalf of numerous leftist and vegetarian causes. As the Socialist Party's Presidential nominee in 1996, she was on the ballot in five states and captured just 4,300 votes.

LINKS:

McReynolds for President - Official Campaign Site.
DavidMcR@aol.com - McReynold's E-Mail Address.
Socialist Party USA - Official National Site.
Socialist Party USA Chapters - State Affiliate Parties.
Young People's Socialist League - SP-USA's Youth Organization.
Project Vote Smart: David McReynolds - Candidate Profile.
War Resisters League - McReynolds' Organization.

ANALYSIS:

McReynolds -- who recently retired after spending 38 years working as an organizer in the pacifist War Resisters League -- has also been active for many years on behalf of civil rights and socialist causes. He likes to describe himself as "a badly read Marxist and a Gandhian pacifist" who "never found the perfect formula to blend Marx and Gandhi." As the 1980 SP-USA nominee, McReynolds -- with a Catholic nun as his Vice Presidential runningmate -- made history as the first openly gay person to ever win a party's Presidential nomination and appear on state election ballots. A veteran SP-USA activist, he agreed to make a second Presidential run in 2000 at the encouragement of a seemingly authentic "Draft McReynolds" campaign within the party. While still a dedicated democratic socialist, McReynolds is also more moderate than some others in the party -- as he's previously encouraged the formation of a broad coalition of left parties, labor unions, greens, progressive groups and even some more liberal Democrats to collectively achieve better results. He is certain to improve upon the SP-USA showing in the 1996 election, simply because he's likely to be on the ballot in more states. The SP-USA ticket secured ballot status in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey, Vermont and Washington.

This page was last updated on October 11, 2000