Mary Alice "Mal" Herbert (February 28, 1935 - May 13, 2021) was an American schoolteacher and politician from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

who ran for vice president as the candidate for the

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

; and ran for many offices in her home state. She and her running-mate, Walt Brown, pulled in 10,837 votes, the highest total for the Socialist Party since 1952. She was married to her husband Fred Herbert until his death in October 2002. Herbert died on May 13, 2021 at the age of 86.

Political career

Originally a Republican, she became a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

by the 1960s. Herbert was a frequent candidate for state office in the 1980s and 1990s under the banner of the

Liberty Union Party The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party, known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a political party active in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a self-proclaimed "non-violent socialist party". The LUP was founded in 1970 by former ...

, a nonviolent socialist party active only in the state of

. In 1996 she was the Liberty Union nominee for Governor of Vermont. She originally entered the 2004 race as the running mate of

Eric Chester Eric Thomas Chester is an American author, socialist political activist, and former economics professor. Early life Born in New York City, he is the son of Harry (an economist on the research staff of the United Auto Workers) and Alice (a p ...

, one of Brown's leftist rivals for the presidential nomination. Chester lost the nomination to Brown, but Herbert won the VP nomination at the SP national convention. She ran on a platform on

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...

and socialist feminism. A recall effort within the party attempted to have Herbert become the SP's presidential candidate, after a major rift arose over Brown's position on abortion. Despite all of the challenges surrounding the campaign, the Brown-Herbert ticket went on to earn more votes than any Socialist Party presidential ticket since 1952. In 2006, Herbert was the Liberty Union Party nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont. In 2007, she ran for the vice presidential nomination of the Socialist Party for the 2008 ticket. However, her candidacy was conditional upon Eric Chester winning the presidential nomination. Chester narrowly lost the presidential nomination to Brian P. Moore. In 2012, Herbert was the Liberty Union candidate in the election for Vermont Secretary of State against Democratic,

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

, Working Families and Republican nominee

Jim Condos James Christos Condos (born January 29, 1951) is an American politician from Vermont. He is a former Vermont Secretary of State and former Democratic member of the Vermont State Senate, representing the Chittenden senate district. The district ...

, she garnered 13.1% of the vote, returning the LUP to major party status in Vermont once again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Mary Alice Socialist Party USA vice presidential nominees 2004 United States vice-presidential candidates 21st-century American politicians 1935 births Living people Liberty Union Party politicians Female candidates for Vice President of the United States 21st-century American women politicians