The 2016 presidential campaign of Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik, an activist from

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, began with his announcement of candidacy on October 17, 2015. He was formally nominated by 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 ...

for president at their November 2015 convention in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. His running-mate was

Angela Nicole Walker Angela Nicole Walker (born January 19, 1974) is an American activist, professional driver, and labor organizer. Walker was the vice-presidential nominee of the Green Party of the United States and Socialist Party USA for the 2020 election alon ...

, a bus driver and labor organizer from

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The campaign was on the ballot in two states (Colorado and Michigan) as well as in the U.S. overseas territory of Guam, which has no electoral votes. It earned 4,061 total votes.

Background

Soltysik served as co-chair of the Socialist Party USA prior to his nomination for president. He also ran for State Representative in 2014. Walker, who is a labor organizer and school bus driver, ran for sheriff of

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...

in 2014 as an independent socialist. She won 21% of the vote against Fox News pundit and Democrat David Clarke.

Campaign

The Soltysik-Walker campaign has been covered by the ''

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'',

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, ''

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'', ''

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''.it, the Independent Voter Network, ''The North Star'', The Hampton Institute and Cracked.com. Soltysik has made campaign stops in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

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, Indianapolis, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Flint, Michigan among other places. The focus of these events was on meeting community activists and building local networks of community activists.

Ballot access

In June, the campaign filed for ballot access in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Under Illinois law, 25,000 valid signatures are required to secure ballot access for independent and non-qualified alternative parties. However, this requirement is only enforced if a petition's validity is challenged by an Illinois voter. The Soltysik-Walker campaign, which submitted one signature, was challenged by "dissident" Green Party member Rob Sherman, who had also challenged the Socialist Party, Constitution Party and Justice Party petitions in 2012. Because the Soltysik campaign was found to have an insufficient number of signatures, it was removed from the Illinois ballot. On July 28, the Michigan chapter of the

Natural Law Party The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it con ...

nominated Soltysik-Walker and gave the ticket its first ballot line in 2016. On August 9, the campaign announced that it would be on the ballot in Colorado with the ballot label Socialist Party USA. In September, the campaign became the only alternative party to be listed on the ballot in

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

Results

Voters in the straw poll in Guam gave Soltysik/Walker 4.22% of the vote. Soltysik/Walker finished in seventh place with 2,209 votes in Michigan, behind other balloted candidates and write-in Evan McMullin. The ticket earned 271 votes in Colorado, 21st place out of a crowded field of 22 on the ballot. Overall, the campaign received 2,693 votes including write-ins.

Endorsements

* Anarcha-transfeminism * Red Party * Red Philly * Socialist Action

References

{{United States presidential election, 2016

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 ...