A perennial candidate is a

political candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can run for office, or laws that impose a non-negligible financial penalty on registering to run for election.

Definition

A number of modern articles related to electoral politics or elections have identified those who have run for elected office and lost two to three times, and then decide to mount a campaign again as perennial candidates. However, some articles have listed a number of notable exceptions. Some who have had their campaign applications rejected by their country's electoral authority multiple times have also been labelled as perennial candidates.

Reason for running

It has been noted that some perennial candidates take part in an election with the aim of winning, and some do have ideas to convey on the campaign trail, regardless of their chance for winning. Some perennial candidates may mount a run as a way to help strengthen his or her party's standing in a parliamentary body, in an effort to become

kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

in the event of a political stalemate. Some perennial candidates have been accused of running for office continuously as a way to get public election funding. Some have also been accused of being backed by the government of their country, in an effort to make the government appear more rational in comparison.

Americas

Argentina

* Jorge Altamira, leader of the Trotskyist Workers' Party, has run for President five times (

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

). His best performance was in 2011, with 2.30% of the votes. * Nicolás del Caño, leader of the Socialist Workers' Party has run for political positions five times (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

). His best performance was in 2019, with 2.16% of the votes.

Brazil

Due to the complex and intricate political system in Brazil concerning political parties, there are more than 30 political parties. In this scenario, it is very useful to have hopeless candidates who can make a good number of votes and increase the overall votes count of a party (or coalition). As a consequence, there are thousands of small perennial candidates for local elections around the country, whose sole purpose is helping others get elected, then ask for a job in the elected government cabinet. * José Maria Eymael, a fringe political figure, ran for the Presidency six times (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

); he failed to reach 1% of the votes in any of those. He also unsuccessfully ran for mayor of São Paulo in 1985 and 1992, though he won two terms on the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil, from 1987 to 1995. *

Rui Costa Pimenta Rui Costa Pimenta (born in São Paulo, 25 June 1957) is a Brazilian politician and a perennial presidential candidate aligned with the Trotskyist Workers' Cause Party ( pt, Partido da Causa Operária). He was their candidate in the 2002, 2006 ...

, leader and founder of the Trotskyist Workers' Cause Party (PCO), ran for the Presidency in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

(his candidacy in

was blocked by the Superior Electoral Court). He was last in all his runs, with his best performance being 0.04% of the votes in 2002. * Vera Guasso, labor union leader and member of the

Unified Socialist Workers Party The United Socialist Workers' Party ( pt, Partido Socialista dos Trabalhadores Unificado, PSTU) is a Trotskyist party in Brazil. It is the largest section of the International Workers' League (Fourth International) (LIT), an international body ...

(PSTU), ran for the Porto Alegre city assembly, mayor of Porto Alegre, the Brazilian Senate and other positions in a non-stop serial candidacy (every two years) from the early 90s on. In her best results, she had numbers of votes in local Porto Alegre elections similar to those of lesser-voted elected candidates but did not get a seat due to her party's overall voting being small. PSTU traditionally enters elections with no visible chance to, allegedly, "put a leftist set of points in discussion" and "build the party" but has lately achieved some expressive numbers. *

Enéas Carneiro Enéas Ferreira Carneiro (, , ; November 5, 1938 – May 6, 2007) was a Brazilian polymath, cardiologist, physicist, mathematician, professor, writer, military serviceman and politician. He represented the state of São Paulo in the National Ch ...

, a cardiologist and founder of the far-right

Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order The Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order (Portuguese: ''Partido de Reedificação da Ordem Nacional'', PRONA) was a nationalist political party in Brazil. Its electoral code was 56 and its colors were the traditional Brazilian green ...

(PRONA), ran for presidency three times, in 1989, 1994 and 1998. He was mostly known for his comical style of speech on political broadcasts (due in part to the reduced TV time his party had) and his distinct beard. He also ran for mayor in São Paulo at the 2000 elections, before finally being elected federal deputy in 2002 with record voting. He was re-elected in 2006 but died in 2007 from

myeloid leukemia Myeloid leukemia is a type of leukemia affecting myeloid tissue. Types include: * Acute myeloid leukemia * Chronic myelogenous leukemia * Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia * Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm See also * Hematological m ...

. *

José Maria de Almeida José Maria de Almeida (born 2 October 1957), often known as Zé Maria, is a leader of the United Socialist Workers' Party (PSTU).Trotskyist United Socialist Workers' Party (PSTU), ran for the Presidency on four occasions:

and

. His best performance was in 2002 when he got 0.47% of the votes. *

Levy Fidelix José Levy Fidelix da Cruz (27 December 1951 – 23 April 2021) was a Brazilian conservative politician, businessman, and journalist. He was the founder of the Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (PRTB) and ran for president of Brazil in the electio ...

, leader and founder of the conservative

Brazilian Labour Renewal Party The Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (, PRTB) is a conservative Brazilian political party. It was founded in 1994 and its electoral number is 28. According to the party's official website, the PRTB's main ideology is participatory economics: "to e ...

(PRTB), ran for all municipal and general elections held in Brazil from 1996 to 2020. He was twice candidate for the Presidency (in

and

), twice candidate for the Government of São Paulo (in 1998 and 2002) and five times candidate for the Prefecture of São Paulo (in 1996, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020), never being elected for any position in his political career. He succumbed to COVID-19 on 23 April 2021.

Canada

Michael Baldasaro Michael A. James Baldasaro (May 23, 1949 – June 9, 2016) was a Canadian political and religious figure from Hamilton, Ontario. He presided over a religious sect known as the Church of the Universe. Baldasaro received significant media coverage ...

(1949–2016), a leader of the pro-

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

Church of the Universe The Assembly of the Church of the Universe, an entheogen religion, was established by Walter Tucker in 1969 in the Canadian province of Ontario. The Church uses marijuana as a sacrament and promotes nudity as a demonstration of human honesty. T ...

, ran for Mayor of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Ontario in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, and

and, among other federal and provincial campaigns, attempted to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in

. * Douglas Campbell has run as a fringe candidate for the House of Commons in the 1960s, the leadership of both the Ontario and federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

in the 1970s and 1980s, and Mayor of North York, Ontario. He ran for Mayor of Toronto in

and

. * Ross Dowson, leader of the Canadian Trotskyist group the Revolutionary Workers Party (later the League for Socialist Action) ran for Mayor of Toronto nine times in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. His best result was in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

, when he won 20% of the vote in a two-man race. He also ran twice for the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. * Terry Duguid is a Manitoba politician who has run multiple times for city council, mayor and MP in Winnipeg. He lost the 1995 Winnipeg Civic election and lost the

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

federal elections in

Kildonan—St. Paul Kildonan—St. Paul is a federal electoral district in the Winnipeg Capital Region of Manitoba, Canada. It has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Geography It consists of the far northern end of Winnipeg and the rura ...

, then ran and lost in Winnipeg South in

. He ran in Winnipeg South again in

, this time winning the seat with 58% of the vote. He was re-elected for Winnipeg South in

with 42% of the vote. * Jim Enos, a Hamilton, Ontario-based social conservative and Christian activist, has sought elected office nine times over three decades. Enos ran provincially in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, and

, federally in the riding of

Hamilton Mountain Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of the Lake Ontario. Most of the city including the downtown section lies along the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Golden ...

, and

, and for the public school board in the

2003 Hamilton Municipal Election The 2003 Hamilton municipal election was held on November 10, 2003, to elect municipal officials in Hamilton, Ontario. On election day, Hamiltonians elected a mayor, 15 city councillors, and trustees for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Boa ...

. Enos has run with the Family Coalition Party of Ontario, Christian Heritage Party of Canada, and as an independent. * Henri-Georges Grenier ran 13 times for the House of Commons of Canada between

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

on the tickets of a variety of political parties, for each of which he was the sole candidate. *

Ben Kerr Ben Kerr (1930 – June 17, 2005) was a Canadians, Canadian author, broadcaster, musician and perennial candidate, who was most famous as one of Toronto, Ontario's quirky street performers. Background Kerr was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and ...

, a street musician, ran for Mayor of Toronto seven times between

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and his death in 2005. He was best known for his country music performances and for advocating the medicinal benefits of drinking a concoction that has cayenne pepper as its main ingredient. * Patricia Métivier contested 24 Canadian federal, provincial or municipal elections from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

to 2001. * David Popescu has run for federal, provincial, and municipal office multiple times since 1998 on an extreme

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

and

anti-gay The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBT topics. Sexuality * Human sexuality ** Sexual diversity ** Gendered sexuality *** Human male sexuality *** Human female sexuality *** Transgender sexuality * Sexual attraction ** And ...

platform. While campaigning in the

2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are no ...

, he advocated the execution of homosexual people, which precipitated charges under Canada's

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

laws."Popescu charged for comments on gays"
''Sudbury Star'', March 6, 2009. *

Naomi Rankin Naomi Rankin (born c. 1953) is a Canadian politician and the leader of the Communist Party – Alberta since 1992. She is the longest-serving political party leader in the province, and has run as a perennial candidate in every federal and prov ...

ran for the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada (french: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's can ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, her eighth attempt at becoming an MP. She has also run six times for the Communist Party of Alberta, all of which were also unsuccessful. * Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Quebec, has run 11 times between 2012 and 2022 for provincial general elections and by-elections. *

John Turmel John C. Turmel (born February 22, 1951) is a perennial candidate for election in Canada, and according to the ''Guinness World Records'' holds the records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost, having contested 105 el ...

is in the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' for being the candidate who has the "most elections contested" and lost 103 as of October 2022 (he also ran in a by-election canceled due to a general election). * Harry Bradley ran for the Toronto Board of Control 24 times between 1930 and 1964. He also ran for mayor in 1960 and 1962, and for city council in 1969. * Kevin Clarke is a homeless person who has unsuccessfully contested municipal, provincial and federal offices in Toronto numerous times from the 1990s to the present, often as leader of

The People's Political Party The Peoples Political Party, abbreviated as The People, is a minor party, minor political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario founded in 2011 by perennial candidate Kevin Clarke (politician), Kevin Cla ...

. * Régent Millette is a teacher in Quebec who has run for public office at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels over 25 times since 2000. * Don Woodstock of Winnipeg has contested several positions at all three levels of government. He unsuccessfully ran for

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

seats in

and

as a Liberal, and in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

as an independent. He ran federally in 2015 as a Green candidate, and received national attention after being called a "son of a bitch" by NDP incumbent

Pat Martin Patrick D. "Pat" Martin (born December 13, 1955, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015, representing the riding of Winnipeg Centre for the New Democratic Party. Ca ...

during a televised debate. Woodstock ran for city council in

and ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2018 election.

Chile

* Salvador Allende unsuccessfully ran for the national presidency in the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

elections before winning in the

1970 Chilean presidential election Presidential elections were held in Chile on 4 September 1970. Salvador Allende of the Popular Unity alliance won a narrow plurality in a race against independent Jorge Alessandri and Christian Democrat Radomiro Tomic, before having his victor ...

. * Marco Enríquez-Ominami, Progressive Party (Chile) presidential candidate since the 2009–10 Chilean presidential election.

Colombia

* Horacio Serpa Uribe, three-times Liberal Party's presidential candidate (

). *

Antanas Mockus Aurelijus Rūtenis Antanas Mockus Šivickas (; born 25 March 1952) is a Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician. He has a master's degree in philosophy from the National University of Colombia, and a Honoris Causa PhD from the U ...

, two-times presidential candidate (2006,

), one-time vicepresidential candidate (1998). *

Noemí Sanín Marta Noemí del Espíritu Santo Sanín Posada (born 6 June 1949) is a Colombian-born politician and diplomat. She was the Conservative party candidate in the 2010 Colombian presidential election. A lawyer from Pontifical Xavierian Universi ...

, three-times Conservative Party's presidential candidate (1998, 2002, 2010). * Álvaro Gómez Hurtado, three times Conservative Party's presidential candidate (1974, 1986, 1990). *

Enrique Peñalosa Enrique Peñalosa Londoño (born 30 September 1954) is a Colombian politician. He was mayor of Bogotá from 1998 until 2001 and elected again in 2015 for the 2016–2019 term. He was prominently featured in the Panama Papers for use of off-sho ...

, five-times Bogotá's mayor candidate (1994, 1997, 2007, 2011, 2015), one-time senatorial candidate (2006), one-time presidential candidate (2014). *

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian economist, politician, and former guerrilla fighter who is the current president of Colombia since 2022. After taking office, Petro was considered by analysts as Colombia's ...

, three-times presidential candidate (2010,

, 2022) Elected in 2022. *

Sergio Fajardo Sergio Fajardo Valderrama (; born 19 June 1956) is a Colombian politician and mathematician. Fajardo served as the Governor of Antioquia from 2012 to 2016. He first entered politics in 2003 when he was elected Mayor of Medellin, the second-l ...

, two-times presidential candidate (2018, 2022), one-time vice presidential candidate (2010). *

Regina 11 Regina de Jesús Betancourt Ramírez (born 16 December 1936) is a Colombian self-described mentalist, psychic, mystic, and faith healer who is better known to her followers as Regina 11. A now retired politician, she founded and led the Metapol ...

, three-times presidential candidate (1986, 1990, 1994).

Costa Rica

Otto Guevara Otto Guevara Guth (born 13 October 1960) is a politician in Costa Rica and founder of the Partido Movimiento Libertario (Libertarian Movement Party). He served in the Costa Rican legislature from 1998-2002 and 2014-2018. Guevara is currently the ...

, a five-time presidential candidate. * Walter Muñoz, a five-time presidential candidate. *

Máximo Fernández Alvarado Máximo Fernández Alvarado (1858–1933) was a Costa Rican politician. Born in Desamparados in 1858, he graduated as a Bachelor in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas at fourteen years old and as a lawyer in the same ins ...

, a three-time presidential candidate.

Ecuador

* Álvaro Noboa ran unsuccessfully for president in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

; he attempted to run for president in

but his candidacy was suspended by the electoral authorities due to an alleged violation of registration requirements.

Mexico

Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda (13 May 1865 – 8 July 1925) was a Mexican eccentric who was famous for being a perennial candidate in his country's presidential elections. Although he never won a significant share of the votes, he considered hi ...

was a presidential candidate 10 times: 1892, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1913,

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

and

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

and also tried to run for a seat in the Congress of Mexico at least twice. The eccentric Zúñiga never got more than a few votes, but always claimed to have been the victim of fraud and considered himself to be the legitimate President. * Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas was a presidential candidate three times: 1988, 1994 and 2000, also was elected the first Head of Government of Mexico City in 1997, was the leader of PRD, the left-wing mayor party and was Governor of the state of Michoacan. * * Andrés Manuel López Obrador ran unsuccessfully for president two times, in 2006 and 2012, before being elected president in 2018. He failed to acknowledge the results of his first presidential loss in 2006, protesting for months in the capital of the country during the aftermath.

Peru

*Roger Cáceres, FRENATRACA presidential candidate in 1980 with 2% of the vote, 1985 with 2% of the vote and 1990 with 1.3% of the vote. *

Ezequiel Ataucusi Ezequiel Ataucusi Gamonal (10 April 1918 – 21 June 2000), also known as Brother Ezequiel, was a Peruvian politician and prophet of the religious movement he founded, the Evangelical Association of the Israelite Mission of the New Universal C ...

, FREPAP presidential candidate in 1990 with 1.1% of the vote, in 1995 with 0.8% of votes and in 2000 with 0.75% of votes. *Ricardo Noriega, presidential candidate for All for Victory in 2001 with 0.31% of the vote and for Desperate National in 2011 with 0.15% of the vote. He was also a candidate from Independent Civic Union for senator in 1990. *Andrés Alcántara, presidential candidate of Direct Democracy in 2021 with 0.29% of the vote. He also was not elected as a congressman in the 2000 elections, 2016 and 2020, and as Mayor of Santiago de Chuco. * Ciro Gálvez ran unsuccessfully for president three times in 2001, 2006 and the most recent in 2021 and ran unsuccessfully for Governor twice in 2002 and 2006. * Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori ran unsuccessfully for president three times in 2011, 2016 and 2021, each time losing in the run-off. *

Jaime Salinas Jaime Salinas López-Torres (born March 8, 1963, in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian politician, son of General Jaime Salinas Sedó. He was Justicia Nacional's presidential candidate for the 2006 national election. He received 0.535% of the vote, com ...

, candidate for mayor of Lima in 2002 and 2018 and presidential in 2006, without being elected and with low percentages such as 0.53% in the 2006 presidential elections and 3.5% in the 2018 municipal elections. *

Verónika Mendoza Verónika Fanny Mendoza Frisch (born 9 December 1980) is a Peruvian-French psychologist, educator, and politician. She is the founder and current leader of the New Peru movement. Born in Cuzco to a Peruvian father and French mother, Mendoz ...

, ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016 and 2021, did not qualify for the run-off in both rounds * Fernando Olivera ran unsuccessfully for president four times in 2001, 2006, 2016 and 2021 in which in 2006, he withdrew from the race and in 2021, his candidacy was rejected. *

Máximo San Román Máximo San Román Cáceres (born 14 April 1946) is a Peruvian mechanical engineer, businessman and former politician. He was President of Peru between 1992 and 1993, a term that was marked by the authoritarian government of Alberto Fujimori. Co ...

ran for the vice presidency four times between 1990, 1995, 2006 and 2011 in which, in 1990, he was successful and ran for the presidency on in 2000.

United States

Africa

Benin

Bruno Amoussou Bruno Ange-Marie Amoussou (born 2 July 1939) is a Beninese politician who was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1995 to 1999https://assemblee-nationale.bj/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Histoire-et-patrimoine.pdf and Minister of Stat ...

, leader of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, ran for President four times (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and

Gambia

* Sheriff Mustapha Dibba, leader of the

National Convention Party National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, ran for President four times (1982, 1987, 1992 and

). * Ousainou Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party, has run for President four times (

and

Ghana

* Nana Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, ran for president in 2008, 2012 and won in 2016 and 2020 * Edward Mahama, leader of the People's National Convention, has run for President four times (

and

)

Kenya

* Raila Odinga leader of Orange Democratic Movement has been on the ballot five times—

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and

losing every single time . Prior to that and under the old Kenyan Constitution, Raila was a Member of Parliament for the Lang'ata Constituency Raila who is referred to as 'Baba' by his followers.

Mozambique

* Afonso Dhlakama contested the presidency in

and

Senegal

* Abdoulaye Wade ran for presidency seven times, and lost to incumbent president in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. He won in

and

, and lost again most recently in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Seychelles

Philippe Boullé Philippe Boullé is a Seychellois lawyer and politician. In the country's first multiparty presidential election, held in July 1993, he was the candidate of a three-party coalition known as the 'United Opposition'. He won 3.78% of the vote, finis ...

has unsuccessfully run for President five times (

and

). * Wavel Ramkalawan, leader of the Seychelles National Party, has run for President six times. He lost in

and

, ranking second place every election with huge minority, and won in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Tanzania

* Ibrahim Lipumba, leader of the Civic United Front, has run for President four times (

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and

Zambia

* Hakainde Hichilema, leader of

UPND The United Party for National Development (UPND) is a social liberal political party in Zambia, led by Hakainde Hichilema, the current president of the country. The party is an observer member of the Africa Liberal Network. History The UPND was ...

contested in the

and

elections, the last of which he won. * Godfrey Miyanda, leader of the Heritage Party, has run for President four times (

and

Asia

Hong Kong

Avery Ng Avery Ng Man-yuen (; born 27 December 1976) is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He is the chairman of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), a pro-democracy camp, pro-democracy radical social democratic party in Hong Kong. Biography Ng ...

* Bull Tsang * Frederick Fung, initially gained success in almost every election, including

District Council District council may refer to: *A branch of local government in the United Kingdom: **Supervising one of the Districts of England: ***A Metropolitan borough ***A Non-metropolitan district ***A Unitary authority **Supervising one of the Principal ...

, Urban Council and Legislative Council election since 1983. However, since 2015, Fung faced consecutive failures in every election he participated, including 2015 (District Council), 2016 (Legislative Council), March 2018 (Democratic Primary), November 2018 (Legislative Council By-election) and 2019 (District Council). He lost popularity because of his unwillingness to retire, as the Pro-democracy supporters having negative feelings on gerontocracy.

India

* Hotte Paksha Rangaswamy was a political leader from the Indian state of Karnataka, who had a penchant for contesting elections. He is a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

holder for having contested the highest number of elections—he unsuccessfully did so 86 times. * Kaka Joginder Singh (alias Dharti Pakad meaning "one who clings to the ground", earned after several unsuccessful runs for President of India) was a textile owner who contested and lost over 300 elections in India. Although his nomination papers were usually disregarded by the election commission, he reached his high-water mark during the 1992 presidential election, in which he earned fourth place in the polling with 1,135 votes, eventually losing to Shankar Dayal Sharma. * Dr. K Padmarajan, a doctor turned politician from the state of Tamil Nadu, had contested 199 elections, and lost all of them. '' Limca Book of Records'' named him as "India's most unsuccessful candidate".

Indonesia

* Prabowo Subianto, former Army lieutenant general, ran unsuccessfully as president and vice president three times: in

, as the running mate for

Megawati Sukarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth Vice President of Indonesia, vice president f ...

, and in

and

as a presidential candidate.

Iran

* Mohsen Rezaee ran for president four times, in

and

. He was defeated thrice and withdrew once (in 2005). Rezaee had previously ran for an

Iranian Parliament The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The P ...

seat in 2000, but had not succeeded. * Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (see Electoral history of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf) ran for president three times, in 2005, 2013 and 2017. He was defeated twice and withdrew once.

Israel

*Vladimir Herczberg, a nuclear physicist. Ran for Mayor of Beersheba and for a Knesset seat twice, and ran for the leadership of the Likud party in its 2012 leadership election. Also ran for the leadership of the Jewish Agency, World Jewish Congress, and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

Japan

Bin Akao , was a Japanese far-right politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives of Japan during World War II. Akao was cofounder and first president of the Kenkokukai and became one of the leading ultranationalists in Japan durin ...

ran in numerous elections for his

Greater Japan Patriotic Party The , frequently abbreviated to Aikokutō (愛国党, ''Aikokutō''), is a Japanese political party and Uyoku dantai, far-right political group. It was created in 1951 by Right-wing politics, right-wing Ultranationalism, ultranationalist Bin Akao, ...

until 1989, one year prior to his death. *

Mac Akasaka , real name Makoto Tonami (戸並誠 ''Tonami Makoto''), is a Japanese businessman, political activist and perennial candidate. He was born in Nagoya, grew up in a struggling family, and attended Kyoto University. He spent 25 years as an executi ...

, real name Makoto Tonami, was a candidate for many political offices, especially the governor of Tokyo 2012, 2016Osaki, Tomohir
Lesser-known candidates in the Tokyo gubernatorial race make their case July 29, 2016
''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' Retrieved July 31, 2016, and mayor of Osaka in 2014. * Yūtokutaishi Akiyama, an engraver artist, photographer, was a candidate for Governor of Tokyo 1975 and 1979, bringing pop art into the process. *

Teruki Gotō is a Japanese musician and perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are ...

was a candidate for Mayor of Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo (2013), City Assembly of Chiyoda (2015), and the Governor of Tokyo (2016). *Hideyoshi Seizo Hashiba ran in numerous elections from 1976 to 2011. * Mitsuo Matayoshi (alias Jesus Matayoshi), leader of the

World Economic Community Party , also known as or was a Japanese political activist known for his perennial candidacy. He was the leader and founder of the World Economic Community Party (). He was born in Ginowan, Okinawa on February 5, 1944. After graduating from Chuo Un ...

and self-proclaimed Messiah, has run in at least nine local and national elections since 1997. *

Yoshiro Nakamatsu , also known as , is a Japanese inventor. He regularly appears on Japanese talk shows demonstrating his inventions. Nakamatsu creativity process In interviews, Nakamatsu has described his "creativity process", which includes listening to music an ...

(alias Dr. NakaMats), inventor and perennial candidate in Tokyo, has unsuccessfully campaigned to be elected Governor of Tokyo numerous times since 1995, most recently in 2014.

Philippines

Pascual Racuyal Pascual B. Racuyal (Tinago, Cebu City, 1911 – Bulacan, 2004) was a Filipino eccentric and aspirant for the Philippine presidency, whose persistent attempts at the presidency earned him folk status. Racuyal sought the presidency in every Ph ...

unsuccessfully ran for President 11 times (

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

, 1957 Philippine presidential election, 1957, 1961 Philippine presidential election, 1961, 1965 Philippine presidential election, 1965, 1969 Philippine presidential election, 1969, 1981 Philippine presidential election, 1981 and 1986 Philippine presidential election, 1986), although he was disqualified on all but two (

and 1969 Philippine presidential election, 1969). *Elly Pamatong was disqualified in running for president at least twice (2004 Philippine presidential election, 2004 and 2010 Philippine presidential election, 2010). After his death in 2021, people asked if he will run in the 2022 Philippine presidential election, 2022 presidential election, as his death was not announced to the public.

Singapore

*Ooi Boon Ewe has applied four times (1999 Singaporean presidential election, 1999, 2005 Singaporean presidential election, 2005, 2011 Singaporean presidential election, 2011 and 2017 Singaporean presidential election, 2017) to run for President of Singapore, President, all unsuccessfully. He had also tried to contest both the 2006 Singaporean general election, 2006 and 2011 Singaporean general election, 2011 general elections, both times of which he failed to be nominated. *Zeng Guo Yuan * Chee Soon Juan

Taiwan

*Soong Chu-yu, Chairman of People First Party (Republic of China), People First Party, ran for president four times (2000 Republic of China presidential election, 2000, 2012 Republic of China presidential election, 2012, 2016 Taiwan presidential election, 2016, and 2020 Republic of China presidential election, 2020) and for vice president once (2004 Republic of China presidential election, 2004). *Pan Han-shen, leader of Trees Party and former leader of Green Party Taiwan, a five-time candidate of the member of the Legislative Yuan.

Turkey

* Doğu Perinçek, chairman of the Patriotic Party (Turkey), Patriotic Party, ran for parliament eight times (1991 Turkish general election, 1991, 1995 Turkish general election, 1995, 1999 Turkish general election, 1999, 2002 Turkish general election, 2002, 2007 Turkish general election, 2007, 2011 Turkish general election, 2011, June 2015 Turkish general election, June 2015 and November 2015 Turkish general election, November 2015). He also unsuccessfully ran for presidency in 2018 Turkish presidential election, 2018.

Europe

Cyprus

* Kostas Kyriacou, otherwise known as "Outopos", has been a candidate for every President of Cyprus, presidential and House of Representatives (Cyprus), parliamentary election since 1998 but has never gained more than 1% of the vote.

Czech Republic

* Jana Bobošíková is known for a series of unsuccessful candidatures in various elections. She unsuccessfully ran two times for President of the Czech Republic (2008 Czech presidential election, 2008 and 2013 Czech presidential election, 2013), the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Chamber of Deputies (2010 Czech legislative election, 2010 and 2013 Czech legislative election, 2013), the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Senate (2010 Czech Senate election, 2010 and 2012 Czech Senate election, 2012), Mayor of Prague (2010) and general manager of Czech Television (2009). * Petr Hannig is the leader of Party of Common Sense. Since 2002, he has repeatedly run for the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. He also ran for Czech presidency in 2018 Czech presidential election, 2018 election., but failed as well, ending last but one with 0,57% of votes. He also wanted to run in 2023 presidential election but failed to get nomination. * Miroslav Sládek ran for the Czechoslovak presidency in 1992. After dissolution of Czechoslovakia he sought the Czech presidency in 1993, 1998 and 2018. He withdrawn from 2018 election due to failure of his party in the 2017 legislative election. * Jan Švejnar unsuccessfully ran for the Czech presidency in 2008. He also ran for the position in 2013 but withdrew. He planned to run for the office in 2018 but he did not receive political support. Some politicians noted that Švejnar lives in the United States and "shows up in the Czech Republic only when there is a presidential election."

Finland

*Paavo Väyrynen ran for President of Finland, President four times (1988 Finnish presidential election, 1988, 1994 Finnish presidential election, 1994, 2012 Finnish presidential election, 2012 and 2018 Finnish presidential election, 2018), first three times as the candidate of Centre Party (Finland), Centre Party and then fourth time as an independent candidate.

France

*Arlette Laguiller, leader of the Workers' Struggle, a Trotskyist party, has been a candidate for President of France, President six times (1974 French presidential election, 1974, 1981 French presidential election, 1981, 1988 French presidential election, 1988, 1995 French presidential election, 1995, 2002 French presidential election, 2002 and 2007 French presidential election, 2007). *Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front (France), National Front, has been a candidate for President of France, President five times (1974 French presidential election, 1974, 1988 French presidential election, 1988, 1995 French presidential election, 1995, 2002 French presidential election, 2002 (in which he unprecedentedly finished second in the first round of voting, proceeding to the second round of voting which he lost to the incumbent, Jacques Chirac), and 2007 French presidential election, 2007). * Jacques Chirac himself ran for the President of France, Presidency four times (1981 French presidential election, 1981, 1988 French presidential election, 1988, 1995 French presidential election, 1995 and 2002 French presidential election, 2002), the latter one as incumbent. * François Mitterrand as well ran for the President of France, Presidency four times (1965 French presidential election, 1965, 1974 French presidential election, 1974, 1981 French presidential election, 1981 and 1988 French presidential election, 1988), the latter one as incumbent. * Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left wing La France insoumise, has run for President of France, President three times (2012 French presidential election, 2012, 2017 French presidential election, 2017, and 2022 French presidential election, 2022).

Germany

*Helmut Palmer (1930–2004) stood without any success for about 250 elections as mayor in villages and cities in southwestern Germany and various times as independent candidate for the Bundestag. His son Boris Palmer became mayor of Tübingen.

Iceland

*Ástþór Magnússon is an Icelandic businessman and politician who unsuccessfully campaigned for the post of President of Iceland five times; in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012 and 2016.

Ireland

*Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus, a longtime member of Dublin City Council (1974–1999), stood in 14 elections for Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, Irish parliament, between 1961 and 1997. He was only elected once, in 1981, and served as a Teachta Dála, TD for just 8 months. He also stood unsuccessfully in two elections to the European Parliament.

Italy

*Marco Pannella is described by many as a perennial candidate, even though he was actually elected multiple times as a member of the Italian Parliament, the European Parliament, and the municipal councils of a handful of cities.

Malta

* Nazzareno Bonniċi, known more in Malta by the affectionate nickname Żaren tal-Ajkla''', part of his tongue-in-cheek unregistered ''Partit tal-Ajkla'' (en. Eagle Party), has been a perennial candidate in the 2013 Maltese general election, 2013, 2017 Maltese general election, 2017 and 2022 Maltese general election, 2022 Maltese general elections, and the 2004 European Parliament election in Malta, 2004, 2009 European Parliament election in Malta, 2009, 2014 European Parliament election in Malta, 2014 and 2019 European Parliament election in Malta, 2019 European Parliament elections in Malta. In a surprise move that later had the Maltese media speculate and overestimate his probable success, thousands showed up for Nazzareno's mass meeting in preparation for the 2013 Maltese general election, 2013 general election held front of the Parish Church of Our Lady of Graces, Żabbar, Parish Church in Żabbar, the town where he resides. He only received 47 votes, amounting to 0.02% of the Maltese electorate, in the 2013 election. He would receive 71 votes in the 2022 Maltese general election, 2022 general election, amounting to 0.00019% of the Maltese electorate.

Netherlands

* Johan Vlemmix was a candidate for the Tweede Kamer in 2002 Dutch general election, 2002, 2003 Dutch general election, 2003, 2012 Dutch general election, 2012, 2021 Dutch general election, 2021 and for the local council of Eindhoven in 2010 Dutch municipal elections, 2010. He was unsuccessful in every election. * Florens van der Spek leader of the evangelical party Jesus Lives participated in the 2014 Dutch municipal elections, 2014 European Parliament election in the Netherlands 2015 Dutch provincial elections, 2017 Dutch general election and 2021 Dutch general election, 2021. However his party's primary purpose is making Jesus known to the people.

Poland

*Janusz Korwin-Mikke unsuccessfully ran for President of Poland, President five times (1995 Polish presidential election, 1995, 2000 Polish presidential election, 2000, 2005 Polish presidential election, 2005, 2010 Polish presidential election, 2010 and 2015 Polish presidential election, 2015). He also unsuccessfully ran for Polish parliament nine times (1993, 1997, 2001, 2004 (two times, by-elections for Senate), 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2015), for European Parliament (2004, 2019), four times for regional assemblies (2002, 2006, 2007, 2010) and three times for President of Warsaw (2006, 2010, 2018). However, in 2014 he was elected for member of European Parliament and, in 2019, after a 26-year break, for member of Sejm, starting from Confederation Liberty and Independence list. *Kornel Morawiecki unsuccessfully ran for President of Poland, President three times in 1990 Polish presidential election, 1990, 2010 Polish presidential election, 2010 and 2015 Polish presidential election, 2015, achieving necessary 100,000 signatures to be registered as candidate only in 2010. He also unsuccessfully ran for Sejm in 1991 Polish parliamentary election, 1991, and for Senate of Poland, Senate in 2007 Polish parliamentary election, 2007. Eventually, he succeeded for the first time when he became an MP in 2015 Polish parliamentary election, 2015.

Romania

*Corneliu Vadim Tudor, former president and founder of Greater Romania Party, PRM, unsuccessfully ran for President of Romania, President five times in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014. His biggest score was in 2000 when he gained 33.2% in the second round against Ion Iliescu.

Russia

*Gennady Zyuganov ran for President of Russia, President in 1996 Russian presidential election, 1996, 2000 Russian presidential election, 2000, 2008 Russian presidential election, 2008 and 2012 Russian presidential election, 2012. His biggest score was in 1996, when he gained 40.7% in the second round against Boris Yeltsin. *Vladimir Zhirinovsky unsuccessfully ran for President of Russia six times: in 1991 Russian presidential election, 1991, 1996 Russian presidential election, 1996, 2000 Russian presidential election, 2000, 2008 Russian presidential election, 2008, 2012 Russian presidential election, 2012 and 2018 Russian presidential election, 2018. In addition unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Belgorod Oblast in 1999. Also, 2 times he participated in the election of the Chairman of the State Duma, in 2003 and 2011, but both times unsuccessfully. *Lev Ubozhko unsuccessfully participated in elections of different levels. He ran for the special election to the Supreme Soviet of Russia in 1992 and 1993. He also ran for the State Duma in 1993 Russian legislative election, 1993, 1995 Russian legislative election, 1995 and 1998 (special election in single-mandate constituency). In 1994, at a special election, he unsuccessfully ran for the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council from the Chelyabinsk Oblast. In 1996, he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of the Chelyabinsk Oblast. He ran for President of Russia, President in 1991 Russian presidential election, 1991 and 1996 Russian presidential election, 1996, but both times he was denied registration. *Grigory Yavlinsky ran for President of Russia, President in 1996 Russian presidential election, 1996, 2000 Russian presidential election, 2000, 2012 Russian presidential election, 2012 (denied) and 2018 Russian presidential election, 2018. *Oleg Bulayev about 40 times participated as a candidate in the elections in various regions of the country. For several years he tried to become an MP in North Ossetia, Udmurtia, Sakhalin Oblast, Saratov Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Ulyanovsk Oblast, Smolensk Oblast, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Kemerovo Oblast, Yakutia, Kalmykia, Chechnya, Vladimir Oblast, Crimea Republic, Crimea, Mari El, Tatarstan and other regions. In 2013 he was elected as member of the Volgograd City Duma. In 2014 he ran for Governor of Volgograd Oblast, lost the election gaining 2.21%. In 2018 Russian presidential election, 2018 he ran for president, but withdrew.

United Kingdom

*Bill Boaks contested Elections in the United Kingdom, general elections and by-elections for a period of 30 years under various descriptions, most famously under the "Public Safety Democratic Monarchist White Resident" banner. Boaks' main concern was public safety on the roads and believed that pedestrians should have the right of way at all times. In the 1982 Glasgow Hillhead by-election he received only five votes, one of the lowest recorded in a modern British Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliamentary election. He died in 1986 from injuries sustained in a traffic collision two years earlier. *Arthur Hunnable's name never appeared on a ballot paper, but he campaigned and announced that he would stand in almost every by-election from 1907 to 1909, and also in Jarrow (UK Parliament constituency), Jarrow at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 general election. *Winston McKenzie, who now stands as an English Democrats candidate, has previously stood since 2002 as an independent candidate in the Brent East (UK Parliament constituency), Brent East by-election and in the 2008 Mayoral election, and for Veritas (political party), Veritas, UKIP, and founded his own Unity Party. *Screaming Lord Sutch, David Sutch ran in 39 general elections and by-elections under the name Screaming Lord Sutch for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, British House of Commons, and one Elections to the European Parliament, election for the European Parliament, only ever winning more than 1,000 votes on a single occasion. He first ran in 1963 on the ''National Teenage Party'' ticket for Stratford-on-Avon (UK Parliament constituency), the seat left vacant by the resignation of John Profumo. He founded the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 1983 and led it until his suicide in 1999. *Sutch's successor as Monster Raving Loony Party leader, Howling Laud Hope, Alan "Howling Laud" Hope has contested 13 by-elections and five general elections between 2001 and 2016. His highest vote total has been 553, achieved at both Aldershot (UK Parliament constituency), Aldershot in the 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 general election and the 2011 Leicester South by-election. The latter was also his highest vote share of 1.6%. Hope's highest placing in a parliamentary election has been fourth (of eight candidates) in 2016 Richmond Park by-election, Richmond Park in 2016. Hope has been elected (unopposed) to seats on parish councils in Devon and Hampshire and was mayor of Ashburton, Devon, Ashburton. * John Peck (politician), John Peck ran in Nottingham North (UK Parliament constituency), the constituency of Nottingham North from 1955 to 1987 and came last every time, bar 1979, in which he came second last. However, in 1987 he won the Nottingham Council seat of Bulwell East. *Lindi St Clair ran in numerous elections for her "Corrective Party", on some occasions standing as "Miss Whiplash". *Richard Huggett contested various elections under banners designed to imitate better-known parties, including as a "Literal Democrat" candidate. This eventually resulted in the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 being passed to stop this practice. *Electoral history of Nigel Farage, Nigel Farage has stood for election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, British House of Commons seven times, in five General elections in the United Kingdom, general elections and two By-elections in the United Kingdom, by-elections, but has been unsuccessful each time. In the most recent 2019 United Kingdom general election, election he declined to contest a seat. However, he was successful in being elected as a member of the European Parliament five times.

Oceania

Australia

* Charles Bellchambers contested the Division of Barton six times between 1966 and 1987, usually polling a negligible proportion of the vote. * Alex Bhathal, a social worker, has unsuccessfully stood for the Greens in the Division of Batman six times between 2001 and 2017, increasing the Greens' percentage of the vote from 4.60% in 1998 to 39.49% in 2017 (she did not stand in 2007). * Ben Buckley, a farmer, has unsuccessfully Electoral results for the Division of Gippsland, contested Gippsland in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives on 11 occasions. He first contested the seat in 1984 Australian federal election, 1984, and has contested every election since 2001 Australian federal election, 2001. An Independent (politician), independent on six occasions, Buckley ran as a One Nation (Australia), One Nation candidate in 2004 Australian federal election, 2004, and has run as a Liberal Democratic Party (Australia), Liberal Democrat in the past four elections (2008 Gippsland by-election, 2008, 2010 Australian federal election, 2010, 2013 Australian federal election, 2013, and 2016 Australian federal election, 2016). His best result came in 2010 when he polled 5.52% of the vote. * Anthony Fels has, , contested eight state elections in Western Australia and six federal elections. He was successful on one occasion, winning a seat in the Western Australian Legislative Council in 2005. He first ran for parliament in 1996 and was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party until 2008. His later bids for office have included candidacies and with Family First Party, Family First (2008), Katter's Australian Party (2013), the Mutual Party (2014), the Non-Custodial Parents Party (2017), the United Australia Party (2013), United Australia Party (2019), and the Western Australia Party (2022), in addition to several runs as an independent (2010, 2013, 2017, 2021). * Shirley de la Hunty (née Strickland), a multiple Olympic gold medallist in athletics, unsuccessfully contested six state elections in Western Australia and seven federal elections. Her candidacies spanned from 1971 to 1996 and included runs for the lower and upper houses at both state and federal levels. She stood a number of times for the Australian Democrats, while the rest of her runs were made as an Independent politician, independent candidate. * Teresa van Lieshout, a resident of Perth, has unsuccessfully contested seven state and federal elections standing for various constituencies in Western Australia. She has stood for the Parliament of Western Australia as a One Nation (Australia), One Nation candidate at the 2005 Western Australian state election, 2005 election, and as an independent at the 2006 Victoria Park state by-election, 2006 Victoria Park by-election, 2013 Western Australian state election, 2013 state election, and 2014 Vasse state by-election, 2014 Vasse by-election. For Parliament of Australia, Federal Parliament, she ran as an independent at the 2004 Australian federal election, 2004 election and Australian Senate special election in Western Australia, 2014, 2014 special senate election, and as a Australian Protectionist Party, Protectionist candidate at the 2013 Australian federal election, 2013 election. In August 2015, she announced she would be contested the eighth election, the 2015 Canning by-election. Teresa stood for the Senate in NSW in the 2016 Federal Election, and as an independent in the 2018 Batman by-election.

New Zealand

*Stephen Berry (politician), Stephen Berry has unsuccessfully ran in 10 elections on libertarian or right-wing positions (Mount Roskill (New Zealand electorate)#2002 election, 2002, 2004 Auckland City mayoral election, 2004, Tāmaki (New Zealand electorate)#2011 election, 2011, 2013 Auckland mayoral election, 2013 mayoral, 2013 Auckland local elections#Waitemata and Gulf (1), 2013 local council, Upper Harbour (New Zealand electorate)#2014 election, 2014, 2016 Auckland mayoral election, 2016, Stephen Berry (politician)#2017 East Coast Bays general election, 2017, Stephen Berry (politician)#2018 Northcote by-election, 2018, Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election by electorate#Pakuranga, 2020). In 2020, Berry was Party lists in the 2020 New Zealand general election#ACT Party, 9th on the party list for ACT New Zealand and ACT got Party lists in the 2020 New Zealand general election#ACT Party, 10 seats, which means if he had not resigned from running and ACT got the same result, Berry would have been elected as a Member of Parliament (New Zealand), Member of Parliament. *Colin Craig, the founder and long-time leader of the right-wing New Conservative Party (New Zealand), Conservative Party of New Zealand (now known as the New Conservative Party (New Zealand), New Conservative Party) is a perennial candidate. Craig is a real estate millionaire who entered politics in 2011 with his new party, which ran on a Christian Christian conservative Anti-abortion movements, anti-abortion, pro-Freedom of speech, free speech, pro-Right to keep and bear arms, gun rights, anti-Māori electorates, Māori seats, Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007, pro-child abuse and Penal labour, pro-prison labour platform. He 2010 Auckland mayoral election, ran unsuccessfully for the Mayor of Auckland before founding the party, and then lead the party for 4 years before being suspended over multiple sexual harassment scandals. *Bill Maung, a Burmese immigrant and political advisor to Black Power (New Zealand gang), Black Power, stood for election multiple times in both local and parliamentary elections as an independent candidate. *Frank Moncur stood for Parliament nine times, five times for Mayor of Wellington and nine times for the Wellington City Council, usually as a "private enterprise" candidate, between 1971 and 1996. *Saul Goldsmith contested ten city council and four mayoral elections, plus one council by-election, in Wellington over a 30-year period. He also stood in two general elections for the New Zealand National Party, National Party as well as a by-election as an independent National candidate. *Peter Wakeman has unsuccessfully run for Christchurch mayor in 1998 Christchurch mayoral election, 1998, 2007 Christchurch mayoral election, 2007, 2010 Christchurch mayoral election, 2010, 2013 Christchurch mayoral election, 2013, and 2019 Christchurch mayoral election, 2019. He also ran for mayor of Waimakariri in 2010. He has run for parliament in four by-elections, Tauranga (New Zealand electorate), Tauranga in 1993 Tauranga by-election, 1993 and 2022 Tauranga by-election, 2022, Te Tai Hauāuru in 2004 Te Tai Hauauru by-election, 2004, and Mount Albert (New Zealand electorate), Mount Albert in 2017 Mount Albert by-election, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perennial Candidate Political metaphors referring to people Political terminology Elections terminology