- 5 hours ago
Politics can be weird, wild, and occasionally adorable. Join us as we spotlight the funniest, strangest, and most unexpectedly lovable novelty candidates ever to hit the campaign trail. From satirical icons to animal contenders, these memorable runs proved that sometimes the joke says a lot about real life.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00You've thought this through.
00:02That's a generous estimation, thank you.
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:06And today, we're looking at the funniest, strangest,
00:09and most unexpectedly lovable novelty candidates
00:12ever to hit the campaign trail.
00:14In several cases, being human wasn't a requirement,
00:17and neither was winning.
00:19There it is.
00:20And there, indeed.
00:21Rent is too damn high.
00:24Count Binface.
00:26Oh, my goodness.
00:31A man with a bin on his head.
00:35And it's not the Tory candidate.
00:40Looks like something out of Star Wars.
00:42British elections have a proud tradition
00:44of making serious politicians share a stage
00:46with someone dressed like an intergalactic household object.
00:50Comedy writer John Harvey first joined that tradition
00:53by playing Lord Buckethead against Theresa May in 2017.
00:57After a dispute over the character's ownership,
01:00he created Count Binface,
01:02a silver-headed alien he could call his own.
01:05Why are you standing in this election?
01:06Just a stunt?
01:07It's A, because it's happening.
01:09B, I was at a loose end.
01:11C, because I believe elected mayors
01:13should serve out their terms
01:14before they're eligible to stand for parliament.
01:16You've made a sensible political,
01:17serious political point there.
01:19Well, no, you're supposed to be impartial, mate.
01:20So let me carry on.
01:22Binface has since challenged Prime Ministers Boris Johnson
01:25and Rishi Sunak,
01:27as well as London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
01:30His policies have included nationalizing Adele,
01:33building at least one affordable home,
01:35and returning the 99 flake to 99 pence.
01:38In 2026, he even entered the Clacton by-election
01:42against Nigel Farage.
01:44Finally, a candidate who knows how to responsibly talk trash.
01:47If there's a second by-election
01:49when parliament finds out that Nigel
01:51has done something a bit iffy,
01:54if they do, who knows?
01:55And then, of course, there'll be another by-election
01:57which costs 380 grand to the British taxpayer.
02:01So if they vote me in,
02:03I save you lot 380,000 Earth pounds
02:06without lifting a space finger.
02:09Deez nuts.
02:10As Trump continues to surge in the polls,
02:12there's a new candidate gaining ground,
02:14and his name is causing a big stir.
02:17First name is Deez, last name, Nuts.
02:20Deez nuts.
02:21Deez nuts is polling at 9%.
02:24Before he was old enough to drive,
02:26Brady Olson had already entered a presidential race.
02:29In 2015, the Iowa high school student
02:32filed a statement of candidacy
02:33with the Federal Election Commission
02:35under the unforgettable name Deez nuts.
02:38What started as a joke
02:39became a minor political phenomenon.
02:41When pollsters began including the fictional independent
02:44in hypothetical match-ups.
02:46Even though it was a joke,
02:47Brady is pushing for some real issues.
02:49Voting rights in the territories was,
02:51which is a big one for me.
02:53Deez nuts received 9% against Hillary Clinton
02:56and Donald Trump in North Carolina,
02:59along with 8% in Iowa and 7% in Minnesota.
03:03Olson was constitutionally ineligible, obviously.
03:06But his unexpected success revealed
03:08how voters truly felt about the available choices.
03:11Are you surprised this has gone this far?
03:14When I filed it, I was just like,
03:16this will sound funny.
03:17I also spoke with Brady's mom, Teresa.
03:20So what do you think about the name he's chosen?
03:23Well, actually, from what I understand,
03:25that was a name that his 12-year-old brother came up with.
03:29Paperboy Prince.
03:30Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
03:33Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
03:35Hi.
03:36I'm Paperboy Love Prince,
03:38coming from Brooklyn, New York.
03:41I'm an artist, an activist,
03:43and founder of the Paperboy Prince Love Gallery
03:45in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
03:47This eccentric rapper, community organizer,
03:50and perennial candidate has pursued seats in Congress,
03:53the New York Mayor's Office,
03:54and even the White House.
03:56Oh, yeah.
03:56And they're usually dressed in bright robes, crowns, or clown makeup.
04:00During their 2021 mayoral campaign, Paperboy Prince called for canceling rent,
04:06legalizing psychedelics, and establishing love centers throughout New York City.
04:30Their 13-year-old campaign manager also considered homework unconstitutional.
04:35So clearly the operation wasn't afraid of bold policy.
04:39But beneath the spectacle was genuine community work.
04:42Prince's Bushwick headquarters distributed free groceries and clothing,
04:46while their congressional campaign received roughly 20%
04:49against incumbent Nydia Velasquez in the 2020 Democratic primary.
04:54The outfits grab attention, but the generous spirit is what keeps it.
04:58If you're out there and you're helping an old lady across the street
05:01and a cop sees you doing, hey, you're helping an old lady across the street,
05:04I'm writing you a ticket, a love ticket, for $150 for doing something positive.
05:09Keep going.
05:09Hank the Cat.
05:10Voters in Virginia will have a chance to elect the perfect candidate for the U.S. Senate race.
05:15Hank the Cat is challenging former Virginia Governor Republican George Allen
05:20and Democrat Thomas Kaine.
05:21Obama might have ran in 2008 on a message of hope.
05:25Hank is running on a message of meow.
05:27With his fluffy coat, tasteful necktie, and carefully maintained air of indifference,
05:32Hank looked more senatorial than plenty of, well, actual senators.
05:37The Maine Coon launched a write-in campaign for Virginia's U.S. Senate seat in 2012,
05:42running on, what else, animal rescue, spaying, and neutering programs.
05:46He even attracted a parody attack ad accusing him of using catnip.
05:50Hank's team claimed third place by attributing all 7,319 statewide write-in votes to him,
05:58although Virginia officials didn't record how many actually named Hank.
06:02Either way, the campaign generated attention and donations for animal charities.
06:07And while human candidates spent election day frantically shaking hands,
06:11Hank reportedly stayed home and slept.
06:13Who can blame him?
06:14My dear friend Hank, who ran for Senate here in Virginia, died yesterday.
06:20And I am not ashamed to say that I am inconsolable.
06:25Hank represented something to me
06:30that I can only, that I can almost not express, but a kind of hope for the future.
06:36Darth Vader.
06:37Yeah, that Darth Vader.
06:38He's six now.
06:39He might look like he's from a galaxy far, far away,
06:42but you gotta see this guy who was turned away while trying to vote in Ukraine's parliamentary elections.
06:46In 2014, the Internet Party of Ukraine tried to nominate a Vader impersonator for president,
06:53reportedly paying the required registration fee.
06:56Election officials rejected the application because they couldn't verify the candidate's identity.
07:00But the dark side wasn't finished.
07:03And then there was a fight.
07:04A fight actually broke out at the polling station between Darth and the election officials
07:09because he refused to show his face.
07:12Here, it's coming up right here.
07:13You don't show your face, you can't vote.
07:15Well, right.
07:16And so she's not gonna let...
07:17Oh, oh!
07:18I'm gonna vote.
07:20I'm gonna vote.
07:21I am...
07:22I just...
07:23Jeff, I am your candidate.
07:25Several people legally adopted versions of the name
07:28and ran for mayor, parliament, and local councils,
07:31sometimes accompanied by candidates named Chewbacca, Yoda, and Padme Amidala.
07:37Darth Mikolaevich Vader contested Odessa's 2015 mayoral election
07:42with an escort of stormtroopers and finished 15th out of 42 candidates.
07:47He didn't conquer City Hall,
07:49but an online petition calling for him to become prime minister
07:52attracted more than 25,000 signatures.
07:55We'd call that a win for the Sith.
07:57I will become the president, which is important.
08:00My very first step will be the computerization of the entire state of Ukraine,
08:05which means that all deputies of the Vachovna Rada
08:09will be automatically and immediately kicked out.
08:12We don't need them here.
08:14Pegasus.
08:15A group of yippies or yappies,
08:16members of the Youth International Party,
08:19trotted out their candidate for president,
08:22a black and brown pig named Pegasus.
08:25Police seized the pig
08:27and arrested about 10 of the yippies
08:29on charges of breach of the peace.
08:31The presidential election of 1968 was already chaotic.
08:35So naturally, the yippies decided it needed a pig.
08:38Folk singer Phil Oakes purchased the 145-pound animal,
08:42whom the Youth International Party named Pegasus the Immortal.
08:46On August 23rd,
08:48activists brought their candidate to Chicago's Civic Center
08:51and nominated him for president
08:53ahead of the Democratic National Convention.
08:55The yippies hope to attract 100,000 persons to Lincoln Park
08:58for a festival of life.
09:00From Yip Underground headquarters in a magazine office,
09:04revolutionist Abby Hoffman plots far-out demonstrations,
09:07which include nominating a live pig for president.
09:10The joke had a serious point.
09:12Pegasus was intended to mock the political establishment
09:14while drawing attention to the anti-war movement.
09:17Police interrupted the acceptance speech,
09:19detained seven of the pig's supporters,
09:21and transported Pegasus to an animal shelter.
09:24Pegasus had been hauled away,
09:26but the yippies' political stunt had already stolen the show.
09:29Those yippies that march on the amphitheater
09:31or go downtown or sit in restaurants
09:34or demand their rights,
09:38they'll be risking their life.
09:40That's right.
09:40These cops here are tough.
09:42They'd kill you with a smile.
09:44Shoot to kill daily, you know.
09:46Stephen Colbert.
09:47I love South Carolina.
09:49Let me finish.
09:54Almost as much as South Carolina loves me.
09:56And in gratitude for the faith you have shown me today,
10:00I have a promise to make to you.
10:02I promise if elected, I will crush the state of Georgia.
10:06In 2007, talk show host Stephen Colbert
10:09decided that parodying presidential candidates wasn't enough.
10:12In character as his egotistical alter ego
10:15from the Colbert Report,
10:17Colbert announced that he would seek
10:18both major parties' nominations,
10:20but only in his native South Carolina.
10:22He paid the $2,500 Democratic filing fee
10:26while joking that he wanted to run under both parties
10:29because he'd like to lose twice.
10:31B-E-R-T.
10:32Yes.
10:33Then why aren't you Colbert?
10:35Are you saying that I don't have the right
10:37to drop the T in my name?
10:38Are you saying that?
10:39Last time I checked, this was America.
10:41Or does that mean anything to you anymore?
10:43Then why not call him Bear?
10:44Because that's his choice.
10:46You'll have to ask him.
10:47Unfortunately, South Carolina Democrats
10:49voted against placing him on the ballot,
10:51while the Republican route required
10:53a considerably less amusing $35,000 fee
10:57and additional paperwork.
10:59The campaign barely lasted two weeks,
11:01but Colbert used it to expose the money,
11:03bureaucracy, and television pageantry
11:06surrounding American elections.
11:08But why did you change your name?
11:11I changed my name because I knew
11:13that there were people out there
11:14who needed T's.
11:16Not comfortable in your own skin.
11:17I'm extremely comfortable in my own skin.
11:19I'm uncomfortable in other people's skin.
11:21Jimmy McMillan.
11:22People are working eight hours a day
11:23and 40 hours a week to sum a third job.
11:25Women can't afford to take care of their children,
11:27feed their children breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
11:30My main job is to provide a roof over your head,
11:32food on the table, and money in your pocket.
11:34This is politics as usual.
11:36Playing a silly game.
11:37It's not going to happen.
11:38The Rent is Too Damn High movement,
11:39the people I'm here to represent
11:39can't afford to pay their rent.
11:41Jimmy McMillan had a memorable beard,
11:43black gloves, and exactly one message.
11:45During New York's 2010 gubernatorial debate,
11:49the founder of the Rent is Too Damn High party
11:51answered virtually every issue
11:53by returning to the cost of housing.
11:55The delivery made him an instant internet celebrity,
11:58inspiring, among other things,
12:00a Kenan Thompson impression on SNL.
12:03People got seven jobs.
12:04They're working 36 hours a day, 12 days a week,
12:07and they can't afford a roof.
12:09I will make sure that you have a roof over your head,
12:11money in your pocket, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
12:14But McMillan wasn't merely some random guy
12:16who wandered into a debate.
12:18The veteran activist had campaigned
12:20for New York offices repeatedly,
12:21and his 2010 gubernatorial run received 41,131 votes.
12:27More importantly, the problem behind his catchphrase
12:30never disappeared.
12:31As housing costs continued rising,
12:33his supposedly ridiculous one-issue campaign
12:36started sounding increasingly reasonable.
12:38They're closed because the rent is too damn high.
12:44They're closed because the rent is too damn high.
12:49They can't afford it.
12:50And people are not voting smart.
12:54Hengus the Monkey
12:55It was the poll when the dogs didn't bark
12:57and the voters elected a mayor dressed as a monkey.
13:01Turnout around the country wasn't as bad as expected,
13:03but Stuart Drummond,
13:05who'd campaigned as a football club's mascot of a monkey,
13:08was duly elected mayor of Hartlepool.
13:10Stuart Drummond was a call center worker
13:12who spent weekends portraying Hengus the Monkey,
13:15the mascot of Hartlepool United Football Club.
13:18When Hartlepool held its first mayoral election in 2002,
13:22Drummond campaigned in costume,
13:24promising more youth facilities,
13:26reduced crime,
13:27and free bananas for school children.
13:29Then he actually won.
13:31It's just snowballed, snowballed with a foot.
13:34I'm very serious.
13:35I'm ready for the job.
13:36Drummond put away the monkey suit,
13:38treated the job seriously,
13:40and proved popular enough to win re-election in 2005
13:43and again in 2009.
13:45He remained mayor until Hartlepool abolished the position in 2013,
13:50meaning he technically left office undefeated.
13:54Plenty of novelty candidates promised to shake up the system.
13:57Hengus did it,
13:58took responsibility for a municipal budget,
14:01and stayed for three terms.
14:03Hartlepool is the same as anywhere else, as you say.
14:05That said, we've got some very, very strong assets,
14:08probably one of the best further education colleges in the country.
14:12Young people are getting highly skilled,
14:15highly trained to come into these jobs
14:16that will be coming in the region,
14:18so there's a lot that MPs can come in and work with.
14:23If you love games,
14:25be sure to check out WatchMojo's new game, Terrible Influence,
14:28just launched for purchase at TerribleInfluence.com.
14:31Terrible Influence is a satirical board game
14:33about the dark side of fame
14:35from the writer of the most popular girls in school and us,
14:38WatchMojo.
14:38Boom.
14:39I can make an apology video.
14:41Oh, you so would.
14:42Click on the link in the description to check out the game
14:44and be the first to play Terrible Influence.
14:49Vermin Supreme.
14:50Gingivitis has been eroding the gumline
14:53of this great nation long enough
14:55and must be stopped.
14:57For too long,
14:58this country has been suffering a great moral and oral decay
15:00in spirit and incisors.
15:04A country's future depends on its ability to bite back.
15:08The boot,
15:09the giant toothbrush,
15:10the free ponies.
15:11Vermin Supreme isn't simply a novelty candidate.
15:14He's practically the institution's elder statesman.
15:18The performance artist has spent decades entering mayoral,
15:21presidential,
15:22and senatorial races
15:23while promising mandatory toothbrushing,
15:26zombie preparedness,
15:28time travel research,
15:29and a pony for every American.
15:32Free ponies for all Americans.
15:33One of the overlooked issues in America today.
15:36My free pony platform is,
15:38of course,
15:39a jobs creation program.
15:40It will create lots and lots of jobs
15:42once we switch over to a pony-based economy.
15:45We'll also lower our dependence on foreign oil.
15:48Supreme's impossible promises
15:50parody candidates who make equally unrealistic commitments
15:53but deliver them with better suits
15:55and fewer livestock.
15:57Nobody else has maintained the joke for so long,
16:00across so many elections,
16:02without losing its playful bite.
16:04Vermin Supreme may never win the White House,
16:07but he already owns the campaign trail.
16:09No, we have giant turbines that we're working on
16:12and we will have lots of zombies
16:14and we'll just sort of dangle brains in front of them
16:16and then they will turn the giant turbines,
16:19creating energy to lessen the dependence
16:21on foreign oil in America here today.
16:25Which novelty candidate would get your protest vote?
16:28A boot-wearing pony populist,
16:29a feline senator,
16:30or an intergalactic garbage lord?
16:32Be sure to let us know in the comments.
Comments