List of fictional United States presidential candidates
Lists of fictional Presidents of the United States | ||
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A – B | C – D | E – F |
G – H | I – J | K – M |
N – R | S – T | U – Z |
Unnamed fictional presidents | ||
Fictional presidencies of historical figures |
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A - B | C - D | E - G |
H - J | K - L | M - O |
P - R | S - U | V - Z |
Candidates | ||
Vice Presidents |
This is a list of fictional candidates who ran for the office of President of the United States. For successful candidates who became president, please see List of fictional U.S. Presidents.
Presidential candidates are listed in alphabetical order by the first letter in their last name.
A
Alvin
- Candidate in: Alvin and the Chipmunks song Alvin for President
Arcadia Alvarado
- Candidate in: Saucer Country (2012)
- Political Party: Democratic
- Governor of New Mexico, and Mexican-American
- She believes she was abducted by aliens, and uses her presidential campaign as a means of attempting to uncover the truth
Benjamin K. Arthur
- Candidate in: The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
- Played by: Robert Riordan
- Running mate: Johnny Iselin (James Gregory)
- Political Party: Republican Party
B
- Candidate in: Bloom County comic strip in the 1984 and 1988 elections
- Played by: Himself
- Running mate: Opus the Penguin
- Political Party: National Radical Meadow Party (third party)
Elaine Barrish
- Candidate in Political Animals (Miniseries)
- Political Party: Democratic
- Based on Hillary Clinton
- Former First Lady of the United States during the 1990s
- Governor of Illinois while campaigning for the democratic nomination during the primary season
- Conceded the nomination and demanded a divorce from her husband a former president in the same night
- Serves as the US Secretary of State in the administration of her primaries opponent
- Portrayed by Sigourney Weaver
Theodore Block
- Candidate in The People's Choice (novel)
- Political Party: Republican
- Elected by the electoral college, but resigns after feeling he did not win in the proper fashion
- Candidate in: The Simpsons, "Bart to the Future" episode
- Bono ran against Lisa Simpson; Lenny Leonard voted for her.
General Warren Boutwell
- Played by Billy Dee Williams in Undercover Brother
- An African-American Vietnam veteran whose candidacy causes "The Man" to begin brainwashing black cultural figures
Daniel Brand
- Candidate in the 1987 ABC Mini-Series Amerika
- Senator Brand was the Democratic Candidate in the 1988 election.
Clark Braxton
- Candidate featured in Perfect Killer, a novel by Lewis Perdue
- Ran for the Republican Party nomination in the U.S. presidential election, 2006 on The West Wing.
- Lost to Arnold Vinick.
- Political Party: Republican
- Based on Pat Robertson.
- Was offered the Vice-Presidency under Vinick if he won the general election but declined because of their different stance on abortion (Vinick was in favor of women's right to choose concerning abortion, whereas, Butler was against that right)
C
Gary Candor
- Candidate in: The Interim (novel)
- Senate Minority Leader and senior senator from Pennsylvania
- Running Mate: Secretary of Defense George Granger
- Campaigned on behalf of a free Taiwan, the party platform
- Won by two electoral votes, beating Senator Ricardo Hernandez of Texas
- Political Party: Democrat
Cobra Commander
- Candidate in: Attack of the Show as a comedy bit during the 2008 presidential elections
- Leader of the Terrorist Organisation COBRA campaning on a platform of being overtly evil as opposed to his opponents who hide it
- Running Mate: Destro
- Campaigned Slogan "Yes we shall"
- lost electoral votes, but claimed he will run again
- Political Party: COBRA Party
Anthony Collins
- Candidate in: The Interim (novel)
- Junior senator from Colorado
- Maintained third place throughout the primaries
- Resigned candidacy two days before the Democratic National Convention in New York City, supported Gary Candor afterward
- Became Secretary of State under Candor
- Political Party: Democrat
- Candidate in: U.S. presidential election, 2012
- Campaigned Slogan "Change we can be skeptical about!"
- Website: AC2012
- Candidate in: Chaosium products
- Political Party: Elder Party
- Slogan: "Why vote for a lesser evil? Cthulhu for president"
- Website: Cthulhu for President, Cthulhu for America
- Candidate in: X-Men comic book franchise in the U.S. presidential election, 1996
- Founder of the anti-mutant hate group The Friends of Humanity
- Assassinated before the elections by Mystique, a mutant terrorist who was also Creed's mother
- Political Party: (third party).
- Candidate in: Marvel Universe and a bit on his show The Colbert Report in the U.S. presidential election, 2008
- tried to run in real life in both party's primary elections but only in South Carolina (his home state)
- on his show his campaign was sponsored by Doritos
- won the popular vote in Marvel comics but lost the electoral vote to Barack Obama
- Political Party: Republican/Democrat.
D
- Candidate in: Daffy Duck for President
- Political Party: Wants to be his own party
- Was defeated by Bugs Bunny once he started making campaigns
Senator Daterape
- Candidate in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, set 34 years in the future.
- Ran against President Douchebag.
- 2016 U.S. presidential election
Tom Dobbs
- Candidate in Man of the Year
- Ran against Senator Mills and President Kelloggs.
- Political Party: Independent
President Douchebag
- Candidate in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, set 34 years in the future.
- Reelected to a second term over Senator Daterape.
- Candidate in: Doonesbury comic strip in the U.S. presidential election, 2000
- Political Party:
E
Etrigan (aka The Demon)
- Candidate in: DC Comics comic book in the U.S. presidential election, 1992
- Played by: Himself
- Actual demon from Hell, he pulls out of the election when tricked into banishing himself.
- Political Party: Republican
F
MacArthur Foyle
- Candidate in The People's Choice (novel)
- Political Party: Republican
- Dies in a horse riding accident after winning the general election but before the electoral college meets
G
- Candidate in the South Park episode Where My Country Gone?
- Selects Caitlyn Jenner as his running mate.
- In Sponsored Content, he is approached by Principal Victoria and is convinced by her to return to South Park, possibly ending his campaign.
- Political Party: Unknown
George Granger
- Candidate in: The Interim (novel)
- Secretary of Defense from California
- Maintained second place in the primaries
- Resigned candidacy after a deadlock during the Democratic National Convention in New York City
- Nominated as vice presidential candidate by Gary Candor
- Political Party: Democratic
Fitzgerald Grant
- Candidate in: Scandal (TV series)
- Won Election through the illegal tampering of voting machines.
- Political Party: Republican
Donald Greenleaf
- Candidate in: Swing Vote
- United States Senator (Vermont)
- Political Party: Democratic
- Almost wins the Presidency, until the electoral college comes to a deadlock with New Mexico undecided
- Bud Johnson appears as the "Swing Voter" who will decide the fate of New Mexico's 5 electoral votes
- Before Bud votes, Greenleaf is ahead of his opponent, President Andrew Boone (R), with 267 electoral votes to Boone's 266
- calls for unilateral American Inclusion, and promises that under his administration, the White House will become a "Rainbow House" for people of all races religions and creeds.
- Both Candidates participate in a "Final Debate" the day before Bud casts his ballot.
- Though Bud's Decision is never formally revealed, Bud's daughter seems to favor Greenleaf over Boone, and most likely influences her father's vote, in that respect
- Played by Dennis Hopper
H
Ricardo Hernandez
- Candidate in: The Interim (novel)
- Senate Majority Leader and senior senator from Texas
- Running Mate: Senator David Andrews of New York
- First Hispanic presidential candidate
- Endorsed by outgoing President Payne
- Campaigned on behalf of the One-China policy, the party platform
- Lost by two electoral votes to Senator Gary Candor of Pennsylvania
- Political Party: Republican
Clarence Hilliard
- Candidate in: The World's Greatest Sinner (1962).
- Played by: Timothy Carey.
- Political Party: The Eternal Man party (third party).
- Candidate in: Howard The Duck (comic book).
- Political Party: The All-Night Party.
Hubert Hoag
- Candidate in: Fahrenheit 451
- Defeated in a landslide by opponent Winston Noble.
- Political Party: Outs
- Candidate in: The West Wing
- Played by: Tim Matheson
- U.S. Senator from Texas
- Candidate for 1998 and 2006 Democratic nominations
- Lost 1998 nomination to Josiah Bartlet, before becoming Bartlet's Vice President
- Resign Vice Presidency in 2003 in a sex scandal, but ran for the nomination again in 2006
- Lost 2006 nomination to Texas Congressman Matt Santos
James Hilton
- Candidate in: Presidential Diaries
- Was successful for reelection with 52% of the popular vote in 2036
- Political Party: Republican
J
Smith Comma John
- Candidate in: MADtv
- Appears in ads denying that he is an alien trying to take over and enslave Earth.
- Political Party: unknown
Jimmy James
- Candidate in: NewsRadio
- Ran in race for seven minutes for women's attention (later found out by Lisa Miller)
- Political Party: unknown (probably an Independent since all primaries were done by the time of the episode)
Senator Joy
- Played by: Eamonn Walker
- Candidate in Bonekickers
- Appeared in episode #2 ("Warriors"), when he intended to be the first black president.
- Political Party: unknown
K
Kodos
- Candidate in: The Simpsons – "Treehouse of Horror VII" episode
- The hostile alien Kodos and his companion Kang competed in the 1996 election after having captured and impersonated original presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. Kang won the election.
- Political Party: unknown
John Keeler
- Candidate in: 24
- Played by: Geoff Pierson
- In Season Three, Senator Keeler runs against incumbent David Palmer. Wins when Palmer drops out of the race
- Political Party: Republican
President Kelloggs
- Candidate in: Man of the Year
- Running for re-election
- Ran against: Tom Dobbs and Senator Mills
- Political Party: Democratic
Jeff Knight
- Candidate in: Parts: The Clonus Horror
- Connected to a conspiracy involving clones and organ donation to the wealthy and powerful at a facility named Clonus.
- Is stabbed by his brother but is revived due to connections to Clonus.
- Clonus is exposed at the end of the movie and his candidacy is left uncertain.
- Portrayed by: Peter Graves
- Political Party: Unknown
Lucy Kropotkin
- Candidate in: The Venus Belt as part of the North American Confederacy Series by L. Neil Smith.
- She mentioned that back in 1968, she came in second during the election, avoiding the presidency by just one vote - her own.
L
Langley
- Candidate in: Franchise, a short story by Isaac Asimov.
- Was voted for by Matthew Hortenweiler when he was 22, no later than 1968.
Sally Langston
- Candidate in: Scandal, TV series
- Played by: Kate Burton
- Political Party: independent; evangelical conservative but wants to replace Fitzgerald Grant, the Republican
- Candidate in: Linda Lovelace for President (1976) (film)
- Played by: Herself
- Political Party: The Upright Party
M
Grant Matthews
- Candidate in: State of the Union
- Played by: Spencer Tracy
- Biography: Born in 1895, in Carson City, Nevada. Served as a fighter pilot in WWI and was decorated by France, Britain, and the US. After the war, Matthews married his wife Mary and had two children (Grant "Butch" Jr. & Joyce). Matthews started his own airplane business which soon became one of the biggest in the country. He was convinced to run by Kay Thorndyke, a newspaper magnate with whom he was having an affair. Although he gained much support running on a centrist platform, Matthews decided to withdraw from the primaries after he saw that his political handlers were trading principal for votes.
- Political Party: Republican
Norman Mart
- Candidate in: Tapeheads
- Played by: Clu Gulager
- A U.S. senator, his career is ruined in a sex scandal.
- Candidate in: Brothers & Sisters
- Played by: Rob Lowe
- Political Party: Republican
Yelnick McWawa
- Predicted to be "our next president" by Cliff Clavin on the television show Cheers.
- The prediction was arrived at by mathematical deduction.
- Active presidential candidog for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.
- Charter member of the "BYOB" party.
Devin Milford
- Candidate in the 1987 ABC Mini-Series Amerika
- Massachusetts Democratic Congressman who ran an Independent Campaign in the 1988 Presidential Election.
Senator Mills
- Candidate in: Man of the Year
- Played by: David Ferry
- Ran against: Tom Dobbs and President Kelloggs
- Political Party: Republican
Frank Morgan
- Candidate in Hitman: Blood Money
- Opposed to the legalization of human cloning in the US, a major campaign issue in-game.
- Has the support of at least one radio station and newspaper in Mississippi
- Ultimately loses the election to Tom Steward
- Political Party: Democratic Party
Dennis Morgenthal
- Candidate in: Jack & Bobby
- Played by: John Heard
- Defeated Robert McCallister in the Republican primary of 2040 but is subsequently defeated by McCallister in the general election by a narrow margin when McCallister runs as an independent.
- Political Party: Republican Party
Augustus Mutt
- Candidate in: Mutt and Jeff (comic strip) in the U.S. presidential election, 1928
- Played by: Himself
- First cartoon character to run for president.
- Political Party: Unknown
N
John Neal
- United States Senator
- Runs against a president whose team engineers a fake war against Albania to ensure his re-election.
- Played by Craig T. Nelson in Wag the Dog
- The MAD Magazine spokesman throws his hat into the ring in most elections.
- Runs under the slogan "You could do worse, and always have!"
- Political Party: Unknown
- Creation of Ernest Jack Sharpsteen of Newaygo County, Michigan. He was born on July 8, 1888.
- Runs under the slogan "A vote for Newt is bound to suit"
- Political Party: Pizzle
Winston Noble
- Candidate in: Fahrenheit 451
- Won in a landslide victory over opponent Hubert Hoag.
- Political Party: Unknown
- In "The Simpsons" episode Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson, Nugent is picked by Homer to become the Republican Presidential Candidate
- Political Party: Republican Party
P
Charles Palantine
- Candidate in Taxi Driver
- Played by: Leonard Harris
- Charles Palantine was a Senator from New York who attempted to run for president in the U.S. presidential election, 1972.
- Political Party: Republican Party[citation needed]
- At the end of the movie, Travis Bickle tells Betsy, "I heard Palantine got the nomination", but as the movie ends, the general election has not yet occurred, so we do not know if he was actually elected President.
- Candidate in 24
- Played by: Dennis Haysbert
- David Palmer was a Senator running for president in the California Presidential Primary in the first season. That season's storyline revolved around a plot to assassinate him. He also ran for re-election in the third season, but dropped out of the race by the end of that season.
Philippe
Ben Phillips
- Candidate in "The Scandal Plan or: How to Win the Presidency by Cheating on Your Wife" (novel)
- Political Party: Democratic
Duke Phillips
- Candidate in The Critic episode All the Duke's men
- Political Party: Independent (originally sought Republican nomination)
- Satiric candidate at the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests, led by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin.
- Actual pig.
Pogo Possum
- Candidate in: Pogo 1952–1980 (comic strip) and the animated movie Pogo for President: I Go Pogo (1980).
- Played by: Himself
- Political Party: unknown.
R
Randee of the Redwoods
- Candidate in: Various MTV TV commercials (1987–90).
- Played by: Jim Turner.
- Political Party: Unknown (third party).
- Candidate in Watchmen (graphic novel)
- Political Party: most likely Democratic Party, as he was running against Richard Nixon
- Announced candidacy in the 1988 election at the end of the fictional story, leading a newspaper editor to proclaim, "This is still America God damnit! Who wants a cowboy actor in the White House?", a thinly-veiled jab at then president Ronald Reagan (In the 2009 movie adaptation the editor uses the phrase to describe Reagan himself as it was his announcement of a Presidential run)
- Candidate in The West Wing (television series)
- Played by James Brolin
- Ritchie attended the University of Florida and is married to Janet Ritchie. Ritchie was the Governor of Florida when he ran against incumbent president Josiah Bartlet in the 2002 presidential election. Ritchie supported oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve in Alaska and opposed affirmative action.
- President Bartlet called Governor Ritchie a ".22 caliber mind in a .357 world." In the general election, President Bartlet defeated Governor Ritchie and running mate Jeff Heston by 11 million popular votes in a landslide.
- Ritchie was based on President George W. Bush.
- Political Party: Republican Party
Barbara "Barbie" Millicent Roberts
- Candidate in: Mattel press release in the U.S. presidential election, 2004
- Played by Herself.
- Political Party: Party of Girls (third party)
Robert "Bob" Rumson
- Candidate in: The American President
- Played by: Richard Dreyfuss
- Senator from Kansas and Senate Minority Leader
- Says nothing about issues, only spews insults about widowed President Sheperd and his girlfriend Sydney Ellen Wade.
- Falsely accuses Wade of trading sexual favors for votes while lobbying in the Virginia State Legislature(clearly a lie since he refuses to name his 'several' sources).
- Ends every speech with "My name is Bob Rumson, and I'm running for President!". Those words are later rammed down his throat when the incumbent ends a speech(disgracing Rumson's politics) by declaring, "My name's Andrew Sheperd and I AM THE PRESIDENT!"
- Played by: Richard Dreyfuss
- Political Party: Republican
- Candidate in: The West Wing
- Played by Gary Cole
- Home State: Colorado
- Political Party: Democratic
- Opposed Flag-burning and co-sponsored any bill that came up in congress banning it.
- Russell was the Vice President under President Josiah Bartlet, however, he was not elected to that office, he was nominated under 25th amendment after previous VP John Hoynes resigned because of a sex scandal. Bartlet was forced to choose him by a Republican Congress, he initially wanted his secretary of state to be VP.
- Before becoming VP, he was a five-term congressman from Colorado.
- Became the front-runner for Democratic nomination for president after the expected front-runner, Governor Eric Baker of Pennsylvania announced he was not running.
- Russell was very confident that he would win the nomination and the presidency. However, his opponents believed that if he won the nomination then the Republican nominee, Arnold Vinick, would win all fifty states in the electoral college.
- White House Chief of Staff, CJ Cregg, openly said that the reason that the Republicans made Bartlet choose Russell as VP was because he would almost definitely win the Democratic nomination but did not have a chance in the General election.
- Lost the Democratic nomination for president to Texas Congressman Matt Santos.
S
Sedgewick Sexton
- Candidate in Dan Brown's novel Deception Point.
- Political Party: Republican
- Senator from Delaware.
- Candidate in: Peanuts comic strip, 1968
- Candidate in The West Wing (television series)
- Played by: George Coe
- Stackhouse is a widowed 78-year-old five-term Senator from Minnesota who admired Hubert Humphrey. Stackhouse attempted to run for president in the 2002 presidential election as an independent candidate. He ended his candidacy and later endorsed President Bartlet.
- Political Party: Democratic Party
Jack Stanton
- Candidate in Primary Colors
- Southern Governor
- Wins Nomination after Fred Picker drops out, in a sex and drugs scandal
- Nomination put in danger by possible extramarital affairs twice
- Parody of U.S. President Bill Clinton
- Defeats Unknown Republican opponent and becomes President
- Political Party: Democratic Party
- Candidate in The Dead Zone.
T
Jack Tanner
- Candidate in: Tanner '88 (miniseries) in the U.S. presidential election, 1988
- Played by: Michael Murphy
- Tanner was a congressman from Michigan and is married and has one daughter. He did not win the nomination.
- Political Party: Democratic Party
Ted the Communist
- Candidate in: Politics is Life, and Life is Politics (ongoing online journal)
- Played by: himself
- Ted was an overweight, smelly software developer who fancied himself an unparalleled orator and debater who could persuade anyone of anything, going so far as to try to convince people that a knuckleball travels faster than a fastball. In reality, Ted changed people's minds about as often as he changed his underwear. Not often.
- Political Party: Socialist Party
V
- Candidate in The West Wing (television series)
- Played by: Alan Alda
- A senator from California, Vinick is a moderate Republican who is pro-choice, opposes ethanol and is a blunt speaker. He was offered the post of ambassador to the United Nations but declined. He is a widower, a book-collector and a possible agnostic. In 2006, he defeated Reverend Don Butler and former Speaker of the House Glen Allen Walken and won the nomination. His running mate is Governor Ray Sullivan of West Virginia.
- Defeated by Matt Santos, who gracefully appoints Vinick to Secretary of State
- Political Party: Republican Party
W
Glen Allen Walken
- Candidate in: The West Wing (2005) in the 2006 election.
- Played by: John Goodman
- Political Party: Republican, although professed a fondness for President Harry Truman, a Democrat who, like him, came from the western part of the State of Missouri.
- Walken was Speaker of the United States House of Representatives when Vice President John Hoynes resigned, making him next in the line of succession. Before President Bartlet could appoint a new Vice President, a family crisis forced him to temporarily step aside under the 25th Amendment, making Walken Acting President for three days. In order to accept this position, Walken had to resign his seat in Congress. As he left the Presidency, he told Bartlet that he had not decided whether to run for his old seat.
- Walken was a proponent of tax cuts and a strong military, and Bartlet's comments indicated he was a strong supporter of gun rights as well.
- Joined Bartlet and former President D. Wire Newman at the funeral of former President Owen Lassiter, who was apparently a friend and something of a role model.
- Goodman appeared as Walken in a total of three episodes, and while his character was mentioned as a candidate in the Republican primaries, he was never shown.
- During his three-day Presidency, Bartlet's staff believed that this tenure, however brief, would make Walken the front-runner for the Republican nomination in the next election. However, later episodes revealed that he lost the early primaries to Arnold Vinick.
Hal Philip Walker
- Candidate in: Nashville (1975) in the 1976 election
- Played by: Thomas Hal Phillips
- Political Party: The Replacement Party (third party)
Ralph Wiggum
- Candidate in: The Simpsons episode E Pluribus Wiggum.
- Played by: Nancy Cartwright
- Political Party: Supported by both the Democratic and Republican parties
Senator William Wiley
- Candidate in: The West Wing
- U.S. Senator from Washington
- Initially the second-place challenger to John Hoynes in the 1998 primary.
- Puts on a poorer than expected showing as Josiah Bartlet becomes more competitive.
- Candidate in: The Plot Against America (book, 2004)
- Winchell is a historical character in real life and a fictional candidate in 1942 for the 1944 Democratic nomination.
- Political Party: Democratic Party
Christopher Winthrop
- Candidate in the 1987 ABC Mini-Series Amerika
- Senator Winthrop was the Republican Candidate in the 1988 Presidential Election.
Senator Gary H. Wright
- Candidate in: House, M.D. (episode 1–17, Role Model)
- Played by: Joe Morton
- Political Party: Democratic
- Home state: New Jersey
- Wright is running as a candidate to be the first African-American US President
Gordon Wright
- Candidate in: Marvel Universe
- United States Senator who split from his party and formed his own. Wright was secretly in league with the Red Skull. After the new Captain America stopped the Red Skull's plan to assassinate the Democrat and Republican Presidential candidates Wright was forced to resign from the Senate and drop out of the race.
- Political Party: Third Wing (third party)
Z
- Superman's nemesis from Superman II and DC Comics had a website for his candidacy in 2008.
- Played by: Terence Stamp