Man Changes His Name to ‘Literally Anybody Else,’ Launches Independent Presidential Campaign in Texas
A Texas teacher has changed his name to ‘Literally Anybody Else’ and is hoping to make the ballot in November.
In Texas, President Biden and President Trump are getting another independent challenger in the 2024 campaign, a middle school teacher and Army veteran who’s legally changed his name to “Literally Anybody Else.”
Dallas’s WFAA reports that Mr. Else legally changed his name and is collecting signatures to appear on the state’s ballot in November as a protest against the offerings of the two major parties and the political malaise a re-match of 2020 represents.
“I’m not delusional. This will be very hard to do, but it’s not impossible. My hope is to have Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and then Literally Anybody Else right underneath,” Mr. Else told WFAA.
In Texas, independent candidates face a high bar to appear on the ballot. While Democratic candidates for president need to only collect 5,000 signatures, and Republican candidates need to collect 4,500 signatures, independent candidates are required to collect 113,151 signatures from voters who did not participate in either party primary.
Mr. Else told WFAA that “we don’t really have a ‘neither’ option on the ballot, and this fills that role,” and said that he plans to launch a write-in campaign if he is not able to make it on the ballot.
To make things harder for independent candidates, Texas, like other states, gives them only about two months to collect the signatures needed. Candidates can begin collecting signatures after March 5 and have until May 13 to meet the requirement.
Mr. Else’s candidacy is emblematic of the upcoming election between two historically unpopular nominees. A Decision Desk HQ and NewsNation poll from early 2024 found that some 59 percent of voters either felt “not too enthusiastic” or “not at all enthusiastic” about the prospects of a re-match of the 2020 election.
Though Mr. Else has a list of stated policy positions on his website, he’s also deemphasized his own political priorities, telling WFAA that “This isn’t about me ‘Literally Anybody Else’ more so as it is an idea. We can do better out of 300 million people for president.”
“I really want there to be an outlet for folks like me who are just so fed up with this constant power grab between two parties that has no benefit for the common person,” Mr. Else said.
Mr. Else did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Sun.
