Howard Stern

In 1994, this New York City native and self-proclaimed “King of All Media” wanted to add governor of New York to his title. The shock jock was drafted onto the Libertarian Party’s ticket on a platform of reinstating the death penalty and changing traffic laws. He announced his candidacy on his radio show on March 22 and won the party’s nomination by a two-thirds majority (400 out of the approximately 600 active members). However, that dream ended on August 4 when he withdrew from the race.

What happened? Howard refused to disclose his finances and associations, unsuccessfully sued the state of New York for violating his privacy, and couldn’t – or wouldn’t – collect 15,000 signatures to put the Libertarian Party on the ballot. In summary, he failed.