Buddy Roemer is a relatively unknown candidate for president. He is running for the Republican nomination and was one of 30 candidates on the official ballot for New Hampshire’s primary in 2012. His campaign never truly took off with conservatives yet he is on the ballot. The Hill reports Roemer declared his New Hampshire primary result was a success even though precincts had barely started reporting outcomes. Roemer finished seventh in New Hampshire, behind all six well-known candidates.
Who is this relative unknown to national politics?
Personal Information
Buddy Roemer was born Charles Elson Roemer III in Shreveport, La., on Oct. 4, 1943. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1964 before continuing on to get his MBA degree from the same institution three years later. Roemer then used that knowledge to become a businessman and banker in the private sector.
Former Congressman, Governor
Roemer is a former Democrat who was elected a representative of Louisiana who served in Congress from 1981 to 1988. He ran as a Democrat in Congress after beginning his career in 1972 as a delegate to Louisiana’s constitutional convention.
Roemer was elected governor of Louisiana in 1987 and began serving as the chief executive of that state in March 1988. In 1991, he made a surprise move and switched party affiliations and became a Republican. He still had one year left in his term when he made the switch. Roemer never received a majority of votes when he won the governorship. He garnered just 33 percent when his main rival dropped out of the race. Roemer ran for re-election but came in third place behind Edwin Edwards and David Duke in 1991.
Current Platforms
ABC News reported he declared his candidacy back on July 21. At the time, the total number of candidates running for president on the GOP ticket rose to 11. To show the importance of New Hampshire in his bid to become president, he declared his intention to run at Dartmouth College.
Roemer has a typical platform of other mainstream candidates. He vowed to fight special interests, wants to balance the federal budget and has a plan to create jobs. The fact that he came relatively late to the party may have hampered his fundraising aptitude as Roemer has barely registered in national polls.
Roemer won’t run in South Carolina because it costs too much money to get on the ballot. He is focused on Michigan and Arizona at the moment, two states that were easier to get on the statewide ballot. Because he barely registers in national polls, Roemer has not yet participated in any nationally televised debates.