An army veteran and teacher in Texas has changed his name in order to execute a long-shot presidential bid that he hopes will illustrate the country’s dissatisfaction with the two major party’s candidates on the ballot in November.
The man formerly called Dustin Ebey, 35, legally changed his name to ‘Literally Anybody Else,’ the moniker under which he has filed to run for president.
‘This isn’t about me, ‘Literally Anybody Else,’ more so as it is an idea. We can do better (than Joe Biden or Donald Trump) out of 300 million people for president,’ he told a local ABC affiliate.
He said that he is ‘not delusional’ about the fact that garnering the tens of thousands of signatures necessary to appear on ballots will be nearly impossible.’
Literally Anybody Else née Dustin Ebey has launched a long-shot bid for the presidency, saying he wants to recognize that many Americans will be choosing between the lesser of two evils in November and they deserve a better option
In Texas alone, an independent candidate must submit a petition with 113,151 valid signatures from registered voters who did not participate in the primary of either major party in order to be listed on the ballot.
‘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,’ he said.
‘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.
‘People are voting for the lesser of two evils, not someone they actually believe in or support,’ he said.
‘People should have the option to vote for someone who resembles and represents them, not the lesser of two evils. I reject that.’
‘Else’ has asked Texas residents to write-in his new name. In Texas, write-in candidates – unlike independent candidates – are required to register with the state, but do not have a signature requirement.
Donald Trump is polling ahead of Joe Biden in several key swing states, but remains a divisive figure even among members of his own party
President Joe Biden is working with some of the worst approval numbers in history as he marches toward his November reelection bid
‘We don’t really have a ‘neither’ option on the ballot, and this fills that role,’ said the Louisiana-raised veteran, who served in the Army from 2012-2018 after running out of money to pay for college midway through his education at LSU.
The incredibly long-shot bid is taking place in the context of a forthcoming general election that features two candidates who the majority of Americans wish were not going to be on the ballot.
Else, a 7th grade math teacher by day, has launched a website and GoFundMe, where potential supporters can check out more about his platform and plans.
In a December poll from AP-NORC, 56 percent of US adults – regardless of party affiliation – said they would be ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ dissatisfied with incumbent Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.
‘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,’ said ‘Else’
Fifty-eight percent of US adults said the same thing about Trump representing the GOP on the ballot this fall.
A NewsNation poll from the beginning of the year found that nearly 60 percent of registered voters are unenthusiastic about a rematch of the 2020 election.
Earlier this month, an ABC/Ipsos poll who they’d trust to lead the country as president – the choices were Joe Biden, who received 33 percent of the vote, Donald Trump, who received 36 percent, and neither, the answer that 30 percent of those polled selected.