Vampire for President? So Far 77 White House Hopefuls File Paperwork for 2012 Election
So far 77 people are in the running for the 2012 presidential election.
Jan. 24, 2011 — -- Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee may not have announced their campaign for president yet, but more than 70 other Americans have, including a self-proclaimed vampire and a woman who says she has no interest in living in the White House.
The candidates so far include New Jersey resident Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey who registered last year with the Federal Election Commission and told ABC News that he would be tough on crime. Very tough.
"I won't be bullied, I won't be blackmailed," said Sharkey, 46. "Criminals and terrorists will fear me along with corrupt law enforcement officials. I will not tolerate crime or terrorism."
"Certain criminals, instead of being put in jail, they should be brutally tortured and impaled," said Sharkey. "Upon them being found guilty of their crimes I'll beat them, torture them, dismember them and decapitate them."
Sharkey says the he drinks the blood of his "girlfriends and mistresses" two times a week and when asked if he believes he has a chance of being elected responded, "Yes, I have a chance of winning. People like Sarah Palin are making it quite easy to pull off."
So far Sharkey has not had to file an official statement of candidacy with the FEC. That is only required if he gets more than $5,000 in donations. So far he has zero.
An Israeli Running for U.S. President
Sixty-four-year-old Israeli and Miami Beach resident Raphael Herman is also gearing up for a presidential run, nevermind that he wasn't born the U.S., a prerequisite for the position. Herman claims President Obama has set a precedent.
"I was not born in America. I was born in Israel, but you see [President Barack Obama] wasn't born in this country either. I have his birth certificate," said Herman, a reference to the "birthers'" theory that Obama was actually born in Kenya.
Herman declined to provide ABC News with what he claims is Obama's birth certificate.
Herman, who claims he speaks nine languages, is no stranger to media attention. He has run for mayor of Miami Beach six times. Each defeat, he said, was due to what he calls "repeated fraudulent elections."
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