Andre Barnett facts for kids

Andre Nigel Barnett (born June 2, 1976) is an American business owner, politician, and former model. He is known for starting an information technology company and for running for president in 2012.

Barnett was the presidential candidate for the Reform Party in the 2012 United States presidential election. The Reform Party is a smaller political party in the United States. Later, he tried to run for a seat in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican.

Early Life and Career

Andre Barnett was born in Zanesville, Ohio, on June 2, 1976. As a child, he played football and ran track. He also studied music and acting. After high school, he attended Austin Peay State University to study music. He later studied information technology at Western Governors University, an online school.

From 1996 to 2000, Barnett served in the United States Army. His time in the army ended after he was injured in a helicopter accident. After leaving the military, he became a fitness model. He also started his own IT company called WiseDome, Inc.

2012 Presidential Campaign

In 2011, Andre Barnett announced he wanted to be the Reform Party's candidate for president. The next year, the party held a big meeting called a national convention to choose its candidate. Barnett won the support of 95 percent of the party members, called delegates, at the convention.

His running mate, who would have been vice president, was Kenneth R. "Ken" Cross.

This map shows where voters could cast a ballot for Andre Barnett in the 2012 presidential election.

What Did Barnett Believe In?

Barnett described himself as a conservative. This means he believed in a smaller role for the national government and more power for individual states.

• Government: He wanted to make the federal government much smaller.
• Education: He suggested changing the Department of Education and letting states have more control over their schools. He also supported the idea of prayer in schools.
• Foreign Policy: Barnett believed the U.S. military should be brought back from other countries to focus on security at home.
• Trade: He supported the idea of free trade between countries but also wanted to place taxes, called tariffs, on goods brought into the U.S.

Election Results

In the United States, a candidate's name must appear on the ballot for people to vote for them. Barnett's name was on the ballot in Florida. In six other states, people could vote for him by writing his name on the ballot. This is called a "write-in" vote.

Barnett received a total of 956 votes across the country. Most of these votes came from Florida.

The table below shows how many votes he received in each state where he was a candidate.

2014 Congressional Campaign

In 2014, Barnett decided to run for a seat in the U.S. Congress. He wanted to represent New York's 18th congressional district as a Republican. To get on the ballot for the primary election, he needed to collect 1,250 valid signatures from voters.

Barnett turned in 1,252 signatures, but 86 of them were found to be invalid. This meant he did not have enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, and his campaign ended.

Personal Life

Andre Barnett and his wife, Kimberly, live in Poughkeepsie, New York.