James Harris (Socialist Workers Party politician) facts for kids

James E. Harris, born in 1948, is an American politician. He is a member of the Socialist Workers Party. This party has ideas based on communism. Harris has run for President of the United States several times. He was the party's main candidate in 1996, 2000, and 2012.

Sometimes, he also ran as a backup candidate. This happened for Róger Calero in 2004 and 2008. Harris ran in states where Calero could not be on the ballot. This was because Calero was born in Nicaragua. Harris also worked as a writer for his party's newspaper, The Militant.

About James E. Harris

Harris was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He went to Cleveland State University. There, he helped start the Black Student Union. This group worked for the rights of Black students.

He also joined the Student Mobilization Committee. This group was against the Vietnam War. Later, he worked for them in Washington, D.C. Harris was also an organizer for the Young Socialist Alliance.

In Cleveland, he ran for the school board. He was a candidate for the Socialist Workers Party. He did not win the election.

Harris supported the Cuban revolution. In 1969, he traveled to Cuba. He was part of the second Venceremos Brigade. Hundreds of young people from the United States joined this group. They helped cut sugar cane for a few months. This helped Cuba produce more sugar.

In 1977, Harris moved to New York City. He joined the National Student Coalition Against Racism. This group supported school desegregation. This means they wanted schools to be open to all students, no matter their race. Harris later became a leader of this group.

In 1988, Harris ran for the United States Senate in New York. He was the Socialist Workers Party candidate. He finished seventh in the election.

In the early 1990s, Harris lived and worked in Detroit. He was a member of the United Auto Workers. This is a large union for car factory workers. He also helped start a branch of the Socialist Workers Party in Peoria, Illinois.

Running for President

The Socialist Workers Party chose Harris as their candidate for president. This was for the 1996 election. Laura Garza ran with him as his vice-presidential candidate. They received 8,476 votes in total.

Harris ran for president again in 2000. His running mate was Margaret Trowe. In Florida, there was a mistake with the votes. Harris was first shown to have many votes in one county. But after a recount, it was found he only received a few votes. This was due to a "computer disk glitch."

In 2004 and 2008, Harris was a stand-in candidate. He ran for Róger Calero in some states. Calero could not be on the ballot in these states. This was because he was born in Nicaragua. Harris was on the ballot in about a quarter of the states. He received 7,411 votes in 2004 and 2,424 votes in 2008.

In 2009, Harris ran for mayor of Los Angeles. He received 2,057 votes.

Harris ran for President one more time in 2012. Maura DeLuca was his running mate. They received 4,115 votes. This was the lowest number of votes for the party's presidential ticket. He was on the ballot in Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington. He was also a declared write-in candidate in New York.

Harris also joined a group from the Socialist Workers Party. They visited Pyongyang for the 60th anniversary of the Korean War ceasefire. He has also supported Rachele Fruit for president in 2024.