Larry Elder facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Larry Elder
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Elder in April 2024
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Laurence Allen Elder
April 27, 1952 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Education | Brown University (BA) University of Michigan (JD) |
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| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Unnamed (div. 1994) |
Laurence Allen Elder (born April 27, 1952) is an American conservative political commentator and talk radio host. He is known for hosting The Larry Elder Show, which is based in California. This show started as a local program in Los Angeles in 1993. Later, it became a nationally broadcast show.
Elder is also a former attorney and has written several non-fiction books. He has also written a column that appears in newspapers across the country. In 2021, Elder ran for public office for the first time. He was a Republican candidate in the special election to recall (remove) California's governor, Gavin Newsom. Although the recall effort failed, Elder was the top choice among the replacement candidates. In 2023, he announced he would run for president in the 2024 election, but he later decided to stop his campaign.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Laurence Allen Elder was born in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in the Pico-Union and South Central areas of the city. He was the middle child of three brothers. His father, Randolph, was a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. After the war, his father moved to California from Georgia. He later opened a cafe in Pico-Union around 1962. Elder's mother, Viola, was a clerical worker during World War II. His father was a Republican, and his mother was a Democrat.
Elder was an honors student at Fairfax High School. He graduated from Crenshaw High School in 1970. He then earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Brown University in 1974. In 1977, he earned a law degree (Juris Doctor) from University of Michigan Law School.
Career
After finishing law school, Elder worked at a law firm in Cleveland. In 1980, he started his own legal search firm called Laurence A. Elder and Associates. He owned this firm until 1995.
Media Career
Television, Film, and Video
Elder began his television career in 1988. He co-hosted a show called Fabric on a PBS station in Cleveland. In 1997, he hosted another PBS program called National Desk.
In 2000, Elder won an Emmy Award for his news special Making Waves – LAUSD. From 2000 to 2001, he hosted a court show called Moral Court. In 2004, he hosted The Larry Elder Show, a syndicated talk show.
In 2005, Elder made a film called Michael & Me. This film was a response to filmmaker Michael Moore's movie Bowling for Columbine. As of 2024, Elder also stars in a show called The New Norm.
Elder writes columns for various newspapers and websites, including Investor's Business Daily and Townhall.com. He also hosts a video series for The Epoch Times.
Radio
Elder hosted a weekday evening talk show on Los Angeles radio station KABC from 1994 to 2008. He returned to KABC in 2010.
In December 2014, Elder left KABC. In 2015, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In August 2015, The Larry Elder Show began to be broadcast nationally through the Salem Radio Network.
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Elder left his Salem Radio show in April 2022.
Writing
In the late 1980s, Elder started writing opinion pieces for local newspapers in Cleveland. In 1998, he began writing a column that was distributed to newspapers across the country. He also wrote a weekly column for the Los Angeles Daily News until 2012.
Political Activism
2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election
In July 2021, Elder announced he would run to replace Governor Gavin Newsom in California's special recall election. A recall election is when citizens vote to decide if they want to remove an elected official from office before their term ends.
Initially, Elder's name was not on the list of candidates. This was because of a rule about submitting tax information. Elder sued, saying his paperwork was correct. A court then ordered that his name be put back on the ballot.
Elder became a leading candidate in the recall election. He chose not to participate in debates with other Republican candidates. Former California Governor Pete Wilson was one of his campaign advisors. Elder said that if he became governor, he would replace one of California's two Democratic senators with a Republican.
Before the election results were known, Elder's campaign website made claims about election issues. On election night, after Governor Newsom won and the recall effort failed, Elder told his supporters to be "gracious in defeat." He said, "we may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war."
In January 2022, Elder announced he would not run against Newsom in the regular 2022 election. Instead, he decided to focus on a new political group called "Elder for America." This group aims to help Republicans win seats in the House and Senate.
2024 Presidential Election
| Larry Elder | |
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| Candidate | Larry Elder |
| Affiliation | Republican Party |
| Status | Announced: April 20, 2023 Suspended: October 26, 2023 |
| Headquarters | Costa Mesa, California |
| Slogan | We've Got A Country To Save |
On April 20, 2023, Elder officially announced he was running for president of the United States in the 2024 election. He said he felt a duty to give back to his country. Elder stated that "America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable." He believes the country can enter a "new American Golden Age" with the right leader.
Since announcing his campaign, Elder appeared on various news shows and podcasts. He has made addressing crime a main focus of his campaign. He has criticized district attorneys who he believes are not doing enough to protect people. Elder also highlights crime rates in cities like Chicago, Illinois.
In July 2023, Elder criticized the rules for the Republican presidential debates. He said the rules were "artificial and arbitrary." He also refused to give his donor information to the Republican National Committee (RNC).
Elder proposed a "Blind Spot" initiative. This plan would prevent family members of presidents, vice presidents, and members of Congress from making money from their positions. This rule would apply while they are in office and for five years after. He also supports making illegal immigration a serious crime at the state level.
In August 2023, Elder was not included in the first Republican primary debate. He said the process was unfair and that the rules were "rigged." He then filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.
Elder blames President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for issues at the U.S.-Mexico border. On October 26, 2023, Elder ended his campaign for president. He then supported Donald Trump for president.
Political Views
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Larry Elder holds conservative and right-wing political views. He is a registered Republican. He has said he voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1980. Elder calls himself a "small-l libertarian." This means he believes in less government involvement in people's lives.
He is a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump. Elder has often praised Trump on social media. He supported Trump's 2016 presidential campaign early on. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Elder said he did not believe Biden won fairly. Elder has also argued that Trump should not be blamed for the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Elder has ties to The Epoch Times, a newspaper that is considered far-right.
Economic Issues
In his 2000 book, The Ten Things You Can't Say In America, Elder suggested ways to "save America." He proposed getting rid of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He also suggested creating a national sales tax and greatly reducing the size of government. He believes in ending welfare programs and getting rid of the minimum wage.
Elder is against minimum wage laws. He argues that "The ideal minimum wage is $0.00." He also opposes universal basic income. Elder has criticized public-sector labor unions, especially the California Teachers Association. He has suggested that thousands of teachers in California should be fired. He later said he supports more charter schools and private schools.
Views on Women
Elder has faced criticism for some of his past statements about women. He has said that "Women know less than men about political issues, economics, and current events." He has also made comments about women who participated in the 2017 Women's March.
Elder has often said that a gender wage gap (difference in pay between men and women) does not exist. He believes that employers should be allowed to consider if women plan to have children when making hiring decisions. In his 2002 book, he wrote that women who choose to have children are not as "dedicated" to their jobs. He repeated these views in 2021 when he ran for governor.
Social Issues
Elder has made comments that are seen as against LGBT rights. He has used male pronouns when talking about transgender women.
In 2021, Elder said that California has a "soft-on-crime ethos." He is against a California law that stopped police from using certain chokeholds. He also opposes 2014 California Proposition 47. This law changed many lower-level property crimes from serious crimes to less serious ones. Elder said that if he were governor, he would try to repeal this law.
Science, Environment, and COVID-19
During his media career, Elder has shared views on scientific topics that are different from what most scientists believe. These topics include secondhand tobacco smoke, climate change, and COVID-19 treatments.
In a 2000 book, Elder suggested that the health risks of secondhand tobacco smoke were exaggerated. This goes against what most scientists agree on. Elder's website once called climate change a "myth." In 2008, he called climate change a "crock." In 2021, he said the climate is warming, but he did not agree that human activity is the main cause.
In 2021, Elder promised to remove statewide public health rules in California. These rules included COVID-19 vaccine requirements and face mask rules for state workers. Elder encouraged older people and those at high risk to get vaccinated. However, he said that "young people" do not need to be vaccinated.
Elder has suggested pausing or removing parts of the California Environmental Quality Act. He believes this would help speed up the building of new homes.
Race Relations
Elder does not believe in systemic racism. He calls it a lie. He is a critic of the Black Lives Matter movement. He blames it for an increase in crime. He has said that welfare programs have been more harmful to Black families than slavery. He supports school choice as a way to help Black children perform better in school.
Personal Life
Elder was married for two years to a doctor. They divorced in 1994 because she wanted to have children, and he did not. Elder later dated Patricia Stewart from 1996 to 2012. They are still friends. Elder was also engaged to Alexandra Datig from 2013 to 2015. She used to be a radio producer for him.
See also
- Black conservatism in the United States
- History of African Americans in Los Angeles
- Libertarian conservatism
- List of African-American Republicans
Images for kids
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Elder in April 2024
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Elder as a high school senior in 1970
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Elder in the 2000s
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Elder in 2013
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Larry Elder for President logo
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Elder at the libertarian FreedomFest in 2016.
