List of African-American United States presidential and vice presidential candidates facts for kids

In 1848, Frederick Douglass was a presidential candidate. This was long before most Black Americans could vote and when slavery was still legal in the U.S.

In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African-American presidential candidate from a major party, the Democrats. He was the first African-American to be elected (and re-elected) president of the United States.

In 2021, Kamala Harris became the first African-American, first female, and first Indian-American vice president of the United States.

This article lists African-American people who have been candidates for President or Vice President of the United States. These are people who were officially chosen by a political party or managed to get their name on the ballot in at least one state.

To be on this list, a candidate must have received actual votes in a national election. This includes candidates from major parties, smaller "third parties," or those running as independents.

We won't be including people who only ran in their party's early elections (called "primaries") but didn't win the final nomination. We also won't include "write-in candidates" (whose names are written on the ballot by voters) or fictional characters.

So far, two African Americans have been on a major party's ticket: Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012, and Kamala Harris as the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2020.

Barack Obama made history as the first African American and first biracial president of the United States. He was elected in 2008 and again in 2012.

Kamala Harris became the first African American vice president of the United States. She was elected in 2020 alongside President Joe Biden. She is also the first woman to hold this important position.

African-American Presidential Nominees

Denotes winning candidate.

Presidential Candidates with Electoral Votes

These are African-American presidential candidates who received electoral votes. Electoral votes are cast by special electors chosen by each state, and they decide who wins the presidency.

African-American presidential nominees, showing running mate and electoral votes received

Year	Name	Party	Running mate	Electoral votes received/total	Opponent
2008	Obama, BarackBarack Obama	Democratic Party	Biden, JoeJoe Biden	&&&&&&&&&&&&0365.&&&&&0365/538	John McCain
2012	Obama, BarackBarack Obama	Democratic Party	Biden, JoeJoe Biden	&&&&&&&&&&&&0332.&&&&&0332/538	Mitt Romney
2016	Powell, ColinColin Powell	Not applicable	Not applicable	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03/538

Presidential Candidates with Popular Votes

This table lists African-American presidential candidates who received popular votes (votes directly from citizens) in a national election.

African-American presidential nominees, showing running mate and popular votes received

Year	Name	Party	Running mate	Popular votes
1904	Taylor, George EdwinGeorge Edwin Taylor	National Liberty Party	W.C. Payne	Scattering
1960	King, ClennonClennon King	Independent Afro-American Party	Carter, ReginaldReginald Carter	&&&&&&&&&&&01485.&&&&&01,485
1964	DeBerry, CliftonClifton DeBerry	Socialist Workers Party	Shaw, EdEd Shaw	&&&&&&&&&&032706.&&&&&032,706
1968	Cleaver, EldridgeEldridge Cleaver	Peace and Freedom Party	Various candidates	&&&&&&&&&&036623.&&&&&036,623
1968	Gregory, DickDick Gregory	Freedom and Peace Party	Various candidates	&&&&&&&&&&047097.&&&&&047,097
1988	Fulani, LenoraLenora Fulani	New Alliance Party	Dattner, JoyceJoyce Dattner	&&&&&&&&&0217219.&&&&&0217,219
2008	McKinney, CynthiaCynthia McKinney	Green Party	Clemente, RosaRosa Clemente	&&&&&&&&&0150061.&&&&&0150,061
2008	Obama, BarackBarack Obama	Democratic Party	Biden, JoeJoe Biden	&&&&&&&069498215.&&&&&069,498,215
2012	Obama, BarackBarack Obama	Democratic Party	Biden, JoeJoe Biden	&&&&&&&065915796.&&&&&065,915,796
2020	West, KanyeKanye West	NA	Tidball, MichelleMichelle Tidball	&&&&&&&&&&070294.&&&&&070,294

African-American Vice Presidential Nominees

Denotes winning candidate.

Vice Presidential Candidates with Electoral Votes

Before the 2020 election, no African-American candidates had received electoral votes for vice president.

Vice Presidential Candidates with Popular Votes

This table lists African-American vice presidential candidates who received popular votes in a national election.

African-Americans Who Sought Party Nominations

This section lists African-American individuals who tried to become their party's presidential or vice presidential nominee but didn't win the final selection.

Presidential Candidates Who Didn't Win Nomination

These candidates ran in their party's primary elections or conventions but were not chosen as the official presidential nominee.

Vice Presidential Candidates Who Didn't Win Nomination

These candidates ran in their party's primary elections or conventions but were not chosen as the official vice presidential nominee.

See also

• African-American candidates for President of the United States
• List of female United States presidential and vice presidential candidates
• Jesse Jackson 1984 presidential campaign
• Jesse Jackson 1988 presidential campaign