Rocky De La Fuente facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rocky De La Fuente
De La Fuente in January 2016
Born	Roque De La Fuente Guerra (1954-10-10) October 10, 1954 (age 70) San Diego, California, U.S.
Alma mater	National Autonomous University of Mexico
Political party	Republican (2018–present) Alliance (2020–present) Democratic (2016–2017) Reform (2016, 2020) American Delta (2016)
Spouse(s)	Katayoun Yazdani
Children	5

Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente Guerra (born October 10, 1954) is an American businessman. He is known for often running for political office. He has run for President of the United States multiple times. He was the nominee for the Reform Party in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. He also ran with his own American Delta Party in 2016. In 2020, he was also on the ballot for the Alliance Party and American Independent Party.

De La Fuente tried to get the Democratic nomination for President in 2016. He then sought the Republican nomination in 2020. He has also run for Congress many times. In 2018, he ran for United States Senate in nine different states at the same time. He also ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in California in 2020. He often speaks out against certain immigration policies.

Early Life and School

De La Fuente was born on October 10, 1954, in San Diego, California. His parents were Roque Antonio De La Fuente Alexander and Bertha Guerra Yzaguirre. His family raised him in both Mexico (in Mexico City and Tijuana) and the United States (in San Diego and Anaheim).

He went to school with different religious groups, including the Legionaries of Christ and the Jesuits. He earned a degree in physics and mathematics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He also studied business at Anahuac University in Mexico.

Rocky De La Fuente's Business Career

Between 1976 and 1990, De La Fuente became a successful businessman. He bought 28 car dealerships that sold many different car brands. He also started three banks and opened places for older people to live. He also had eleven places where people could exchange money in the U.S. and Mexico.

In 1997, De La Fuente received a large payment of $38.7 million from San Diego County. This was because the county took some of his family's land to build a new jail. This process is called eminent domain, where the government can take private land for public use, but must pay for it.

In 2004, a government agency called the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) tried to stop De La Fuente from working with any banks they insured. He appealed this decision, and a court asked the FDIC to look at their decision again.

By 2015, De La Fuente owned businesses and properties in Mexico, the United States, and Uruguay. He saw a chance to make money from the border wall being built by the Trump administration. He owned land along the border that the government might need. He planned to ask a high price for his land.

Political Campaigns

Rocky De La Fuente has run for many different political offices.

2016 Presidential Campaign

De La Fuente at a forum for lesser-known candidates in January 2016, during his campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

De La Fuente ran for president in the 2016 United States presidential election. He first tried to get the Democratic Party's nomination. He did not win any primary elections or delegates.

Logo of the American Delta Party

After that, De La Fuente started his own party called the American Delta Party. He ran as their candidate with Michael Steinberg as his running mate. He was also the presidential candidate for the Reform Party. He received 33,136 votes in the general election, which was a small percentage of the total votes. He did not win any electoral votes.

In 2016, De La Fuente also went to court in Oklahoma to challenge their rules for getting on the ballot. He won some court cases in Virginia and Washington in 2018, which made it a little easier for candidates to get on the ballot.

2016 Senate Campaign

On June 20, 2016, De La Fuente paid a fee to run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from Florida. He was trying to win a seat held by Republican Marco Rubio. He came in fourth place out of five candidates in the primary election.

2017 Mayoral Campaign

A campaign poster from De La Fuente's mayoral campaign.

De La Fuente also tried to become the Republican candidate for Mayor of New York City in 2017. He said that his own surveys showed him winning against other Republican candidates.

However, there was a problem because city law requires candidates to live in the city before the election. De La Fuente's campaign said he tried to buy an apartment but was treated unfairly because he was Hispanic.

He debated other mayoral candidates in March. But in August, the New York City Board of Elections found that he did not have enough valid signatures to be on the ballot. This ended his campaign for mayor.

2018 Senate Campaigns

In 2018, De La Fuente ran for U.S. Senate in nine different states. He said he wanted to show problems with the election process. He ran as a Republican in California but lost in the primary election. He came in ninth place out of 35 candidates. He also lost primaries in Washington, Florida, Wyoming, Hawaii, Minnesota, Vermont, Delaware, and Rhode Island.

Some people criticized De La Fuente for running in so many states. One newspaper noted that in Hawaii and Vermont, his votes could have changed the outcome if they had gone to another candidate.

2020 Presidential Campaign

Nomination Process

In 2017, De La Fuente said he planned to run for the Democratic Party nomination again in the 2020 United States presidential election. However, he later decided to run for the Republican nomination instead. He spent a lot of his own money on his campaign.

He qualified to be a candidate in many states for the Republican primaries. He faced challenges getting on the ballot in some states. For example, in Connecticut, the Secretary of State asked him to drop out because Donald Trump had already secured enough delegates, and voting during the COVID-19 pandemic was risky. But De La Fuente stayed on the ballot.

He received a small percentage of the votes in the Republican primaries and did not win any delegates. He also filed lawsuits against some states and the Republican Party, claiming unfair practices in the nomination process.

In April 2020, De La Fuente became the first presidential candidate for the Alliance Party, with Darcy Richardson as his running mate. In June, he also received the presidential nomination from the Reform Party.

General Election

Map showing where Rocky De La Fuente was on the ballot or available as a write-in candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

The De La Fuente/Richardson ticket was on the ballot in several states under the Reform Party or Alliance Party. He was also on the ballot in California as the American Independent Party candidate. However, for California, the party chose Kanye West as his vice presidential candidate without asking De La Fuente or West.

2020 Congressional Campaign

De La Fuente also ran as a Republican for a U.S. House of Representatives seat in California's 21st district in 2020. In California, it is allowed to run for president and Congress at the same time. His son, Ricardo, ran for the same seat as a Democrat. Neither of them lived in the district. Rocky hoped his candidacy would help his son win. Both lost in the primary election.

However, on the same day, his son Ricardo won the Democratic primary for a U.S. representative seat in Texas's 27th district. Ricardo later lost the general election.

Personal Life

De La Fuente is married to Katayoun Yazdani. They have five children. He has said he wants to create a "political dynasty," meaning he hopes his family members will also hold political offices. Two of his sons have also run for office.

His son Ricardo "Ricky" De La Fuente has run for several congressional seats. His son Roque De La Fuente III also ran in the Democratic presidential primaries in 2020 in several states.

Electoral History

See also

In Spanish: Roque De La Fuente para niños