Tom Hoefling
{{short description|American politician and politician (born 1960)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| name = Tom Hoefling
| birth_name = Thomas Conrad Hoefling
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|12|20}}
| birth_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse = Siena Stone
| children = 11
| party = America's (before 2013; 2016–2019)
Republican (2013–2016; 2019–present)
| otherparty = American Independent (2012; 2016)
Constitution (2016)
| website = {{url|https://www.tomhoefling.com/}}
}}
Thomas Conrad Hoefling (born December 20, 1960) is an American activist and politician, who was the founder and national chairman of America's Party.{{cite web | url=http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/519093.html?nav=5010 | title=America's Independent Party holds caucus meeting | work=Fort Dodge Messenger | date=October 7, 2009 | access-date=March 8, 2012 | author=Schmit, Ian | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707185532/http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/519093.html?nav=5010 | archive-date=July 7, 2012 }} Hoefling was the party's 2012 and 2016 presidential nominee, after seeking the nomination of the Constitution and American Independent parties.{{cite web | url=http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/02/29/alan-keyes-party-qualifies-for-florida-ballot/ | title=Alan Keyes' Party Qualifies for Florida Ballot | work=Ballot Access News | date=February 29, 2012 | access-date=March 8, 2012}}{{cite web | url=http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2012/03/tom-hoefling-is-the-americas-party-presidential-nominee/#comments | title=Tom Hoefling is the America's Party Presidential Nominee | work=Independent Political Report | date=March 7, 2012 | access-date=March 8, 2012}} Currently a member of the Republican Party, Hoefling has served as political director for Alan Keyes' political group America's Revival and as a representative for the American Conservative Coalition.{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-naysayers-speak-out/ | title=Obama Naysayers Speak Out | work=CBS News | date=June 26, 2009 | access-date=March 8, 2012}}{{cite web | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PbIyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6865,2774385&dq=tom-hoefling&hl=en | title=Flap continues over controversial voter guide | work=The Spokesman-Review | date=May 14, 2000 | access-date=March 8, 2012 | author=Warbis, Mark}}
Career
= Presidential campaigns (2012, 2016) =
File:Tom-hoefling-plain2 transparent.png
In August 2012, the ballot-qualified American Independent Party nominated Hoefling as its candidate for president of the U.S.{{cite news|url=http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/08/11/american-independent-party-picks-tom-hoefling-for-president/|title=Ballot Access News » Blog Archive » American Independent Party Picks Tom Hoefling for President|last=Winger|first=Richard|publisher=Ballot Access News|access-date=18 August 2012}}
Hoefling was on the ballot in California, Colorado, and Florida. He was filed as a qualified write-in candidate in Alaska,{{cite web|url=http://www.elections.alaska.gov/ci_pg_cl_2012_genr.php|title=2012 General Official Candidate List : November 6, 2012 General Election Candidate List|website=Elections.alaska.gov|access-date=9 June 2016|archive-date=10 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010224524/http://www.elections.alaska.gov/ci_pg_cl_2012_genr.php|url-status=dead}} Connecticut,{{cite web |url=http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLink/CLWPresView.aspx?Parameter=11%2F06%2F2012-General |title=Archived copy |website=www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811155641/http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLink/CLWPresView.aspx?Parameter=11%2F06%2F2012-General |archive-date=11 August 2016 |url-status=dead}} Delaware, Illinois, Indiana,{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/2012_General_Election_Candidates_Abbreviated_List_July_16.pdf|title=November 6, 2012 General Election|website=In.gov|access-date=9 June 2016}} Kentucky, Michigan, Montana,{{cite web|url=http://sos.mt.gov/elections/2012/2012-General-Election-Official-Presidential-Write-In-Filings.pdf|title=2012 General Election Official Declared Presidential Write-In Candidates : Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch |website=Sos.mt.gov|access-date=9 June 2016}} Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia. Hoefling received 40,624 votes in the general election, or 0.03%, coming in eighth place nationally out of 27 candidates who were on the ballot in at least one state.{{cite news|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2012&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title= US Presidential Election Results |publisher=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|access-date=27 December 2012}}
==2020==
{{main|2020 United States presidential election}}
Hoefling appeared on the ballot in Maryland for the 2020 United States presidential election.{{cite web |title=Tom Hoefling |url=https://www.stardem.com/tom-hoefling/image_b5102fb7-a2ee-53cc-bdc7-5be6b38ed77b.html |website=The Star Democrat |date=15 October 2020 |access-date=4 February 2024}} During the 2020 election, Hoefling received attention when The Salt Lake Tribune compared his campaign to Kanye West's 2020 effort to appear on the ballot in Utah, as Hoefling centered his campaign against "the abortion holocaust" and describing himself as a "no compromise" pro-life candidate.{{cite web |last1=Davidson |first1=Lee |title=Kanye West has company among Utah's offbeat presidential candidates |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/09/01/kanye-west-has-company/ |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |access-date=4 February 2024}}
= Iowa gubernatorial campaign (2013) =
In December 2013, Hoefling announced his bid for the Republican nomination for governor of Iowa in the 2014 election.Morris, Chuck (December 3, 2013) [http://www.kmaland.com/news/northwest-iowa-man-challenges-branstad-in-gop-race/article_e20dfb62-5da6-11e3-910f-001a4bcf6878.html "Northwest Iowa man challenges Branstad in GOP Race"], KMAland.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013. He lost the nomination to incumbent Republican Governor Terry Branstad.
Positions
{{Expand section|date=February 2024}}
=Donald Trump=
{{Quote box
| quote = Donald Trump is not the greatest man in the world. In fact, he is the worst man in the world. He is the worst man, by far, to ever step foot onto the public stage in America. No one else is even close.{{cite web |last1=Hoefling |first1=Tom |title=Donald Trump is the opposite of George Washington |url=https://www.tomhoefling.com/home/donald-trump-is-the-opposite-of-george-washington |website=tomhoefling.com |access-date=1 February 2024}}
| source = —Tom Hoefling
| align = right
| width = 24em
| bgcolor = #f4563b
}}
Hoefling has vehemently denounced Donald Trump and Trumpist Republicans due to their involvement in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, comparing Trump to tyrants such as King George III and calling him "the exact opposite of George Washington." Hoefling stated that Joe Biden "clearly" beat Trump in the 2020 United States Presidential election and called on the United States Senate to convict Donald Trump and bar him from ever holding public office again. Prior to this Hoefling supported the Second impeachment of Donald Trump and called for the immediate removal of Trump from public office.{{cite web |last1=Hoefling |first1=Tom |title="Impeach and remove Trump" - Tom Hoefling |url=https://www.tomhoefling.com/home/impeach-and-remove-trump-tom-hoefling |website=tomhoefling.com |access-date=1 February 2024}} Before this in 2019 Hoefling attacked Trump for making border security a dirty topic preventing any meaningful attempts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.{{cite web |last1=Hoefling |first1=Tom |title=Border Security: A good cause, ineptly defended |url=https://www.tomhoefling.com/home/border-security-a-good-cause-ineptly-defended |website=tomhoefling.com |access-date=1 February 2024}}
Hoefling's opposition to Trump can be traced back to the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries when he highlighted Trump's 2000 bid for president and denounced him as a liberal and that "Trump Republicans are for all practical purposes liberals, no matter what they say."{{cite web |last1=Hoefling |first1=Tom |title=Conservatives don't support liberals |url=https://www.tomhoefling.com/home/conservatives-dont-support-liberals |website=tomhoefling.com |access-date=1 February 2024}} He also called efforts by Republicans to promote Trump as the lesser of two evils between Hillary Clinton as "impractical" and called Trump "crass" "unprincipled" and accused him of being a "liberal friend" and "financial backer" of Clinton.{{cite web |last1=Hoefling |first1=Tom |title=Pragmatism is impractical |url=https://www.tomhoefling.com/home/pragmatism-is-impractical |website=tomhoefling.com |access-date=1 February 2024}} After Trump was named the nominee he called all his campaign points "false promises" specifically targeting his pro-capital punishment stance, and his ambiguous position on abortion.{{cite web |last1=Hoefling |first1=Tom |title=Life, Death, and Equal Protection Under the Law are Absolutes |url=https://www.tomhoefling.com/home/life-death-and-equal-protection-under-the-law-are-absolutes |website=tomhoefling.com |access-date=1 February 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Hoefling |first1=Tom |title=Donald Trump's false promises |url=https://www.tomhoefling.com/home/donald-trumps-false-promises |website=tomhoefling.com |access-date=1 February 2024}}
=Conspiracy theories=
==ACLU==
{{main|ACLU}}
Following the 2012 decision in Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians & Gays, Inc. v. Camdenton R-III School District, Hoefling denounced the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in its effort to promote the presence of pornography in high-school libraries under the first amendment as an anti-American institution polluting American educational facilities. Hoefling wrote in his blog in support of Rick Santorum's 2012 bid for president and stated that gay porn is not constitutionally protected free speech.{{cite web |title=Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians & Gays, Inc. v. Camdenton R-III School District |url=https://casetext.com/case/parents-families-friends-of-lesbians-gays-inc-v-camdenton-riii-sch-dist |website=casetext.com |access-date=4 February 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Minor |first1=Jack |title=Judge rules school must allow access to sexually explicit LGBT sites |url=https://www.tomhoefling.com/home/category/aclu |website=tomhoefling.com |publisher=Greeley Gazette |access-date=4 February 2024}}
Personal life
Hoefling is married to Siena Stone Hoefling.{{cite web|url=http://www.tomhoefling.com/biography.html|title=Tom Hoefling – Biography|access-date=March 17, 2016}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official site}}
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{{2012 United States presidential election}}
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Category:America's Party (political party) politicians
Category:American political activists
Category:American political party founders
Category:Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election
Category:Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election
Category:Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election
Category:Candidates in the 2024 United States presidential election