Aurora resident Richard Duncan running for president, again

Portage County has its own presidential candidate in a retired postal worker who lives in Aurora.

Richard Duncan, who has been running for the office almost every election this millennium, says his focus is America’s two-party political system. The Ohio general election ballot lists him as a non-party candidate who is not aligned with any political party.

“I want to help out the people of the country,” Duncan said. “I don’t think the two-party system is representing people properly. Even George Washington predicted in his farewell address that if the party system persists, unprincipled, unscrupulous men will usurp power for themselves to reign and not the people. Here we are 225 years later and the party system is exactly doing that.”

A Middlefield native, Duncan moved to Aurora in 1999. He is a retired postal worker who holds a master’s degree in urban geography, specializing in urban planning, from Kent State University. His running mate is Mitchell Preston Bupp, a former talk show host who lives in Virginia.

Duncan met Bupp in 2016 and, realizing that they held similar views about America’s two-party system, asked him to serve as his running mate for the current election. Bupp maintains his residence in Virginia. The pair do not make joint public appearances.

Duncan is the author of a self-published book, available for $15.99 on Xlibris.com, titled “I Ranked 10th in the Nation in Total 2012 Presidential Votes on a $5,000 Dollar Budget. What’s Next? 2016.”

Motivated by his antipathy for the two-party system, Duncan said he has run a self-funded campaign for president every year since 2004. He said he did sit out the 2020 election, when Covid protocols prevented effective campaigning. He has maintained the same platform, which is outlined on the back of campaign cards he distributes outside area big box stores, concert venues and college and professional sports events, as well as at county fairs and festivals:

• Close the Mexican border until screening occurs
• Enforce and enact new civil rights laws for equality
• Eliminate the two-party system, as it does not benefit the everyday person and makes the rich and elite wealthier
• Close the income inequality gap by raising the tax on the rich and major corporations
• Assist small businesses
• Preserve the environment to prevent harmful climate changes
• Strengthen military power to assist free nations’ democracies
• Restore optimism and pride in American nationalism

Citing the Declaration of Independence, Duncan said government is only to secure the rights of people, but the rich, powerful and elite have used it to further enrich themselves. Only by overthrowing the two-party system will Americans take back the country that is rightfully theirs, he said.

“I don’t mind if the Republicans and Democrats have their parties. But I think that we should have easier access for independents and third parties. Once the candidates get funded by these people, it’s a quid pro quo. They have to first return the favors to the funders, and they do it in a hidden manner,” he said.

Paraphrasing Edward Bernays, an American public relations expert who in 1928 published “Propaganda,” Duncan said voters are being manipulated “by an invisible government who we have never heard of, who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. They pull the wires which control the public mind.”

Regarding education, Duncan invoked President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty, President Jimmy Carter’s designation of the Department of Education as a stand-alone entity and President George W. Bush Jr.’s No Child Left Behind program as having been beneficial.

“Nevertheless, more is needed as high school dropouts in urban areas often turn to crime or drug involvement just to get by,” he stated.

He linked the abuse of drugs and alcohol to mental health issues and mass shootings and alleged that America’s mental health system is “just reactive or remedial.”

Duncan said he is concerned with maintaining roads, bridges and public transportation.

“Of course, to keep our capitalistic economy improving, the smooth movement of travelers is crucial without disruptions. Of course funding is needed. If the two-party system stopped dividing our country and started cooperating with each other, wasted tax dollars could be directed to such measures,” he said.

Acknowledging that “capitalism and innovations have made the USA into an economic powerhouse,” Duncan said environmental controls that offset the effects of pollution and business are necessary to protect our planet.

Duncan does not have a website, but he can be found on Facebook at Richardduncanforpresident2024.

Besides Duncan and the Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance tickets, a Libertarian candidate and an “other-party” candidate will appear on Ohio’s November ballot, and voters can opt to write their own candidates, as well.

Peter Sonski and running mate Lauren Onak are listed as “other-party candidates” and Chase Oliver and running mate Mike ter Maat will appear as Libertarian candidates. Sonski’s website identifies him as affiliated with the American Solidarity Party.

Jill Stein, also listed as an other-party candidate, will appear on the ballot, but because her running mate withdrew after the deadline, voters are being instructed that votes for Stein will not be counted.