An Army veteran and teacher in Texas has changed his name to run a far-reaching presidential bid that he hopes will illustrate the country’s dissatisfaction with candidates from both major parties in the November elections.
The man formerly named Dustin Ebey, 35, legally changed his name to ‘Literally Anybody Else,’ the nickname under which he filed to run for president.
‘This isn’t about me, ‘Literally anyone else’, even more so because it’s an idea. “We can do better (than Joe Biden or Donald Trump) among 300 million people for the presidency,” he told a local. ABC affiliate.
He said he is “under no illusion” that gathering the tens of thousands of signatures needed to appear on the ballot will be nearly impossible.
Literally Anybody Else, née Dustin Ebey, has launched a risky bid for president, saying he wants to recognize that many Americans will choose between the lesser of two evils in November and deserve a better option.
In Texas alone, an independent candidate must submit a petition with 113,151 valid signatures from registered voters who did not participate in either major party’s primary in order to be on the ballot.
‘This will be very difficult to achieve, but it is not impossible. My hope is to have Donald Trump, Joe Biden and then literally anyone else right under it,” he said.
“I really want there to be a way out for people like me who are fed up with this constant power grab between two parties that doesn’t benefit the common person.
“People vote for the lesser of two evils, not for someone they really believe in or support,” he said.
‘People should have the option to vote for someone who looks like them and represents them, not for the lesser of two evils. I reject it.’
‘Else’ has asked Texas residents to write in their new name. In Texas, write-in candidates, unlike independent candidates, must register with the state but are not required to sign.
Donald Trump is ahead of Joe Biden in polls in several key states, but remains a divisive figure even among members of his own party.
President Joe Biden is working off some of the worst approval numbers in history as he builds toward his re-election bid in November.
“We don’t really have a ‘none’ option on the ballot, and this fills that role,” said the Louisiana-raised veteran, who served in the Army from 2012 to 2018 after running out of money to pay for college midway through . his education at LSU.
The incredibly risky bid takes place against the backdrop of an upcoming general election featuring two candidates most Americans wish weren’t on the ballot.
Else, a seventh grade day math teacher, has launched a website and GoFundMewhere potential followers can inquire more about your platform and your plans.
In a December AP-NORC poll, 56 percent of American adults — regardless of party affiliation — said they would be “very” or “somewhat” dissatisfied with incumbent Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I really want there to be a way out for people like me who are fed up with this constant power grab between two parties that doesn’t benefit the common person,” ‘Else’ said.
Fifty-eight percent of American adults said the same thing about Trump representing the Republican Party in this fall’s election.
A NewsNation poll from earlier this year found that nearly 60 percent of registered voters are not enthusiastic about a rematch of the 2020 election.
Earlier this month, an ABC/Ipsos poll revealed who they would trust to lead the country as president: The choices were Joe Biden, who received 33 percent of the vote, Donald Trump, who received 36 percent, and neither Of the two, the answer was that 30 percent of the respondents selected.