Angela Nicole Walker (born January 19, 1974) is an American activist, professional driver, and labor organizer. Walker was the vice-presidential nominee of the Green Party of the United States and

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party of the United States of America (also Socialist Party USA or SPUSA) is a socialist political party in the United States. SPUSA formed in 1973, one year after the Socialist Party of America splintered into three: Social De ...

for the 2020 election alongside presidential nominee Howie Hawkins. She was previously the vice-presidential nominee of the Socialist Party USA for the 2016 election alongside presidential nominee Mimi Soltysik. Walker ran for political office for the first time in 2014 as an independent socialist for

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Milwaukee County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely ...

. Walker describes herself as a socialist in the tradition of Fred Hampton and Assata Shakur.

Early life

Angela Walker was born and raised in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Wisconsin, where she lived primarily in the inner city Northside neighborhood. Walker graduated from Bay View High School. While in high school, Walker helped organize students in support of a Black History course at Bay View, which was successful. She studied history at the University of North Florida but dropped out in her final year because she "could make more money as a bus driver than as a teacher."

Career

Walker worked for two years as a driver for Greyhound Lines. Describing her life as an "odyssey," Walker then moved to North Carolina, where she married and moved back to Florida. She moved back to Milwaukee in 2009 and was hired as a driver for the Milwaukee County Transit System. In 2011, she became legislative director for her local in the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which represented transit system drivers; her position coincided with the rise of the anti-labor union Tea Party and the election of Scott Walker as Wisconsin's 45th Governor. Angela Walker was active in the Occupy movement, which the ATU supported. She stepped down from the legislative director position in October 2013. Walker worked as a bus driver for over 14 years. Walker is currently employed as a dump truck driver.

Sheriff campaign

In 2014, Walker ran against incumbent Democrat and

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

pundit David A. Clarke Jr. During her campaign for sheriff in Milwaukee, Walker called for an end to mass incarceration, evictions, and anti-immigrant policing. She received approximately 20 percent of the vote.

Vice-presidential campaigns

2016 campaign

In March 2016, Walker stated that she had been recruited to be the Socialist Party USA vice-presidential nominee by her future running-mate, Mimi Soltysik, following her campaign for sheriff. Walker and Soltysik were nominated at the Socialist Party National Convention in Walker's hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in October 2015. Soltysik-Walker appeared on the ballot in Colorado, Guam and Michigan as well as official write-in candidates in many other states during the general election.

2020 campaign

On May 5, 2020, Green Party presidential candidate and

presidential nominee Howie Hawkins announced Walker had accepted his offer to be his running mate. On July 11, Walker was formally nominated as the Green Party's vice-presidential nominee. She was the second African-American vice-presidential nominee of the Green Party and the first from the state of South Carolina.

Retirement from politics

After her 2020 vice presidential campaign, Walker announced on her personal Facebook page that she has retired from politics.

Personal life

Walker is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

. On March 29, 2023, Walker announced that she married a woman from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Electoral history

2014 election

2016 election

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Angela Nicole 1974 births 2016 United States vice-presidential candidates 2020 United States vice-presidential candidates 21st-century Wisconsin politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians Amalgamated Transit Union people African-American people in Wisconsin politics African-American candidates for Vice President of the United States Bisexual women politicians American bisexual politicians American bisexual women Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Female candidates for Vice President of the United States Green Party of the United States vice presidential nominees Howie Hawkins Trade unionists from South Carolina Trade unionists from Wisconsin LGBTQ people from South Carolina LGBTQ people from Wisconsin Living people Politicians from Milwaukee Socialist Party USA politicians from Wisconsin Socialist Party USA vice presidential nominees South Carolina Greens University of North Florida alumni Wisconsin socialists Women in Wisconsin politics