Michael George Goodspaceguy Nelson (born Michael George Nelson), known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

ously as Goodspaceguy, is an American

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

from

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

Early life and education

Born Michael George Nelson in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota, Goodspaceguy received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

and a M.S. from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. He legally added "Goodspaceguy" to his name in 2006, becoming Michael George Goodspaceguy Nelson.

Career

Outside of politics, Goodspaceguy describes himself as "an amateur economist and astronomer." In his 2010 campaign profile, he lists his previous occupations as "accountant, chemical plant operator, economist, ndinvestor". By 2011, Goodspaceguy had sought public office 25 times, including those of

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and

Governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either ...

. Though never endorsed by a party, he has contested elections as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Republican, Trump Republican,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

and as a candidate of the non-existent "Employmentwealth Party" (under Washington elections law, candidates can declare their preference for any party, regardless of whether it actually exists). In the 2014 race for

Washington's 7th congressional district Washington's 7th congressional district encompasses most of Seattle and Burien, and all of Vashon Island, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, and Normandy Park. Since 2017, the 7th district has been represented in the U.S. House of Representatives ...

, Goodspaceguy identified himself with the "Work and Wealth Party." His best electoral showing was in the 2003 race for

King County Council The Metropolitan King County Council, the legislative body of King County, Washington, consists of nine members elected by district. The Council adopts laws, sets policy, and holds final approval over the budget. Its current name and structure is ...

district 8, in which he polled 16 percent of the vote against

Dow Constantine James Dow Constantine (born November 15, 1961) is an American lawyer, urban planner, and politician who is the chief executive officer of Sound Transit. He was appointed in 2025 after resigning as county executive of King County, Washington, a p ...

. In addition to his frequent campaigns for local, state, and federal office, Goodspaceguy is a regular attendee of meetings of the

Burien, Washington Burien ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle on Puget Sound. As of the 2020 census, Burien's population was 52,066, which is a 56.3% increase since incorporation in 1993, making it the 25th ...

city council, during which he frequently participates in public comment sessions. Goodspaceguy ran for the

Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle is a public agency that is in King County, Washington. It oversees the seaport of Seattle as well as Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to ...

Commission in the August 4, 2015 primary, and preliminary results showed Goodspaceguy finishing second in a field of three candidates, with about 24,000 votes, or just over 9% of the total votes cast.Results Detail: Port of Seattle Commissioner Position No. 2
KingCounty.gov elections results He ultimately lost the general election to incumbent Courtney Gregoire, but garnered 48,000 votes (13% of the vote) in the process; Goodspaceguy was also endorsed by the 34th District Republicans prior to the general election, one of only two given by the group for the election alongside a

Tim Eyman Timothy Donald Eyman (born December 22, 1965) is an American anti-tax activist and businessman. Since 1997, Eyman has become the most prolific sponsor of Washington ballot measures in its history, having qualified seventeen statewide initiatives ...

initiative. Goodspaceguy ran in the 2016 gubernatorial election in Washington, winning 13,191 votes in the primary but not advancing. Goodspaceguy was running for

King County Executive The King County Executive is the elected county executive of King County, Washington. The office was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers of the county executive w ...

in the 2017 election, and filed again in 2021 to run for the same office. He again ran unsuccessfully in the

2018 United States Senate election in Washington The 2018 United States Senate election in Washington took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Washington (state), Washington. Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell won election to a fou ...

, and for King County Council in 2019. His 2019 run garnered 4.52% of the vote, in comparison to the 16% he managed in his 2003 run for the same office. He was a candidate for the 2020 gubernatorial election, stating his party preference as "Trump Republican", winning 5,646 votes in the primary. He ran in the 2024 United States Senate election as a Republican.

Political positions

Goodspaceguy's political positions generally revolve around his support for

space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...

and

space colonization Space colonization (or extraterrestrial colonization) is the human settlement, settlement or colonization of outer space and astronomical bodies. The concept in its broad sense has been applied to any permanent human presence in space, such ...

. Goodspaceguy also calls for

population control Population control is the practice of artificially maintaining the size of any population. It simply refers to the act of limiting the size of an animal population so that it remains manageable, as opposed to the act of protecting a species from ...

through a birth fee. He describes himself as "pro-choice on almost everything." Goodspaceguy opposes the Washington state minimum wage as it "destroys jobs".

References

External links

2009 Interview
with Goodspaceguy originally aired on

KCTS-TV KCTS-TV (channel 9), branded Cascade PBS, is a PBS member television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, owned by Cascade Public Media. The station's studios are located at Broadway and Boren Avenue in Seattle's First Hill neighbor ...

Our Spaceship Earth
��the blog of Goodspaceguy * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodspaceguy Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections Living people University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Minnesota alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Candidates in the 2024 United States Senate elections

Early life and education

Career

Political positions

See also

References

External links