Michael George Goodspaceguy Nelson (born Michael George Nelson) 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' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

from

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washingto ...

Early life and education

Born Michael George Nelson in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, Goodspaceguy received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

and a M.S. from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. 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". Goodspaceguy has sought public office twenty one times, including those of

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

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, Republican, Trump Republican,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

and as a candidate of the non-existent "Employmentwealth Party" (under Washington elections law, candidates can declare their preference for any party, whether the party exists or not). 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, Edmonds, Shoreline, and Normandy Park. Since 2017, the 7th district has been represented in the U.S. House of Repres ...

, 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 i ...

district 8, in which he polled 16 percent of the vote against Dow Constantine. 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. An annexation in 2010 ...

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

Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the seaport and airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container t ...

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 highest elected official representing the government of King County, Washington. The post was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers o ...

in the 2017 election, and filed again in 2021 to run for the same office. Goodspaceguy also 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, in order to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Washington. Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell won re-election to a fourth term. ...

and again for

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.

Political positions

Goodspaceguy's political positions generally revolve around his support for

space exploration Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by uncrewed rob ...

and

space colonization Space colonization (also called space settlement or extraterrestrial colonization) is the use of outer space or celestial bodies other than Earth for permanent habitation or as extraterrestrial territory. The inhabitation and territor ...

. 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) is a PBS member television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, owned by Cascade Public Media. Its studios are located at the northeast corner of Seattle Center adjacent to the Space Needle, and its transmitter is ...

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 Year of birth missing (living people)

Early life and education

Career

Political positions

See also

References

External links