James Arthur Edgerton (1869December 3, 1938) was an American poet, philosopher and political activist from

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, United States. Edgerton was the vice-presidential nominee of the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movemen ...

in the

1928 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1928. Africa * 1928 Southern Rhodesian general election Asia * 1928 Japanese general election * 1928 Persian legislative election * 1928 Philippine House of Representatives elections * 1928 Philipp ...

. He was on the ticket alongside presidential nominee William F. Varney. Edgerton defeated former Prohibition Party State Representative from Illinois Frank S. Regan by a 68–29 margin. Edgerton urged that his ticket be withdrawn in states where it could have hurt the chances of

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

's election to the presidency. Hoover favored prohibition, whereas his Democratic opponent,

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

, was well known for his anti-prohibition views. Varney and Edgerton were only on the ballot in seven states. The Prohibition Party in California refused to support their party's nominee and nominated the Republican ticket on the Prohibition ballot line instead. Edgerton was a veteran alternative party activist by the time of his vice-presidential nomination; in 1897, he was the Populist Party's nominee for clerk of the United States House of Representatives, as well as having served on the national executive committee of that party.

References

1869 births 1938 deaths Writers from Alexandria, Virginia Virginia Prohibitionists Virginia Populists 1928 United States vice-presidential candidates Prohibition Party (United States) vice presidential nominees {{US-poet-stub