Joseph Charles Schriner (born March 3, 1955) is an American

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

and journalist. Schriner has run for the United States presidency in six consecutive election cycles spanning from 2000 to 2020. Advocating

Christian democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

policies, he has primarily run as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

, until the 2020 presidential election when he sought the

American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is an United States, American Christian democracy, Christian democratic List of political parties in the United States, political party. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party ...

nomination instead. Schriner's political views largely revolve around

Catholic Social Teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...

. He also ran as a Republican during the early portions of the 2000 and 2016 presidential election cycles. He also vied unsuccessfully for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

presidential nomination during the 2008 election cycle. Schriner has been referred to as "average Joe" in the media. He is also sometimes referred to as "Joe the Painter." He is currently self-employed as a house painter.

Early life and education

Joe Schriner was born on March 3, 1955, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. In 1973, he graduated from Bay Village High School, where he was the starting quarterback on the junior varsity football team. Schriner spent his freshman year at Bluffton College in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. After taking a year off from school to work, he transferred to

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

. He majored in journalism, wrote for '' BG News'', and completed an

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

as a

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

on Ohio's '' Troy Daily News''. Schriner earned a

Bachelor of Arts 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 deg ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

from Bowling Green State University in 1978.

Early career

Schriner began his career as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

after college for the '' Sandusky Register''. Schriner left the ''Register'' after two years. In 1983, Schriner began working at a halfway house in Lorain as a drug and alcoholism counselor. The halfway house was a 90-day treatment program run operated by the Lorain County Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (LCCADA). During the next two years, Schriner pursued seminar studies to become a drug and alcoholism counselor.

Presidential campaigns

2000 to 2012

Schriner declared his first run for

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

with a speech at the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, on April 30, 1999. He initially declared as a Republican candidate, but then switched to

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

after

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

won the Republican Primaries. Schriner ran again in 2004, 2008, and 2012. Schriner declared his 2016 candidacy in a

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

on the home page of his official campaign

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

. 2016 marked his fifth consecutive run for president.

2020

Schriner announced he would run in the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

as an

candidate. He lost the nomination to Brian T. Carroll. He continued to run as an independent.

2024

Schriner sought the nomination of the

for a second time Peter Sonski would defeat him In the primary

Personal life

Schriner resides in

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville ( ) is a city in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Weirton–Steubenville m ...

. He and his wife Liz have three children. Schriner met his wife, a native of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, in

Homer, Alaska Homer (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Tuggeght'') is a City (Alaska), city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage. According to the 2020 United ...

. He is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Books

*''America's Best Town'' ( ) *''America's Best Town 2'' ( ) *''Back Road to the White House'' ( )

References

External links

Official websiteVote for Joe Official Site
* Joe's WikiNews Interview from Campaign 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Schriner, Joe 1955 births Living people American male journalists American Solidarity Party politicians Ohio independents Candidates in the 2000 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2004 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election Writers from Cleveland Journalists from Cleveland People from Lorain, Ohio American Roman Catholics Ohio Republicans