Mark Gerald Elworth Jr. (born August 6, 1976) is an American freelance musician, businessman,

cannabis rights Cannabis rights or marijuana rights (sometimes more specifically cannabis consumer rights or stoner rights) are individual civil rights that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume cannabis include the right to be free from emplo ...

activist,

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 ...

for

public office Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

, and

rockhound Amateur geology or rock collecting (also referred to as rockhounding in the United States and Canada) is the non-professional study and hobby of collecting rocks and minerals or fossil specimens from the natural environment.Sinkankas, John. Miner ...

. Elworth was the Libertarian Party candidate for

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential ...

in 2014 and was the Legal Marijuana Now candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2016. Elworth, who

petitioned A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an official ...

in the past for

ballot access Ballot access is rules and procedures regulating the right to candidacy, the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots in elections in the United States. The jurisprudence o ...

for the Nebraska Green Party, led a successful statewide petition drive to acquire ballot access for a

Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW is a political Third party (United States), third party in the U.S. state of Nebraska established in 2016 as the state affiliate of the Legal Marijuana Now Party. In 2022, Legal Marijuana NOW Party ran more candidate ...

. Elworth, who resides in

Brush, Colorado Brush is a Statutory City located in Morgan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 5,339 at the 2020 United States census. Brush is a part of the Fort Morgan, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The Brush, Colorado ...

, is state party chairperson of Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW.

Personal life

When Mark Elworth was young, he was arrested several times for cannabis possession. He told a reporter for ''

The Daily Nebraskan ''The Daily Nebraskan'', established in 1871 as the ''Monthly Hesperian Student'', is the student newspaper of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Although many journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the i ...

'' that even though the charges were

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

s, the record of infractions has haunted him as an adult. Elworth, who graduated from the

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

, operated a free

community garden A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plot ...

South Omaha South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase, the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth due to the rapid development of the Unio ...

, and has been a volunteer coordinator during petition drives for several state political parties. A single father of one child, Elworth is state party chairperson of Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, where he often points to as his permanent address, Elworth is known for leading a

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

lifestyle, and he has taken up temporary residency at various locations, mostly in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and Western United States, including:

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

; Brush, Colorado;

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

; and

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Political career

Green Party

Elworth got involved in politics in the 1990s, volunteering 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 ...

during

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

's 2000 presidential campaign. In 2016, Elworth was a Green Party candidate for

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

Libertarian Party

Elworth met the Libertarian Party during the

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

branch's 2010 ballot access petition drive. Elworth was the Libertarian Party candidate for

in 2014. He campaigned on a platform of marijuana legalization, and cutting

corporate welfare Corporate welfare refers to government financial assistance, Subsidy, subsidies, tax breaks, or other favorable policies provided to private businesses or specific industries, ostensibly to promote economic growth, job creation, or other public b ...

. Elworth spent $500.00, saying that he was running a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

campaign and did not accept any large contributions. In 2018, Elworth ran for US Senate as a Libertarian candidate but left the race before the primary.

Legal Marijuana Now Party

In 2015–2016, Elworth petitioned for a Marijuana Party of Nebraska to be officially recognized by the state. To make the ballot, he needed 5,397 signatures statewide. In July 2016, the party turned in 9,000 signatures to the Nebraska Secretary of State. However, the Secretary of State said that half of the signatures were invalid, falling short of the 5,397 needed. In 2016, Elworth changed the name of the Nebraska party to Legal Marijuana NOW. Elworth was the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

in 2016. His name appeared on ballots in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. After an unsuccessful attempt to make it onto

ballots in 2016, Elworth began circulating petitions for 2020 ballot access for a Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party in September 2016. Elworth said the group planned to collect double the number of signatures they submitted in 2016, to ensure their success. In September 2017, Elworth told a television reporter that Legal Marijuana NOW Party had gathered signatures of 10,000 registered Nebraska voters.

Independent candidate

Elworth, of Council Bluffs, was nominated by petition to run independently for U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa’s 3rd congressional district, in 2018, 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 ...

under the banner of “Legal Medical Now.”

2020s activism

Democratic Party

In 2020, Elworth ran for Congress in Nebraska’s Third District as a Democrat. Elworth was the only person to file in the district for the Democratic Party primary, and was declared the winner. Elworth had a falling-out with the Chair of the

Nebraska Democratic Party The Nebraska Democratic Party (NDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Nebraska. Over 700 Democrats are elected across the state of Nebraska. Jane Kleeb is the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and also serves as the M ...

Jane Kleeb Jane Fleming Kleeb ( ) is an American political executive and activist. She is the founder and president of Bold Alliance, Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and a board member of Our Revolution and Matriarch PAC. Early life and education ...

. Elworth claimed Kleeb and the Democratic Party refused to support his candidacy, while Kleeb said Elworth failed to complete party paperwork. Elworth stated that he intended to switch parties and run as the candidate of Legal Marijuana Now Party in the district. Elworth told a reporter, “I consider myself pretty moderate on a lot of issues. I’m a little conservative on money issues. I’m more liberal on social issues. I’m a constitutionalist.” Elworth said, “I believe in people’s rights and equal rights for everybody. I’m not a true Democrat, but I’m not a Republican either.” Elworth received 18% in a three-way race, in the November 2020 General Election.

MAGA Patriots Party

Early in the month of February 2021, Elworth filed paperwork to establish a MAGA Patriots Party, headquartered in

North Platte, Nebraska North Platte is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Nebraska, United States. It is located in the west-central part of the state, along Interstate 80, at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers forming the Platte River. ...

. Elworth said the state Elections Division denied his filing arbitrarily, but Secretary of State

Bob Evnen Robert Barnett Evnen (born 1952) is an American attorney and Republican politician in the state of Nebraska. He is the 27th Secretary of State of Nebraska, serving since 2019. Legal career Evnen graduated from Michigan State University with a ...

said Elworth’s filing was deficient. Elworth told a reporter that he was still working on getting his own Legal Marijuana NOW Party recognized by the state of Nebraska.

Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party

On April 21, 2021, Legal Marijuana NOW gained official recognition as a state political party in Nebraska, earning the party ballot access for their candidates, and allowing Legal Marijuana NOW Party to register voters. And Elworth became chairperson of Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW. Elworth was a Legal Marijuana NOW candidate for United States Representative from Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District in 2022. In 2024, when the candidate he had recruited to run for U.S. Senate, Ken Peterson, was defeated in the

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

by Kerry Eddy, who dropped out to support pro-cannabis independent candidate

Dan Osborn Dan Osborn (born March 29, 1975) is a U.S. Navy veteran, industrial mechanic, former labor union leader and independent politician. Osborn served in the Nebraska Army National Guard before working at Kellogg's Omaha plant. He eventually becam ...

, Elworth instead endorsed the anti-marijuana incumbent, Republican

Deb Fischer Debra Lynelle Fischer (; born March 1, 1951) is an American politician and former educator serving as the senior United States senator from Nebraska, a seat she has held since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Fischer is the third woman t ...

, in the election.

Colorado Libertarian Party

Elworth moved to Colorado, in 2023, to run as a

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Libertarian candidate for U.S. Representative from

Colorado's 3rd congressional district Colorado's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. It takes in most of the rural Western Slope in the state's western third portion, with a wing in the south taking in some of the southern portions ...

Political candidacy

Elworth has run numerous times for various offices, including: * Governor of Nebraska in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Vice-president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Th ...

, and State Representative from Nebraska’s 13th legislative district, in 2016 * Omaha Third District city council member in 2017 * United States Representative from Iowa’s 3rd congressional district in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* United States Representative from Nebraska’s 3rd congressional district in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* United States Representative from Colorado’s 3rd congressional district in

References

External links

Ballotpedia: Mark Elworth Jr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elworth, Mark 1976 births Living people American cannabis activists Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Cannabis political party politicians People convicted of cannabis offenses Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska University of Nebraska Omaha alumni Nebraska Democrats Iowa independents Nebraska Libertarians Colorado Libertarians Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections

Personal life

Political career

Green Party

Libertarian Party

Legal Marijuana Now Party

Independent candidate

2020s activism

Democratic Party

MAGA Patriots Party

Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party

Colorado Libertarian Party

Political candidacy

Further reading

References

External links