On May 25, acclaimed radio talk-show host Gene Burns died. See this story. He had been the likely Libertarian Party presidential nominee in 1984, but a few days before the party’s presidential convention, he had changed his mind and decided he didn’t want the nomination.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
I have forgotten why he decided against the LP nomination. Was that ever made clear?
He had had an exaggerated opinion of the Libertarian Party’s strength when he decided to seek the nomination. As the date of the national convention in New York city in September 1983 grew closer, he realized the party wasn’t as well-organized as he had thought.
But didn’t we have the Koch faction in those days as well. I do we remember the convention on C-Span.
As I recall, when Gene Burns was on the radio in Boston, he was considered a key factor in the growth of the Libertarian Party in New England in those days.
I listened to Gene on KGO for years. While he later became a Democrat he was always enjoyable to listen to.
Gene Burns traveled around the country for the party and then discovered that several of the people who had urged him to so were quietly looking to replace him with another candidate that had more political experience and more photogenic.
Do you remember who the person was?