On March 30, the day when Trump’s indictment was announced, political pundits and legal experts were rushing to join the conversation about how this may impact his presidential chances. Some said it could help the former president, propelling him into the national spotlight as he aims to become the dominant figure of his party.
And while Trump is the first former chief of state to be charged with a crime, he’s not the first presidential candidate to run despite criminal convictions. At least two candidates with criminal charges have run for the White House in the past, albeit unsuccessfully.
Richard Hasen, a law professor at UCLA Law School, noted that in 1920, a candidate named Eugene Debs ran for office while imprisoned as the nominee of the Socialist Party. Despite being found guilty of violating the Espionage Act over an anti-war speech, Debs won over 3% of the vote nationally.
Lyndon LaRouche was another convicted presidential candidate who ran for the White House in every election from 1976 until 2004. LaRouche, a candidate who embraced conspiracy theories, was convicted of mail and tax fraud in 1988 and ran his campaign from prison in 1992.
