Congratulations to the first Faithless Elector giveaway contestants! Post-contest discount for others

Congratulations to the winners of the Faithless Elector book giveaway! I'm putting the signed copies in the mail today and tomorrow. Expect them soon.

For those who did not win (and others!), but who are interested in buying the book, I'm offering a post-giveaway discount of $2.00 through the printer, CreateSpace. 

Use the link https://www.createspace.com/6080592 (not Amazon for this discount), and enter the code V5Z5SD77.  Offer good through August 1. Good reading!

J. McCrone, signing winners' books

Coming up, I will be a panel participant for the Constitution Day event at Rutgers University on Tuesday evening, September 20, at 7 pm. The event is sponsored by the Darien Civic Engagement Project, and the main event is a mini-debate put on by the Rutgers Debate Union."  I will be the only non-academic panelist (yikes!). If you're local to North Jersey and want to lend me some support, or to get your book signed, drop by.

I am working to line up book readings and signings.  If you know of an independent bookstore you think would like to host, please let me know at my email:  jmccrone@faithlesselector.com.

You can also follow me on Twitter at @jamesmccrone4

Electoral College Vote and the Popular Vote

Recently, I posted about the most recent Faithless Electors and Contested Conventions.  But the will of the people is often not reflected in the vote for the Executive.

JQ Adams

There have been four US presidential elections where one candidate had more popular votes, but did not win the Electoral College Vote: 1824, 1876, 1888 and 2000.  Will 2016 continue this checkered history?

A. Jackson

 In 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected president despite not winning either the popular vote or the electoral vote. Andrew Jackson was the winner in both categories.  Jackson received 38,000 more popular votes than Adams, and beat him in the electoral vote 99 to 84. Despite his victories, Jackson didn’t reach the (then) majority 131 votes needed in the Electoral College to be declared president. Neither candidate did. The decision went to the House of Representatives, which voted Adams into the White House.

RB Hayes

Tilden

In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes won the election (by a margin of one electoral vote), but he lost the popular vote by more than 250,000 ballots to Samuel J. Tilden.

Harrison

Cleveland

In 1888, Benjamin Harrison received 233 electoral votes to Grover Cleveland’s 168, winning the presidency. But Harrison lost the popular vote by more than 90,000 votes.

In 2000, George W. Bush was declared the winner of the general election and became the 43rd president, but he didn’t win the popular vote either. Al Gore holds that distinction, garnering about 540,000 more votes than Bush. However, Bush won the electoral vote, 271 to 266. (One DC delegate abstained—Barabara Lett-Simmons, in protest over the status of DC; it was the first abstention since 1864.

Gore

W. Bush

Publishers Weekly says Faithless Elector is a “fast-moving topical thriller.”  Its “surprising twists add up to a highly suspenseful read.”

Faithless Elector, by James McCrone is available through Amazon.

Contested Convention and Faithless Electors

Nate Silver's blog FiveThirtyEight.com recently discussed the 1976 contested convention, the subsequent presidential election and the split in the Republican Party then and its relevance to the divisions tearing apart the Republicans now on the eve of their 2016 contentious--if not contested--convention. Reagan, they say, stole the show.  I've seen that final speech.  It was a good one.

Although Ford prevailed at the contested 1976 convention, Reagan would ultimately prevail at the next election, having electrified and galvanized his base.  He would leave a legacy whose worth we still debate.

One of the products of that contested convention, was the switched Faithless Elector vote, one I cite in my new novel, Faithless Elector.


In 1976, Ford won a plurality in Washington State, but he only received 10 of Washington's (then) 11 Electoral votes.  Mike Padden, a Republican Elector, cast his vote for Ronald Reagan rather than his party's candidate, Gerald Ford.

There have been two Faithless Elector votes since then--in 2000, Barabara Lett-Simmons, abstained in protest for lack of District of Columbia representation, and in 2004, an unnamed Minnesota Elector inadvertently cast his/her vote for John Edwards, the vice-presidential candidate.

None of these faithless elector acts had a bearing on the outcome of the election.  It is worth noting, however, that such acts of conscience, protest and error are not anomalies but are part of the checkered history of the Electoral College.  If current polls are to be believed, this election will be close, and we all need the Electors to keep the faith.

Publishers Weekly says Faithless Elector is a “fast-moving topical thriller.”  Its “surprising twists add up to a highly suspenseful read.”

Faithless Elector, by James McCrone is available through Amazon.

Publishers Weekly Review 11-July 2016

Publishers Weekly says Faithless Elector is a “fast-moving topical thriller.” “Surprising twists add up to a highly suspenseful read.”

Faithless Elector is really beginning to take off! Publishers Weekly has given it a good review, and there are two more reviews pending as well as excellent reader reviews on GoodReads and Amazon.com

I had the opportunity to Skype into a book group in Dubuque on Monday evening who were reading FE. Their questions, insights and positive responses were really invigorating and gratifying.

I enjoy discussing the book, writing, politics.  

I am on Twitter at @jamesmccrone4, and I have a Facebook page 'Faithless Elector by James McCrone' where I take questions.  I also am available on GoodReads 'Ask the Author'.

I'm still jazzed about talking with the Dubuque book group, and I would love to speak with more people.  

Contact me through Twitter, FB or GoodReads.