Editing Perennial candidate (section)

==Americas==
===Argentina===
* [[Jorge Altamira]], leader of the [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] [[Workers' Party (Argentina)|Workers' Party]], has run for [[President of Argentina|President]] five times ([[1989 Argentine general election|1989]], [[1995 Argentine general election|1995]], [[1999 Argentine general election|1999]], [[2003 Argentine general election|2003]] and [[2011 Argentine general election|2011]]). His best performance was in 2011, with 2.30% of the votes.
* [[Nicolás del Caño]], leader of the [[Socialist Workers' Party (Argentina)|Socialist Workers' Party]] has run for political positions five times (2013, [[2015 Argentine general election|2015]], [[2017 Argentine legislative election|2017]], [[2019 Argentine general election|2019]] and [[2021 Argentine legislative election|2021]]). His best performance was in 2019, with 2.16% of the votes.

===Bolivia===
* [[Samuel Doria Medina]], leader of [[National Unity Front]], has run for [[President of Bolivia|President]] in [[2005 Bolivian general election|2005]], [[2009 Bolivian general election|2009]], and [[2014 Bolivian general election|2014]] elections with best performance in 2014, with 25.1% of votes.

===Brazil===
Due to the complex and intricate political system in Brazil concerning political parties, there are more than 30 political parties. In this scenario, it is very useful to have hopeless candidates who can make a good number of votes and increase the overall votes count of a party (or coalition). As a consequence, there are thousands of small perennial candidates for local elections around the country, whose sole purpose is helping others get elected, then ask for a job in the elected government cabinet.{{Original research inline|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Sessão Ordinária - José Maria Eymael - 18.06.2018 (28015948837) (cropped).jpg|thumb|José Maria Eymael]]
* [[José Maria Eymael]], a fringe political figure, ran for the [[President of Brazil|Presidency]] six times ([[1998 Brazilian general election|1998]], [[2006 Brazilian presidential election|2006]], [[2010 Brazilian presidential election|2010]], [[2014 Brazilian presidential election|2014]], [[2018 Brazilian general election|2018]] and [[2022 Brazilian general election|2022]]); he failed to reach 1% of the votes in any of those. He also unsuccessfully ran for mayor of [[São Paulo]] in 1985 and 1992, though he won two terms in the lower house of the [[National Congress of Brazil]], from 1987 to 1995.
* [[Rui Costa Pimenta]], leader and founder of the [[Trotskyist]] [[Workers' Cause Party]] (PCO), ran for the [[President of Brazil|Presidency]] in [[2002 Brazilian general election|2002]], [[2010 Brazilian presidential election|2010]] and [[2014 Brazilian presidential election|2014]] (his candidacy in [[2006 Brazilian presidential election|2006]] was blocked by the Superior Electoral Court). He was last in all his runs, with his best performance being 0.04% of the votes in 2002.
* Vera Guasso, labor union leader and member of the [[Unified Socialist Workers Party]] (PSTU), ran for the Porto Alegre city assembly, mayor of Porto Alegre, the Brazilian Senate and other positions in a non-stop serial candidacy (every two years) from the early 90s on. In her best results, she had numbers of votes in local Porto Alegre elections similar to those of lesser-voted elected candidates but did not get a seat due to her party's overall voting being small. PSTU traditionally enters elections with no visible chance to, allegedly, "put a leftist set of points in discussion" and "build the party" but has lately achieved some expressive numbers.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}
* [[Enéas Carneiro]], a cardiologist and founder of the far-right [[Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order]] (PRONA), ran for presidency three times, in 1989, 1994 and 1998. He was mostly known for his comical style of speech on political broadcasts (due in part to the reduced TV time his party had) and his distinct beard. He also ran for mayor in [[São Paulo]] at the 2000 elections, before finally being elected federal deputy in 2002 with record voting. He was re-elected in 2006 but died in 2007 from [[myeloid leukemia]].
* [[José Maria de Almeida]], leader of the [[Trotskyist]] [[United Socialist Workers' Party]] (PSTU), ran for the [[President of Brazil|Presidency]] on four occasions: [[1998 Brazilian general election|1998]], [[2002 Brazilian general election|2002]], [[2010 Brazilian presidential election|2010]] and [[2014 Brazilian general election|2014]]. His best performance was in 2002 when he got 0.47% of the votes.
* [[Levy Fidelix]], leader and founder of the conservative [[Brazilian Labour Renewal Party]] (PRTB), ran for all municipal and general elections held in Brazil from 1996 to 2020. He was twice candidate for the [[President of Brazil|Presidency]] (in [[2010 Brazilian presidential election|2010]] and [[2014 Brazilian general election|2014]]), twice candidate for the [[List of governors of São Paulo|Governor of São Paulo]] (in 1998 and 2002) and five times candidate for the [[List of mayors of São Paulo|Mayor of São Paulo]] (in 1996, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020), never being elected for any position in his political career. He succumbed to COVID-19 on April 23, 2021.

===Canada===
{{main|List of perennial candidates in Canada}}
[[File:John Turmel at Toronto-Danforth 2012 By-Election Meeting.jpg|thumb|[[John Turmel]] according to the [[Guinness World Records]] holds the records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost, having contested 112 elections and lost 111.]]
* [[Don Andrews]], leader of the unregistered [[Nationalist Party of Canada]] has run for [[Mayor of Toronto]] several times, [[1972 Toronto municipal election|1972]], [[1974 Toronto municipal election|1974]], [[1976 Toronto municipal election|1976]], [[1988 Toronto municipal election|1988]], [[1991 Toronto municipal election|1991]], [[1994 Toronto municipal election|1994]], [[1997 Toronto municipal election|1997]], [[2003 Toronto municipal election|2003]], [[2010 Toronto mayoral election|2010]] and most recently in [[2014 Toronto mayoral election|2014]], when he came in seventh place with 0.10% of the vote.
* [[Michael Baldasaro]] (1949–2016), a leader of the pro-[[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] [[Church of the Universe]], ran for [[Mayor of Hamilton, Ontario|Mayor]] of [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], Ontario in [[1988 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|1988]], [[1991 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|1991]], [[1994 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|1994]], [[2000 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|2000]], [[2003 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|2003]], [[2006 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|2006]], [[2010 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|2010]], and [[2014 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|2014]] and, among other federal and provincial campaigns, attempted to seek the leadership of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]] in [[1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election|1988]].<ref name="Baldassaro1">{{cite news |url=https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2016/06/09/michael-baldasaro-hamilton-s-high-priest-of-pot-dead-at-67.html |title=Michael Baldasaro, Hamilton's high priest of pot, dead at 67 |first=Teviah |last=Moro |date=June 10, 2016 |work=[[The Hamilton Spectator]]}}</ref><ref name="Baldassaro2">{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/michael-baldasaro-dies-1.3624152 |title=Michael Baldasaro, marijuana activist and mayoral candidate, dies at 67 |first=Samantha |last=Caggs |date=June 9, 2016 |work=[[CBC Hamilton]]}}</ref>
* Douglas Campbell has run as a fringe candidate for the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] in the 1960s, the leadership of both the [[Ontario New Democratic Party|Ontario]] and federal [[New Democratic Party]] in the 1970s and 1980s, and Mayor of [[North York, Ontario]]. He ran for [[Mayor of Toronto|Mayor]] of [[Toronto]] in [[2000 Toronto municipal election|2000]], [[2003 Toronto municipal election|2003]] and [[2006 Toronto municipal election|2006]].
* [[Ross Dowson]], leader of the Canadian [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] group the [[League for Socialist Action|Revolutionary Workers Party]] (later the League for Socialist Action) ran for Mayor of Toronto nine times in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. His best result was in [[1949 Canadian federal election|1949]], when he won 20% of the vote in a two-man race. He also ran twice for the [[House of Commons of Canada]].
* [[Terry Duguid]] is a [[Manitoba]] politician who has run multiple times for city council, mayor and MP in [[Winnipeg]]. He lost the [[1995 Winnipeg municipal election|1995 Winnipeg Civic election]] and lost the [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004]] and [[2006 Canadian federal election|2006]] federal elections in [[Kildonan—St. Paul]], then ran and lost in [[Winnipeg South]] in [[2011 Canadian federal election|2011]]. He ran in Winnipeg South again in [[2015 Canadian federal election|2015]], this time winning the seat with 58% of the vote. He was re-elected for Winnipeg South in [[2019 Canadian federal election|2019]] with 42% of the vote.
* [[Christian Heritage Party of Canada candidates in multiple elections#Jim Enos|Jim Enos]], a Hamilton, Ontario-based [[Social conservatism in Canada|social conservative]] and Christian activist, has sought elected office nine times over three decades. Enos ran provincially in [[1999 Ontario general election|1999]], [[2007 Ontario general election|2007]], [[2011 Ontario general election|2011]], and [[2018 Ontario general election|2018]], federally in the riding of [[Hamilton Mountain (federal electoral district)|Hamilton Mountain]] in [[2011 Canadian federal election|2011]], [[2015 Canadian federal election|2015]], [[2019 Canadian federal election|2019]], and [[2021 Canadian federal election|2021]], and for the public school board in the [[2003 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|2003 Hamilton Municipal Election]]. Enos has run with the [[Family Coalition Party of Ontario]], [[Christian Heritage Party of Canada]], and as an independent.
* Henri-Georges Grenier ran 13 times for the House of Commons of Canada between [[1945 Canadian federal election|1945]] and [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980]] on the tickets of a variety of political parties, for each of which he was the sole candidate.{{cn|date=May 2024}}
* [[Ben Kerr]], a [[busking|street musician]], ran for Mayor of Toronto seven times between [[1985 Toronto municipal election|1985]] and his death in 2005. He was best known for his [[country music]] performances and for advocating the medicinal benefits of drinking a concoction that has [[cayenne pepper]] as its main ingredient.
* Patricia Métivier contested 24 Canadian federal, provincial or municipal elections from [[1972 Canadian federal election|1972]] to 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://canadianelectionsdatabase.ca/PHASE5/?p=0&type=person&ID=32598|title=Candidates &#124; Canadian Elections Database|website=canadianelectionsdatabase.ca}}</ref>
* David Popescu has run for federal, provincial, and municipal office multiple times since 1998 on an extreme [[anti-abortion]] and [[Homophobia|anti-gay]] platform. While campaigning in the [[2008 Canadian federal election|2008 election]], he advocated the execution of homosexual people, which precipitated charges under Canada's [[hate crime]] laws.<ref name="charged">[https://archive.today/20130204121401/http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1465931 "Popescu charged for comments on gays"]. ''Sudbury Star'', March 6, 2009.</ref>
* [[Naomi Rankin]] ran for the [[Communist Party of Canada]] in [[2008 Canadian federal election|2008]], her eighth attempt at becoming an MP. She has also run six times for the [[Communist Party of Alberta]], all of which were also unsuccessful.
* [[Alex Tyrrell]], leader of the [[Green Party of Quebec]], has run 11 times between 2012 and 2022 for provincial general elections and by-elections.
* [[John Turmel]] is in the ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of World Records]]'' for being the candidate who has the "most elections contested" and lost 103 as of October 2022 (he also ran in a by-election canceled due to a general election).
* Harry Bradley ran for the [[Toronto Board of Control]] 24 times between 1930 and 1964. He also ran for mayor in 1960 and 1962, and for city council in 1969.
* [[Kevin Clarke (politician)|Kevin Clarke]] is a homeless person who has unsuccessfully contested municipal, provincial and federal offices in Toronto numerous times from the 1990s to the present, often as leader of [[The People's Political Party]].
* [[Independent candidates, 2008 Quebec provincial election#Mille-Îles: Régent Millette|Régent Millette]] is a teacher in Quebec who has run for public office at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels over 25 times since 2000.
* Don Woodstock of [[Winnipeg]] has contested several positions at all three levels of government. He unsuccessfully ran for [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba|provincial]] seats in [[2007 Manitoba general election|2007]] and [[2011 Manitoba general election|2011]] as a [[Manitoba Liberal Party|Liberal]], and in [[2016 Manitoba general election|2016]] as an independent. He ran [[House of Commons of Canada|federally]] in 2015 as a [[Green Party of Canada|Green]] candidate, and received national attention after being called a "son of a bitch" by [[New Democratic Party|NDP]] incumbent [[Pat Martin]] during a televised debate.<ref>{{cite news |title=Candidate wants apology, NDP to dump Pat Martin for 'son of a bitch' comment |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/candidate-wants-apology-ndp-to-dump-pat-martin-for-son-of-a-bitch-comment-1.3231387 |work=CBC News |location=Winnipeg |date=September 18, 2015 |access-date=2018-10-13}}</ref> Woodstock ran for [[Winnipeg City Council|city council]] in [[2014 Manitoba municipal elections#City council 2|2014]] and ran as a [[Mayor of Winnipeg|mayoral]] candidate in the 2018 election.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://winnipeg.ca/clerks/election/election2018/NominatedCandidates.stm |title=Nominated Candidates – Election 2018 – City of Winnipeg |website=City of Winnipeg |access-date=2018-10-13}}</ref>
* [[Paul Fromm (politician)|Paul Fromm]] is an anti-immigration activist who has run in many municipal, provincial and federal office elections. In [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988 federal election]] ran in Mississauga East, [[2010 Mississauga municipal election|2010 municipal election]] and [[2014 Peel Region municipal elections|2014 municipal election]] Ran for mayor of Mississauga, [[2011 Canadian federal election]] for Calgary Southeast, [[2018 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election|2018 municipal election]] ran for Mayor of Hamilton, and [[2018 Ontario general election|2018 general election]] for Etobicoke Centre.

===Chile===
* [[Salvador Allende]] unsuccessfully ran for the national presidency in the [[1952 Chilean presidential election|1952]], [[1958 Chilean presidential election|1958]], and [[1964 Chilean presidential election|1964]] elections before winning in the [[1970 Chilean presidential election]].
* [[Marco Enríquez-Ominami]] has run as the [[Progressive Party (Chile)|Progressive Party]]'s presidential candidate in every election since the [[2009–10 Chilean presidential election]].

===Colombia===
* [[Horacio Serpa Uribe]], three-times Liberal Party's presidential candidate ([[1998 Colombian presidential election|1998]], [[2002 Colombian presidential election|2002]], [[2006 Colombian presidential election|2006]]).
* [[Antanas Mockus]], two-times presidential candidate (2006, [[2010 Colombian presidential election|2010]]), one-time vicepresidential candidate (1998).
* [[Noemí Sanín]], three-times Conservative Party's presidential candidate (1998, 2002, 2010).
* [[Álvaro Gómez Hurtado]], three times Conservative Party's presidential candidate (1974, 1986, 1990).
* [[Enrique Peñalosa]], five-times Bogotá's mayor candidate (1994, 1997, 2007, 2011, 2015), one-time senatorial candidate (2006), one-time presidential candidate (2014).
* [[Sergio Fajardo]], two-times presidential candidate (2018, 2022), one-time vice presidential candidate (2010).
* [[Regina 11]], three-times presidential candidate (1986, 1990, 1994).

===Costa Rica===
* [[Otto Guevara]], a five-time presidential candidate.
* [[Walter Muñoz]], a five-time presidential candidate.
* [[Máximo Fernández Alvarado]], a three-time presidential candidate.

===Ecuador===
* [[Álvaro Noboa]] ran unsuccessfully for president in [[1998 Ecuadorian general election|1998]], [[2002 Ecuadorian general election|2002]], [[2006 Ecuadorian general election|2006]], [[2009 Ecuadorian general election|2009]] and [[2013 Ecuadorian general election|2013]]; he attempted to run for president in [[2021 Ecuadorian general election|2021]] but his candidacy was suspended by the electoral authorities due to an alleged violation of registration requirements. His son, [[Daniel Noboa|Daniel]], was successfully elected as president in the [[2023 Ecuadorian general election|2023]] election and reelected in [[2025 Ecuadorian general election|2025]].

===Mexico===
[[File:Nicolás Zuñiga y Miranda.jpg|thumb|Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda]]
* [[Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda]] was a presidential candidate 10 times: 1892, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1913, [[1917 Mexican general election|1917]], [[1920 Mexican general election|1920]] and [[1924 Mexican general election|1924]] and also tried to run for a seat in the [[Congress of Mexico]] at least twice. The eccentric Zúñiga never got more than a few votes, but always claimed to have been the victim of fraud and considered himself to be the legitimate [[President of Mexico|President]].
* [[Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas]] was a presidential candidate three times: 1988, 1994 and 2000, also was elected the first Head of Government of Mexico City in 1997, was the leader of PRD, the left-wing mayor party and was Governor of the state of Michoacan.
* 
* [[Andrés Manuel López Obrador]] ran unsuccessfully for president two times, in 2006 and 2012, before being elected president in 2018. He failed to acknowledge the results of his first presidential loss in 2006, protesting for months in the capital of the country during the aftermath.

===Nicaragua===
* [[Daniel Ortega]] ran unsuccessfully for president in 1990, 1996 and 2001, before being elected president in 2006.

===Paraguay===
* [[Domingo Laíno]] ran unsuccessfully for president three times: [[1989 Paraguayan general election|1989]], [[1993 Paraguayan general election|1993]], and [[1998 Paraguayan general election|1998]]. His best performance was in 1998, with 43.88% of the votes.
* [[Efraín Alegre]] was a presidential candidate three times: [[2013 Paraguayan general election|2013]] and [[2018 Paraguayan general election|2018]], and [[2023 Paraguayan general election|2023]]. His best performance was in 2018, with 45.08% of the votes.

=== Peru ===
* Roger Cáceres, FRENATRACA presidential candidate in 1980 with 2% of the vote, 1985 with 2% of the vote and 1990 with 1.3% of the vote.
* [[Ezequiel Ataucusi]], [[Agricultural People's Front of Peru|FREPAP]] presidential candidate in 1990 with 1.1% of the vote, in 1995 with 0.8% of votes and in 2000 with 0.75% of votes.
* Ricardo Noriega, presidential candidate for All for Victory in 2001 with 0.31% of the vote and for Desperate National in 2011 with 0.15% of the vote. He was also a candidate from Independent Civic Union for senator in 1990.
* Andrés Alcántara, presidential candidate of Direct Democracy in 2021 with 0.29% of the vote. He also was not elected as a congressman in the 2000 elections, 2016 and 2020, and as Mayor of Santiago de Chuco.
* [[Ciro Gálvez]] ran unsuccessfully for president three times in 2001, 2006 and the most recent in 2021 and ran unsuccessfully for Governor twice in 2002 and 2006.
* [[Keiko Fujimori]], the daughter of former president [[Alberto Fujimori]] ran unsuccessfully for president three times in 2011, 2016 and 2021, each time losing in the run-off.
* [[Jaime Salinas]], candidate for mayor of Lima in 2002 and 2018 and presidential in 2006, without being elected and with low percentages such as 0.53% in the 2006 presidential elections and 3.5% in the 2018 municipal elections.
* [[Fernando Olivera (politician)|Fernando Olivera]] ran unsuccessfully for president four times in 2001, 2006, 2016 and 2021 in which in 2006, he withdrew from the race and in 2021, his candidacy was rejected.
* [[Máximo San Román]] ran for the vice presidency four times between 1990, 1995, 2006 and 2011 in which, in 1990, he was successful and ran for the presidency on in 2000.

===Uruguay===
* [[Luis Alberto de Herrera]] ran for [[President of Uruguay|President]] as the [[National Party (Uruguay)|National Party]] candidate six times ([[1922 Uruguayan general election|1922]], [[1926 Uruguayan general election|1926]], [[1930 Uruguayan general election|1930]], [[1942 Uruguayan general election|1942]], [[1946 Uruguayan general election|1946]] and [[1950 Uruguayan general election|1950]])

===United States===
{{main|List of perennial candidates in the United States}}