2024 presidential election: 10 candidates running third-party campaigns

7. Michael Wood

Michael Wood is the Prohibition Party’s 2024 presidential nominee and John Pietrowski is the party’s vice presidential nominee. Wood elaborated on his party’s platform and his priorities should he win the presidency in a speech at the party’s National Convention last year.

“Far too many people associate the party with a nationwide ban on alcohol, when in fact the Prohibition Party defends your American right to drink privately, but not your right to do public harm,” he said. Wood’s remarks about the party name reflect the fact that the term Prohibition refers to the time in U.S. history when alcohol was banned.

At the same time, Wood views making awareness about the dangers of alcohol abuse an important part of his campaign: “If you wish to drink, that is each informed citizen’s right. We recognize however that many people are not well informed about the dangers of alcohol, a drug which contributes to 140,000 deaths in our country each year.” 

“When private behavior has public consequences, such as drinking and driving or the $250 billion economic cost associated with excessive alcohol use, that becomes a legitimate governmental concern,” he added. “We hope to work closely with [Mothers Against Drunk Driving] and other organizations striving to raise awareness of the problem of alcohol and drug related deaths.” 

Wood also suggested implementing a ban on alcohol advertising: “Just as the ban on cigarette advertising greatly reduced the number of young smokers in our country, we believe a ban on alcohol advertising would find similar success.”