Most pointless candidate in major party primaries

[Phony Moderate]

2016:

Dems - Chafee. Why why why? We have the Blue Dog in Webb, we have the liberalish Governor in O'Malley, we have the establishment favorite in Hillary and we have the True Leftist favorite in Sanders. What purpose does a failed one-term Governor of a small state who used to be a Senator for the other party serve?

GOP - Jindal. He is young, a Governor, non-white and Religious Right...but there are other candidates who fit one or more of those criteria. Fiorina is a close second but she can at least claim to be the token female.

2012:

GOP - Pawlenty...no actually Johnson. Gary, mate, there is already a libertarian type in the race who is much more well known (and, dare I say, intelligent) than you. Plus you ramble on too much about weed. But at least you discovered your natural home in the Libertarian Party. I could just about see Pawlenty's purpose as an establishment-type-but-more-conservative-than-Romney; he may have even been successful had he had a grain of charisma.

2008:

Dems - Dodd. The veteran Senator role (and only in the race for VP or major cabinet position) was already being played by Joe, and he had infinitely more personality.

GOP - Hunter. Leave it to Tom Tancredo to be the crazy Congressman, dude. He was better at it. Fred Thompson is second.

2004:

Dems - Carol Moseley Braun. Simple as that.

2000:

Dems - Well, neither. Gore was the incumbent VP and Bradley was his leftier challenger.

GOP - Hatch. McCain was the aging saneish incumbent Senator. No room for you.

1996:

GOP - Lugar, I suppose. Alexander was the candidate of the party's left and Gramm was the incumbent not-Bob-Dole Senator.

1992:

Dems - Let's see. Clinton was the charismatic Southern moderate Governor, Brown was the slightly mad insurgent, Harkin was the liberal Senator liked by the establishment (a la John Kerry) and Kerrey was the Vietnam vet. That leavez Tsongas.

GOP - Neither, of course. Should point out that I'm only considering candidates who I feel are worth considering. Hence no Randall Terrys or David Dukes or Harold Stassens (post 1950s).

1988:

Dems - The other half of Art Garfunkel, even if he was a character.

GOP - Probably Dole, surprisingly. Had Bush declined then it would have been Laxalt.

1984:

Dems - I can see the purpose of Mondale (establishment liberal), Hart (yuppies' choice), Jackson (radical black preacher) and Glenn (American Hero)...and perhaps Askew (Southern Governor) and even McGovern (who by this point would have been the token crazy old leftist, or least comes across that way - in a similar vein to the likes of Sanders and Gravel). Hollings and Cranston? Not so much. I guess Hollings could have been the token Blue Dog though...so Cranston (a Senator later found to be a tad corrupt) gets this prize.

1980: (last one for now)

Dems - Cliff Finch. Who the hell even was that? Though this was also by far the most pointless of Moonbeam's three campaigns.

GOP - Reagan is Conservative Icon, Bush is the establishment's man, Anderson the Rockefeller Republican, Crane is the conservative Congressman, Connally is the southern (former) Governor. That leaves Baker and Dole - the two sane Senators. Baker was probably always better placed then to play that role despite Dole being on the ticket in 1976.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I'd got with Connally for 1980. Hadn't held elected office in 12 years, hadn't won elected office in 14, had been a member of the other party until after 1972, had ties to 1960's Democrats, and participated in Nixon's disastrous economic policy. On top of that, the GOP primaries already had the conservative big state Sun Belt Governor (Reagan) and the Texan (Bush). Given that, Connally lacked a proper niche, as his was filled by two others who over-lapped his own and who had less-tainted careers. The results of Connally's wasted campaign money speak for themselves.

[Indy Texas]

GOP - Pawlenty...no actually Johnson. Gary, mate, there is already a libertarian type in the race who is much more well known (and, dare I say, intelligent) than you. Plus you ramble on too much about weed. But at least you discovered your natural home in the Libertarian Party. I could just about see Pawlenty's purpose as an establishment-type-but-more-conservative-than-Romney; he may have even been successful had he had a grain of charisma.

Gary Johnson's libertarianism and Ron Paul's libertarianism are two very different animals.

The Paulites have a rather nasty strain of the worst aspects of paleoconservatism - almost veering off into a modern Know-Nothingness - that Johnson does not.

Basically, Gary Johnson didn't have the baggage of crypto-racism and monetary kookery that Ron Paul had.

[TNF]

2012 - Buddy Roemer, Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, Thad McCotter, Tim Pawlenty
2008 - Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd
2004 - Carol Mosley Braun
2000 - Steve Forbes
1996 - Arlen Specter, Pete Wilson
1992 - Tom Harkin
1988 - almost every candidate who ran

[Mr. Smith]

2016 (currently): Lincoln Chafee, Bobby Jindal

2012: Jon Huntsman, Thad McCotter

2008: Duncan Hunter, Dennis Kucinich

2004: Carol Moseley Braun

2000: Steve Forbes

1996: Arlen Specter

1992: Paul Tsongas

1988: Bob Dole, Paul M. Simon

1984: Alan Cranston

1980: John Connally, Cliff Finch

1976: Fred Harris

1972: Pete McCloskey, John Lindsay

1968: George McGovern

1964: William Scranton

1960: Adlai Stevenson

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

How could you forget Thad McCotter???

[Zioneer]

How could you forget Thad McCotter???

Oh man, yeah you're right. Thaddeus McCotter had a run so pointless, he ended up losing his job as Representative to a write-in.

[Antonio the Sixth]

For 2016 in the GOP, you have to give it to George Pataki.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

For 2016 in the GOP, you have to give it to George Pataki.

I still contend that he is a potential dark horse for third/fourth place in New Hampshire.

[Indy Texas]

For 2016 in the GOP, you have to give it to George Pataki.

I still contend that he is a potential dark horse for third/fourth place in New Hampshire.

With things where they are now, you could get like 7% of the vote in NH and still be in fourth place.

[Maxwell]

For 2016 in the GOP, you have to give it to George Pataki.

Actually, I appreciate George Pataki as an anachronistic presence in the GOP primary. I think the title for most pointless candidate in the 2016 Primary is a tie between Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, and Rick Perry.