Richard Grayson

Richard Grayson

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. Senate Alaska

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 18, 2026

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

High school

Midwood High School, 1968

Bachelor's

City University of New York, Brooklyn College, 1973

Law

University of Florida College of Law, 1994

Graduate

Brooklyn College, 1976

Graduate

City University of New York, College of Staten Island, 1975

Personal

Birthplace

New York, NY

Religion

Atheist

Profession

Author

Contact

Personal website

Personal YouTube

Richard Grayson (Green Party) is running for election to the Arizona House of Representatives to represent District 7. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. He advanced from the Green Party primary on July 21, 2026.

Grayson (Democratic Party) is also running for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Alaska. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 7, 2028.^[source]

Grayson (Green Party) also ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Alaska. He lost in the primary on August 18, 2026.

Grayson also ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 5th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the Green Party primary on July 21, 2026.

Biography

Richard Grayson was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York and graduated from Midwood High School in 1968. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1973, a master's degree from the College of Staten Island in 1975, and a master's degree from Brooklyn College in 1976. He received a law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1994. Grayson's career experience includes working as a writer, college professor, law school administrator, and staff attorney. He has also served as a community college library technician, editor, and retail worker. Grayson has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• PEN America
• The Authors Guild
• Planned Parenthood
• NAACP
• Jews for Racial & Economic Justice

Elections

2028

See also: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2028

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 7, 2028.

General election for U.S. Senate Alaska

Incumbent Lisa Murkowski (R) and Richard Grayson (D) are running in the general election for U.S. Senate Alaska on November 7, 2028.

		Candidate
		Lisa Murkowski (R)
		Richard Grayson (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2026

U.S. Senate Alaska

See also: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2026

United States Senate election in Alaska, 2026 (August 18 top-four primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Alaska

Incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, Mary Peltola, Gerald Heikes, and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. are running in the general election for U.S. Senate Alaska on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Dan S. Sullivan (R)
		Mary Peltola (D)
	Submit photo	Gerald Heikes (R)
	Submit photo	Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. (No Party Affiliation)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Leslie (D)

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate Alaska

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. Senate Alaska on August 18, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mary Peltola (D)	49.5	82,244
✔		Dan S. Sullivan (R)	41.4	68,726
✔	Submit photo	Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. (No Party Affiliation)	2.5	4,107
✔		David Leslie (D)	1.1	1,850
	Submit photo	Gerald Heikes (R)	1.0	1,741
		Carol Hafner (D)	0.6	1,009
	Submit photo	Heather McElwain (R)	0.6	972
		Dustin Darden (R)	0.5	808
	Submit photo	Earl Southworth (Alaskan Party)	0.5	803
		Scott Kohlhaas (L)	0.5	794
	Submit photo	Richard Mayers (R)	0.4	609
		Reece Roberts (Nonpartisan)	0.4	602
		Sid Hill (Undeclared)	0.3	522
	Submit photo	Fred Grauberger (R)	0.3	479
		Richard Grayson (G)	0.3	432
		Shirley Saucerman (Nonpartisan)	0.2	306

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 166,004
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ann Diener (D)
• William Hunt (D)

Campaign finance

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Richard Grayson received the following endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• Greens for US (Sway voting group by Arshia Papari)

U.S. House Arizona

See also: Arizona's 5th Congressional District election, 2026

Arizona's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (July 21 Republican primary)

Arizona's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (July 21 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 5

Elizabeth Lee and Mark Lamb are running in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 5 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Elizabeth Lee (D)
		Mark Lamb (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5

Elizabeth Lee defeated Chris James and Brian Hualde in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5 on July 21, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Elizabeth Lee	66.0	30,857
		Chris James	20.8	9,703
		Brian Hualde	13.2	6,171

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,731
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Evan Olson (D)
• Justin Poff (D)
• Blake Bracht (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5

Mark Lamb defeated Daniel Keenan in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5 on July 21, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Lamb	58.7	52,352
		Daniel Keenan	41.3	36,854

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 89,206
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mike Gross (R)
• Travis Grantham (R)
• Andy Biggs (R)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Grayson (G)

Campaign finance

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Arizona House of Representatives

See also: Arizona House of Representatives elections, 2026

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Arizona House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)

Incumbent Walter Blackman (R), Samuel Martin (D), David Cook (R), and Richard Grayson (G) are running in the general election for Arizona House of Representatives District 7 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Walter Blackman (R)
	Submit photo	Samuel Martin (D)
		David Cook (R)
		Richard Grayson  (G)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)

Samuel Martin (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 7 on July 21, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Samuel Martin	100.0	14,285

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source	Total votes: 14,285
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)

Incumbent Walter Blackman (R) and David Cook (R) defeated Andrew Costanzo (R) and Barby Ingle (R) in the Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 7 on July 21, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Walter Blackman	35.2	18,727
✔		David Cook	27.1	14,427
		Andrew Costanzo	21.4	11,401
		Barby Ingle	16.2	8,640

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 53,195
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Green Party primary

Green Party primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 7 (2 seats)

Richard Grayson (G) advanced from the Green Party primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 7 on July 21, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Richard Grayson  (Write-in)	100.0	1

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Vote totals may change until results are certified. Source	Total votes: 1
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Richard Grayson received the following endorsements and voter guide recommendations. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• Greens for US (Sway voting group by Arshia Papari)

2025

See also: Arizona's 7th Congressional District special election, 2025

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Arizona District 7

The following candidates ran in the special general election for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on September 23, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adelita Grijalva (D)	68.9	70,148
		Daniel Butierez Sr. (R)	29.4	29,944
		Eduardo Quintana (G)	1.1	1,118
		Richard Grayson (No Labels Party)	0.5	537
		James Rose (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	8
		Jeff Beasley (R) (Write-in)	0.0	6
		G. Seville Hatch (R) (Write-in)	0.0	3
		Trista di Genova (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	3
	Submit photo	Avery Block (R) (Write-in)	0.0	2
		Daniel Wood (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	2
	Submit photo	Nathaniel Irwin Sr. (No Labels Party) (Write-in)	0.0	1
		Cheval Lavers (D) (Write-in)	0.0	1
	Submit photo	David McAllister (R) (Write-in)	0.0	0

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 101,773
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7

Adelita Grijalva defeated Deja Foxx, Daniel Hernandez Jr., Patrick Harris Sr., and Jose Malvido Jr. in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on July 15, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Adelita Grijalva	61.5	38,679
		Deja Foxx	22.4	14,078
		Daniel Hernandez Jr.	13.6	8,541
		Patrick Harris Sr.	1.5	925
		Jose Malvido Jr.	1.1	687

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,910
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Bies (D)
• Victor Longoria (D)

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7

Daniel Butierez Sr. defeated Jorge Rivas and Jimmy Rodriguez in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on July 15, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniel Butierez Sr.	60.9	11,121
		Jorge Rivas	25.2	4,594
		Jimmy Rodriguez	14.0	2,549

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,264
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Raul Verdugo (R)

Green primary election

Special Green primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7

Eduardo Quintana defeated Gary Swing in the special Green primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on July 15, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eduardo Quintana (Write-in)	95.5	42
		Gary Swing (Write-in)	4.5	2

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 44
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Special Libertarian primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7

No candidate advanced from the primary.

		Candidate	%	Votes
	Submit photo	Andy Fernandez Jr. (Write-in)	100.0	19

---

Vote totals may be incomplete for this race.
	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 19
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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No Labels Party primary election

Special No Labels Party primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7

Richard Grayson advanced from the special No Labels Party primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on July 15, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Richard Grayson (Write-in)	100.0	1

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 1
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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To qualify for the general election, primary write-in candidates for parties with continued statewide representation had to receive enough votes to meet or exceed the number of nominating petition signatures required to file for the primary. In the 2025 special election, the Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican parties were subject to this rule. Libertarian write-in candidate Andy Fernandez Jr. did not meet the required 376 minimum write-in votes, so he did not advance to the general election.

Primary write-in candidates for recognized parties that did not have continued statewide representation did not need to meet a minimum vote count. Eduardo Quintana (G) and Richard Grayson (No Labels Party) advanced to the general election after receiving the most write-in votes in their primaries.

Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements or voter guide recommendations for Grayson in this election.

2024

U.S. House Alaska

General election

General election for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

Select round: Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Nicholas Begich in round 3 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Nicholas Begich	51.2	164,861	4,817	Won (3)
		Mary Peltola	48.8	156,985	2,724	3
		John Howe	0.0	0	-13,871	2
		Eric Hafner	0.0	0	0	1

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Nicholas Begich	48.8	160,044	267	Won (3)
		Mary Peltola	47.0	154,261	1,313	3
		John Howe	4.2	13,871	661	2
		Eric Hafner	0.0	0	-3,558	1

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Nicholas Begich	48.5	159,777	0	Won (3)
		Mary Peltola	46.4	152,948	0	3
		John Howe	4.0	13,210	0	2
		Eric Hafner	1.1	3,558	0	1
		Lady Donna Dutchess (Write-in)	0.0	0	0	1

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 329,493
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matthew Salisbury (R)
• Nancy Dahlstrom (R)

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House Alaska At-large District on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mary Peltola (D)	50.9	55,166
✔		Nicholas Begich (R)	26.6	28,803
✔		Nancy Dahlstrom (R)	19.9	21,574
✔		Matthew Salisbury (R)	0.6	652
		John Howe (Alaskan Independence Party)	0.6	621
		Eric Hafner (D)	0.4	467
	Submit photo	Gerald Heikes (R)	0.4	424
		Lady Donna Dutchess (Nonpartisan)	0.2	195
		David Ambrose (Nonpartisan)	0.1	154
		Richard Grayson (No Labels Party)	0.1	143
	Submit photo	Richard Mayers (Undeclared)	0.1	119
	Submit photo	Samuel Claesson (Nonpartisan)	0.1	89

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 108,407
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

See also: Our approach to covering endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements or voter guide recommendations for Grayson in this election.

U.S. Senate Arizona

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Arizona

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Arizona on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruben Gallego (D)	50.1	1,676,335
		Kari Lake (R)	47.7	1,595,761
		Eduardo Quintana (G)	2.3	75,868
	Submit photo	Sarah Williams (L) (Write-in)	0.0	535
	Submit photo	Christopher Beckett (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	103
		Steven Sanders (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	92
	Submit photo	Jannie Prosser (R) (Write-in)	0.0	82
	Submit photo	Shawn Petty (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	24
		David Bozic (No party preference) (Write-in)	0.0	12
	Submit photo	Benjamin Rodriguez (Us Altogether Party) (Write-in)	0.0	2

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,348,814
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Grayson (No party preference)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Arizona

Ruben Gallego advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Arizona on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruben Gallego	100.0	498,927

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 498,927
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Alexander Keller (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Arizona

Kari Lake defeated Mark Lamb, Elizabeth Reye, and Dustin Williams in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Arizona on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kari Lake	55.3	409,339
		Mark Lamb	39.5	292,888
		Elizabeth Reye	5.2	38,208
	Submit photo	Dustin Williams (Write-in)	0.0	184

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 740,619
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Leonard Fulcher (R)
• Robert Walker (R)
• Alan White (R)
• Connie Moreno (R)
• Christopher Berschauer (R)
• Brian Wright (R)

Green primary election

Green primary for U.S. Senate Arizona

Eduardo Quintana defeated Mike Norton and Arturo Hernandez in the Green primary for U.S. Senate Arizona on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eduardo Quintana (Write-in)	49.5	282
		Mike Norton	31.6	180
		Arturo Hernandez	18.9	108

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 570
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sarah Williams (L)

U.S. House North Dakota

General election

General election for U.S. House North Dakota At-large District

Julie Fedorchak defeated Trygve Hammer in the general election for U.S. House North Dakota At-large District on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julie Fedorchak (R)	69.2	249,101
		Trygve Hammer (D)	30.4	109,231
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	1,455

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 359,787
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Grayson (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House North Dakota At-large District

Trygve Hammer defeated Roland Riemers in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Dakota At-large District on June 11, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trygve Hammer	73.4	14,088
		Roland Riemers	26.3	5,042
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	75

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,205
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House North Dakota At-large District

Julie Fedorchak defeated Rick Becker, Cara Mund, Alex Balazs, and Sharlet Mohr in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Dakota At-large District on June 11, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Julie Fedorchak	45.9	43,424
		Rick Becker	29.6	27,965
		Cara Mund	19.5	18,460
		Alex Balazs	4.0	3,788
	Submit photo	Sharlet Mohr	0.8	800
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	109

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 94,546
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kelly Armstrong (R)
• Tom Campbell (R)

U.S. House Idaho

General election

General election for U.S. House Idaho District 2

Incumbent Michael K. Simpson defeated David Roth, Todd Corsetti, and Idaho Law in the general election for U.S. House Idaho District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael K. Simpson (R)	61.4	250,119
		David Roth (D)	31.0	126,229
		Todd Corsetti (L)	5.2	21,310
		Idaho Law (Constitution Party)	2.4	9,804

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 407,462
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Idaho District 2

David Roth advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Idaho District 2 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Roth	100.0	17,234

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,234
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Grayson (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Idaho District 2

Incumbent Michael K. Simpson defeated Scott Cleveland and Sean Higgins in the Republican primary for U.S. House Idaho District 2 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael K. Simpson	54.7	53,476
		Scott Cleveland	35.8	35,036
		Sean Higgins	9.5	9,333

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 97,845
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Constitution primary election

Constitution primary for U.S. House Idaho District 2

Idaho Law defeated Pro-Life in the Constitution primary for U.S. House Idaho District 2 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Idaho Law	51.0	102
		Pro-Life	49.0	98

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 200
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Idaho District 2

Todd Corsetti advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Idaho District 2 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Todd Corsetti	100.0	315

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 315
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

U.S. House Arizona District 9

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 9

Incumbent Paul Gosar defeated Richard Grayson and Thomas Tzitzura in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 9 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Gosar (R)	97.8	192,796
		Richard Grayson (D) (Write-in)	1.8	3,531
	Submit photo	Thomas Tzitzura (D) (Write-in)	0.4	858

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 197,185
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Gareth Gilsdorf (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 9

No candidate advanced from the primary.

		Candidate	%	Votes
		David Lucier (Write-in)	72.7	1,319
		Gene Scharer (Write-in)	27.3	496

---

Vote totals may be incomplete for this race.
	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,815
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 9

Incumbent Paul Gosar defeated Randy Kutz, Adam Morgan, Sandra Dowling, and Jack Harper in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 9 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Gosar	65.9	67,340
		Randy Kutz	13.1	13,387
		Adam Morgan	12.2	12,508
		Sandra Dowling	8.7	8,851
		Jack Harper (Write-in)	0.1	76

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 102,162
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Saul Rodriguez (R)
• Orlando Johnson (R)
• Jana Jackson (R)

U.S. House Arizona District 8

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Incumbent Debbie Lesko defeated Jeremy Spreitzer and Alixandria Guzman in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debbie Lesko (R)	96.5	197,555
		Jeremy Spreitzer (D) (Write-in)	2.5	5,145
	Submit photo	Alixandria Guzman (D) (Write-in)	1.0	2,013

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 204,713
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Grayson (D)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• James Holmes (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8

Incumbent Debbie Lesko advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 8 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Debbie Lesko	100.0	100,629

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 100,629
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Charly Corazon (R)

U.S. House Oklahoma District 4

General election

General election for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4

Incumbent Tom Cole defeated Mary Brannon in the general election for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Cole (R)	66.7	149,879
		Mary Brannon (D)	33.3	74,667

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 224,546
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Mary Brannon advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Richard Grayson (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4

Incumbent Tom Cole defeated James Taylor and Frank Blacke in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oklahoma District 4 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Cole	69.8	43,894
		James Taylor	27.0	16,980
	Submit photo	Frank Blacke	3.2	2,038

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,912
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Arizona State Senate District 16

Kelly Townsend defeated Richard Grayson, Nick Fierro, and John Ross Hart in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 16 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kelly Townsend (R)	96.8	94,913
		Richard Grayson (D) (Write-in)	1.6	1,544
		Nick Fierro (Independent) (Write-in)	1.5	1,472
	Submit photo	John Ross Hart (Independent) (Write-in)	0.1	108

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 98,037
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 16

Kelly Townsend advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 16 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kelly Townsend	100.0	30,272

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,272
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Arizona House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Arizona House of Representatives District 16 (2 seats)

Incumbent Kelly Townsend and John Fillmore defeated Sharon Stinard and Richard Grayson in the general election for Arizona House of Representatives District 16 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kelly Townsend (R)	35.6	49,643
✔		John Fillmore (R)	33.0	46,000
	Submit photo	Sharon Stinard (D)	23.0	32,018
		Richard Grayson (G)	8.4	11,646

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 139,307
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 16 (2 seats)

Sharon Stinard advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 16 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Sharon Stinard	100.0	11,897

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,897 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 16 (2 seats)

Incumbent Kelly Townsend and John Fillmore defeated Lisa Godzich, Tara Phelps, and Stephen Kridler in the Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 16 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kelly Townsend	33.4	14,361
✔		John Fillmore	21.9	9,407
	Submit photo	Lisa Godzich	19.7	8,475
		Tara Phelps	16.2	6,951
	Submit photo	Stephen Kridler	8.7	3,758

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 42,952 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bonnie Hickman (R)

2016

Alaska

See also: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated Alaska's U.S. Senate race as safely Republican. Incumbent Lisa Murkowski defeated Ray Metcalfe (D), Joe Miller (L), Breck Craig (I), Ted Gianoutsos (I), and Margaret Stock (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Murkowski defeated Paul Kendall, Thomas Lamb, and Bob Lochner in the Republican primary, while Metcalfe defeated Edgar Blatchford to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on August 16, 2016.

U.S. Senate, Alaska General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Lisa Murkowski Incumbent	44.4%	138,149
	Libertarian	Joe Miller	29.2%	90,825
	Independent	Margaret Stock	13.2%	41,194
	Democratic	Ray Metcalfe	11.6%	36,200
	Independent	Breck Craig	0.8%	2,609
	Independent	Ted Gianoutsos	0.6%	1,758
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	706
Total Votes				311,441
Source: Alaska Secretary of State

U.S. Senate, Alaska Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Lisa Murkowski Incumbent	71.5%	39,545
Bob Lochner	15.3%	8,480
Paul Kendall	7.7%	4,272
Thomas Lamb	5.4%	2,996
Total Votes		55,293
Source: Alaska Division of Elections

U.S. Senate, Alaska Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ray Metcalfe	60.1%	15,228
Edgar Blatchford	39.9%	10,090
Total Votes		25,318
Source: Alaska Division of Elections

Grayson was removed from the ballot prior to the primary.

Arizona

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Trent Franks (R) defeated Mark Salazar (G) and write-in candidate Joe DeVivo (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Franks defeated Clair Van Steenwyk in the Republican primary on August 30, 2016.

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Trent Franks Incumbent	68.5%	204,942
	Green	Mark Salazar	31.4%	93,954
	N/A	Write-in	0%	75
Total Votes				298,971
Source: Arizona Secretary of State

U.S. House, Arizona District 8 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Trent Franks Incumbent	71.1%	59,042
Clair Van Steenwyk	28.9%	24,042
Total Votes		83,084
Source: Arizona Secretary of State

Grayson dropped out of the race prior to the primary.

2014

See also: Wyoming's At-large Congressional District elections, 2014

Grayson ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Wyoming's At-large District. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 19, 2014. Richard Grayson lost the general election on November 4, 2014.

Election results

U.S. House, Wyoming's At-Large District General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Cynthia Lummis Incumbent	68.5%	113,038
	Democratic	Richard Grayson	22.9%	37,803
	Libertarian	Richard Brubaker	4.3%	7,112
	Constitution	Daniel Clyde Cummings	4.1%	6,749
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	398
Total Votes				165,100
Source: Wyoming Secretary of State

Media

"Richard Grayson, Wyoming Democrat for Congress."

2012

Regular election

See also: Arizona's 4th Congressional District elections, 2012

Grayson ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 4th District. He ran as a write-in Americans Elect Party candidate. He lost to Paul Gosar (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

U.S. House, Arizona District 4 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Paul Gosar Incumbent	66.8%	162,907
	Democratic	Johnnie Robinson	28.4%	69,154
	Libertarian	Joe Pamelia	3.8%	9,306
	Independent	Richard Grayson	1%	2,393
Total Votes				243,760
Source: Arizona Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Special election

See also: Arizona's 8th Congressional District special election, 2012

Grayson ran in the 2012 special election for the U.S. House, representing Arizona's 8th District. The election was held held to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He was defeated by Charlie Manolakis in the April 17 Green Party primary.

Campaign themes

2028

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2028 Candidate Connection survey.If you are Richard Grayson, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2028 Candidate Connection survey.

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Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grayson's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

The key is getting rid of Trump and the Republicans

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Key Republicans' cars!

• [F***] right-wing keyboard warriors!

• The only keys Trump's lawyers ever find are the ones that accidentally unlock new federal indictments.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm a high-key resistance fighter against the Trump administration and other right-wing filth

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Victor Wembanyama The villain in every superhero movie. They have great style, excellent monologue skills, and actually try to change the world instead of just maintaining the status quo.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Not being a crook, a scumbag or a moron

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Legislate, [motherf***er]!

What legacy would you like to leave?

No debt

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

At 14 in 1965, I was a cashier at The Slack Bar on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn, for the summer. See my book, The Boy Who Could Draw Dr. King: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9436216-the-boy-who-could-draw-dr-king?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=iCqTUPO2DS&rank=1

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Putting a fitted sheet on a mattress.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The greatest challenge facing the United States over the next decade is surviving the threat of deconstructed democratic institutions, the sudden repeal of basic science, and a dangerously over-active presidential Twitter/Truth Social account.

What qualities does the U.S. Senate possess that makes it unique as an institution?

It’s the only place in America where 100 people are granted the unique privilege of formally reviewing a president’s most chaotic decisions—just to watch him bypass them entirely with a recess appointment!

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise is absolutely necessary—otherwise, how else will we fit Donald Trump's entire ego and his policy ideas into the same room?

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None, plus one or two nuns

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

Eisenhower's second inauguration, which I watched after coming home from kindergarten, Jan. 20, 1956

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grayson's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My first foray in politics was as a 13yo handing out "Get On The Johnson, Humphrey, Kennedy Team leaflets on NYC streetcorners in 1964. As a teenager and young man, I worked for numerous candidates, mostly Democrats like George McGovern (I was at the 1972 Democratic convention in Miami Beach), but also some liberal Republicans (NYC Mayor John Lindsay). I was active in the peace movement and in 1970 attended the first Earth Day demonstration and the Women's March commemorating the 50th anniversary of female suffrage. A longtime supporter of abortion and LGBT rights, I was on the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida and worked on the 1994 campaign to defeat an anti- gay referendum in Alachua County. (We lost bigly, but the courts later overturned the laws.) When no Democrat was on the ballot against Florida Republican Reps. Bilirakis, Ros-Lehniten and Crenshaw in Florida in 1994, 1996 and 2004, I ran write-in campaigns against them, as I did against otherwise-unopposed Rep. Gosar in AZ-09 in 2022 and against Republican Arizona State Senator Townsend in 2020. In 2014, no one would run for Wyoming's congressional seat against then-Rep. Lummis, so I volunteered, and without spending any money I won in Teton County while the Democratic candidates for governor and US senator lost. In every presidential election since 1980, when I supported my Nova Southeastern University Law School colleague John Anderson, I voted Democratic.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Restore our pre-2025 constitutional democracy, re-empower the legislative branch, and follow the rule of law as it existed before the present autocracy and dictatorship..
• Kill billionaires. By this I mean not literal murder, but taxation to get their wealth to a maximum of $999,999. I mean, everyone would like to kill some billionaires, especially those who think they are the boss of the rest of us and can terrorize U.S. government workers the way they do their own private business employees, but violence is beyond the pale.
• Support democracy and the rule of law not only at home but abroad. Restore agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Agency for International Development and others that do much more good than harm. Stop harassing and demonizing our allies, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, our institutions of higher education, and those who protest against Donald Trump's fascist regime in the name of common decency..

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about the health of the world economy and how Donald Trump is wrecking it. As someone who started teaching college classes 50 years ago as an instructor of English at Long Island University and who has worked for half a century at community colleges and private and public, religious and secular, large and small universities and 4-year colleges in Arizona and five other states, as well as one Phoenix high school (Jess Schwartz) and some upstate New York elementary schools and worked as a teacher-trainer in the Miami-Dade County School District, I am passionate about educational policy at all levels. As a former staff attorney at the Center for Governmental Responsibility, I am passionate about public service. and our rights

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to anyone taller than 64 inches. I'd like to still be able to follow the examples in my 11th grade trigonometry textbook.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

This probably sounds egotistical, but if you want to know about my political philosophy in particular, you can read my own book of two decades ago, "Write-in: Diary of a Congressional Candidate in Florida's Fourth Congressional District," published serially at mcsweeneys.net and then in book form.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Above all, common human decency and belief in the dignity of all, fairness and the rule of law -- qualities completely lacking in Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

That is for others to judge.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

If you want to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, you should above all understand that the elective body, along with the U.S. Senate, must stop giving away all its power to the President under the ahistorical and regressive and un-American theory of "the unitary executive." There's a reason Article I of our Constitution -- which may or may not still be in effect (check tomorrow's news) -- is about the legislative branch. The House of Representatives' greatest power is the power of the purse: to raise and spend money for the benefit of all the people of this country, not to be a rubber stamp for a fascist dictator who think he can do it all. Stop being afraid of not getting re-elected, politicians! Your career means nothing; the direction of our country and the survival of the U.S.A. as a nation means everything..

What legacy would you like to leave?

No debt.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was 14, and in the summer I worked alongside my grandfather, who was a tailor in a small men's pants store called The Slack Bar, owned by my uncle and his father-in-law, on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn. Our customers were largely Black and Puerto Rican men, and our assistant manager was Black and our other tailor (free alterations!) was Puerto Rican. I sat at an ancient cash register and rang up their orders and took cash and returned change. I wrote a story about that job called "The Boy Who Could Draw Dr. King." https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9436216-the-boy-who-could-draw-dr-kinghttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9436216-the-boy-who-could-draw-dr-king

What is your favorite book? Why?

The favorite book I wrote is probably my first hardcover book, With Hitler in New York and Other Stories, from 1979. Favorite books include Mrs. Dalloway, Great Expectations, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Crying of Lot 49, Slaughterhouse-Five, Another Country, Dubliners, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, Tropic of Cancer, Fear of Flying, The Forsyte Saga, Confessions of a Mask, Invvisible Man, Portnoy's Complaint, The Collected Stori,es of John Cheever, Couples, Franny and Zooey, The Great Gatsby, The Sound and the Fury, The Sun Also Rises, Ficciones, The Red and the Black, Anna Karenina, Notes From Underground, Women in Love, Point Counter Point, Wuthering Heights, A Doll's House, A Raisin in the Sun, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dutchman, Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1876, Kaddish, The Razor's Edge, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, The White Album, Man's Search for Meaning, Death in Venice, Twelfth Night, The Henriad, Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Misanthrope, The Bell Jar, Let the Great World Spin, The Power Broker, Hiroshima, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, The Communist Manifesto, The Wealth of Nations, Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, On Civil Disobedience, Notes of a Native Son, The Bald Soprano, No Exit, Of Human Bondage, The Quiet American, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Herzog, Mondo Barbie, Lightning Struck My Dick, Heart of Darkness, Troublemaker, The Canterbury Tales, The Old Testament, The New Testament, Democracy in America, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Mouse That Roared, Persepolis, Parable of the Sower, Crime in America, Soledad Brother, Angels in America, American Mischief, Advertisements for Myself, The Golden Bowl, The Handmaid's Tale, The House on Mango Street, Letters to a Young Poet, Getting to Yes, A Civil Action, The Soul of a New Machine, Gideon's Trumpet, My Brilliant Friend.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Richard Grayson

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The theme from the 1966 TV show "The Pruitts of Southampton," which starred Phyllis Diller as the head of a wealthy Long Island family that has gone broke but must keep up appearances for the sake of the country, which presumably would sink into economic depression should news of the Pruitts' poverty become public knowledge. The song was sung by Phyllis Diller, who played the head of the family, which owed millions in unpaid taxes, and Reginald Gardner, who played Uncle Ned.

PD: Howcha do howcha do, howcha do my dear What a LOVELY surprise, nice to see you here.

RG: All the bills have been long overdue, my dear.

PD: File them under I.O.U...

Howcha do, howcha do, Well HELLO, it's you! Like my beads, like my dress? Aren't they marvy-poo? They belong to the internal revenue. And they got us eating stew.

CHORUS: The Pruitts of Southampton, Live like the richest folk, But what the folk don't know is that The Pruitts are flat broke!

PD: Howcha do, howcha do, howcha do, my dear

RG: We are out of champagne, and I'm stuck, my dear.

PD: Ask the butler to lend you a buck, my dear.

Howcha do, howcha do, howcha do...

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Wrestling

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Tax and spending bills must originate in the House.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Generally, yes.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Survival -- scarily, mere survival. Will we still be a functioning constitutional democracy in a year or two? I don't know. This is the worst time of my 74-year-old life in terms of being a citizen of the United States of America. Can we avoid fascism and becoming a permanent authoritarian, lawless nation ruled by one man and a bunch of oligarchs?

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes and no. They are always raising money for the next election, taking away from their work for the people. But midterm elections are a good check on presidential power.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

The President is subject to the term limits of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. End of story.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

John Quincy Adams, who served in the House following his presidency.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Sorry, no, but I haven't campaigned yet.

Tell us your favorite joke.

It's The Aristocrats and I can't repeat it here.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Yes.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

That is everything to me. Why is the House under Mike Johnson surrendering this power so meekly to President Trump? Shameful! Be a man, Mike, if you know what that is.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Wisely, and not to score political points. Do not harass witnesses. Do not make speeches when you are allegedly asking questions. Do your homework ahead of committee hearings. Be open to all sides and above all do not try to hide the truth from the American people.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None, although in the past I've been endorsed by Tucson Weekly, the Florida Dollar Stretcher, and the PACs of the United Auto Workers, National Organization for Women, and United Mine Workers of America.

What committees interest you?

Any and all.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

The opposite of Elon Musk's, whose views at DOGE seem to be opaqueness and a complete lack of accountability to the people, to the Constitution, and to God, whom he mistakes himself for. In the 1990s I was a staff attorney in social policy at a research institution called the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the University of Florida College of Law. We worked on various issues from the environment to then-emergent democracies in eastern Europe and elsewhere to historic preservation and poverty law, and CGR was part of a groundbreaking lawsuit when a President tried to impound funds already approved into law by Congress, much as Dictator Trump is trying to do now. He may get away with it, given the corrupt nature of some of the U..S. Supreme Court's justices. Hopefully we can save American democracy, but it will be the biggest fight of our country's life since the Civil War.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grayson's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My first foray in politics was as a 13yo handing out "Get On The Johnson, Humphrey, Kennedy Team leaflets on NYC streetcorners in 1964. As a teenager and young man, I worked for numerous candidates, mostly Democrats like George McGovern (I was at the 1972 Democratic convention in Miami Beach), but also some liberal Republicans (NYC Mayor John Lindsay). I was active in the peace movement and in 1970 attended the first Earth Day demonstration and the Women's March commemorating the 50th anniversary of female suffrage. A longtime supporter of abortion and LGBT rights, I was on the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida and worked on the 1994 campaign to defeat an anti- gay referendum in Alachua County. (We lost bigly, but the courts later overturned the laws.) When no Democrat was on the ballot against Florida Republican Reps. Bilirakis, Ros-Lehniten and Crenshaw in Florida in 1994, 1996 and 2004, I ran write-in campaigns against them, as I did against otherwise-unopposed Rep. Gosar in AZ-09 in 2022 and against Republican Arizona State Senator Townsend in 2020. In 2014, no one would run for Wyoming's congressional seat against then-Rep. Lummis, so I volunteered, and without spending any money I won in Teton County while the Democratic candidates for governor and US senator lost. In every presidential election since 1980, when I supported my Nova Southeastern University Law School colleague John Anderson, I voted Democratic.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Restore our pre-2025 constitutional democracy, re-empower the legislative branch, and follow the rule of law as it existed before the present autocracy and dictatorship..
• Kill billionaires. By this I mean not literal murder, but taxation to get their wealth to a maximum of $999,999. I mean, everyone would like to kill some billionaires, especially those who think they are the boss of the rest of us and can terrorize U.S. government workers the way they do their own private business employees, but violence is beyond the pale.
• upport democracy and the rule of law not only at home but abroad. Restore agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Agency for International Development and others that do much more good than harm. Stop harassing and demonizing our allies, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, our institutions of higher education, and those who protest against Donald Trump's fascist regime in the name of common decency.. End the illegal war in Iran. Tear down everything Donald Trump wants to build as an ugly monument to his ugly self.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

am passionate about the health of the world economy and how Donald Trump is wrecking it. As someone who started teaching college classes 50 years ago as an instructor of English at Long Island University and who has worked for half a century at community colleges and private and public, religious and secular, large and small universities and 4-year colleges in Arizona and five other states, as well as one Phoenix high school (Jess Schwartz) and some upstate New York elementary schools and worked as a teacher-trainer in the Miami-Dade County School District, I am passionate about educational policy at all levels. As a former staff attorney at the Center for Governmental Responsibility, I am passionate about public service. and our rights

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Everyone over 5'4".

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Sanity

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Above all, common human decency and belief in the dignity of all, fairness and the rule of law -- qualities completely lacking in Elon Musk , Donald Trump and most of his appointees.

What legacy would you like to leave?

No debt.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was 14, and in the summer I worked alongside my grandfather, who was a tailor in a small men's pants store called The Slack Bar, owned by my uncle and his father-in-law, on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn. Our customers were largely Black and Puerto Rican men, and our assistant manager was Black and our other tailor (free alterations!) was Puerto Rican. I sat at an ancient cash register and rang up their orders and took cash and returned change. I wrote a story about that job called "The Boy Who Could Draw Dr. King." https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9436216-the-boy-who-could-draw-dr-kinghttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9436216-the-boy-who-could-draw-dr-king

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Hm. I can't think of anything..

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Consensual.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Having enough water so it will not be abandoned by human beings.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Probably yes.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

No one, but in the past I have received the support of the PACs of the National Organization of Women, the United Auto Workers, Everytown for Gun Safety/Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and the the United Mine Workers of America.

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

I was 5 and in kindergarten at P.S. 244 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, just across the street from my family's apartment, during the 1956-1957 school year and I remember seeing a poster in the fall of the presidential and vice-presidential tickets with photos of President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, and the Democrats Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver. On January 20, since we got out of school at noon every day, I remember my mother was watching the inauguration of Eisenhower and Nixon, and I watched intently.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grayson's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My first foray in politics was as a 13yo handing out "Get On The Johnson, Humphrey, Kennedy Team leaflets on NYC streetcorners in 1964. As a teenager and young man, I worked for numerous candidates, mostly Democrats like George McGovern (I was at the 1972 Democratic convention in Miami Beach), but also some liberal Republicans (NYC Mayor John Lindsay). I was active in the peace movement and in 1970 attended the first Earth Day demonstration and the Women's March commemorating the 50th anniversary of female suffrage. A longtime supporter of abortion and LGBT rights, I was on the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida and worked on the 1994 campaign to defeat an anti- gay referendum in Alachua County. (We lost bigly, but the courts later overturned the laws.) When no Democrat was on the ballot against Florida Republican Reps. Bilirakis, Ros-Lehniten and Crenshaw in Florida in 1994, 1996 and 2004, I ran write-in campaigns against them, as I did against otherwise-unopposed Rep. Gosar in AZ-09 in 2022 and against Republican Arizona State Senator Townsend in 2020. In 2014, no one would run for Wyoming's congressional seat against then-Rep. Lummis, so I volunteered, and without spending any money I won in Teton County while the Democratic candidates for governor and US senator lost. In every presidential election since 1980, when I supported my Nova Southeastern University Law School colleague John Anderson, I voted Democratic.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Restore our pre-2025 constitutional democracy, re-empower the legislative branch, and follow the rule of law as it existed before the present autocracy and dictatorship.
• Kill billionaires. By this I mean not literal murder, but taxation to get their wealth to a maximum of $999,999. I mean, everyone would like to kill some billionaires, especially those who think they are the boss of the rest of us and can terrorize U.S. government workers the way they do their own private business employees, but violence is beyond the pale.
• Support democracy and the rule of law not only at home but abroad. Restore agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Agency for International Development and others that do much more good than harm. Stop harassing and demonizing our allies, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, our institutions of higher education, and those who protest against Donald Trump's fascist regime in the name of common decency.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about the health of the world economy and how Donald Trump is wrecking it. As someone who started teaching college classes 50 years ago as an instructor of English at Long Island University and who has worked for half a century at community colleges and private and public, religious and secular, large and small universities and 4-year colleges in Arizona and five other states, as well as one Phoenix high school (Jess Schwartz) and some upstate New York elementary schools and worked as a teacher-trainer in the Miami-Dade County School District, I am passionate about educational policy at all levels. As a former staff attorney at the Center for Governmental Responsibility, I am passionate about public service. and our rights

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to anyone taller than 64 inches. I'd like to still be able to follow the examples in my 11th grade trigonometry textbook

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

This probably sounds egotistical, but if you want to know about my political philosophy in particular, you can read my own book of two decades ago, "Write-in: Diary of a Congressional Candidate in Florida's Fourth Congressional District," published serially at mcsweeneys.net and then in book form.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Above all, common human decency and belief in the dignity of all, fairness and the rule of law -- qualities completely lacking in Elon Musk, JD Vance and Donald Trump

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

That is for others to judge.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

If you want to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, you should above all understand that the elective body, along with the U.S. Senate, must stop giving away all its power to the President under the ahistorical and regressive and un-American theory of "the unitary executive." There's a reason Article I of our Constitution -- which may or may not still be in effect (check tomorrow's news) -- is about the legislative branch. The House of Representatives' greatest power is the power of the purse: to raise and spend money for the benefit of all the people of this country, not to be a rubber stamp for a fascist dictator who think he can do it all. Stop being afraid of not getting re-elected, politicians! Your career means nothing; the direction of our country and the survival of the U.S.A. as a nation means everything

What legacy would you like to leave?

No debt.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I was in kindergarten at P.S. 244 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, just across the street from my family's apartment, during the 1956-1957 school year and I remember seeing a poster in the fall of the presidential and vice-presidential tickets with photos of President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, and the Democrats Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver. On January 20, since we got out of school at noon every day, I remember my mother was watching the inauguration of Eisenhower and Nixon, and I watched intently.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was 14, and in the summer I worked alongside my grandfather, who was a tailor in a small men's pants store called The Slack Bar, owned by my uncle and his father-in-law, on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn. Our customers were largely Black and Puerto Rican men, and our assistant manager was Black and our other tailor (free alterations!) was Puerto Rican. I sat at an ancient cash register and rang up their orders and took cash and returned change. I wrote a story about that job called "The Boy Who Could Draw Dr. King." https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9436216-the-boy-who-could-draw-dr-kinghttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9436216-the-boy-who-could-draw-dr-king

What is your favorite book? Why?

The favorite book I wrote is probably my first hardcover book, With Hitler in New York and Other Stories, from 1979. Favorite books include Mrs. Dalloway, Great Expectations, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Crying of Lot 49, Slaughterhouse-Five, Another Country, Dubliners, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, Tropic of Cancer, Fear of Flying, The Forsyte Saga, Confessions of a Mask, Invisible Man, Portnoy's Complaint, The Collected Stori,es of John Cheever, Couples, Franny and Zooey, The Great Gatsby, The Sound and the Fury, The Sun Also Rises, Ficciones, The Red and the Black, Anna Karenina, Notes From Underground, Women in Love, Point Counter Point, Wuthering Heights, A Doll's House, A Raisin in the Sun, Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dutchman, Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1876, Kaddish, The Razor's Edge, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, The White Album, Man's Search for Meaning, Death in Venice, Twelfth Night, The Henriad, Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Misanthrope, The Bell Jar, Let the Great World Spin, The Power Broker, Hiroshima, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, The Communist Manifesto, The Wealth of Nations, Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, On Civil Disobedience, Notes of a Native Son, The Bald Soprano, No Exit, Of Human Bondage, The Quiet American, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Herzog, Mondo Barbie, Lightning Struck My Dick, Heart of Darkness, Troublemaker, The Canterbury Tales, The Old Testament, The New Testament, Democracy in America, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Mouse That Roared, Persepolis, Parable of the Sower, Crime in America, Soledad Brother, Angels in America, American Mischief, Advertisements for Myself, The Golden Bowl, The Handmaid's Tale, The House on Mango Street, Letters to a Young Poet, Getting to Yes, A Civil Action, The Soul of a New Machine, Gideon's Trumpet, My Brilliant Friend, O.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Richard Grayson.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The theme from the 1966 TV show "The Pruitts of Southampton," which starred Phyllis Diller as the head of a wealthy Long Island family that has gone broke but must keep up appearances for the sake of the country, which presumably would sink into economic depression should news of the Pruitts' poverty become public knowledge. The song was sung by Phyllis Diller, who played the head of the family, which owed millions in unpaid taxes, and Reginald Gardner, who played Uncle Ned.

PD: Howcha do howcha do, howcha do my dear What a LOVELY surprise, nice to see you here.

RG: All the bills have been long overdue, my dear.

PD: File them under I.O.U...

Howcha do, howcha do, Well HELLO, it's you! Like my beads, like my dress? Aren't they marvy-poo? They belong to the internal revenue. And they got us eating stew.

CHORUS: The Pruitts of Southampton, Live like the richest folk, But what the folk don't know is that The Pruitts are flat broke!

PD: Howcha do, howcha do, howcha do, my dear

RG: We are out of champagne, and I'm stuck, my dear.

PD: Ask the butler to lend you a buck, my dear.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Aside from wrestling, not anything. I have been very lucky and privileged.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Tax and spending bills must originate in the House. It has the sole power to impeach officials. The minimum age for membership is 25, the youngest eligibilty of any federal office.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Probably.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Survival -- scarily, mere survival. Will we still be a functioning constitutional democracy in a year or two? I don't know. This is the worst time of my 74-year-old life in terms of being a citizen of the United States of America. Can we avoid fascism and becoming a permanent authoritarian, lawless nation ruled by one man and a bunch of oligarchs?

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes and no. They are always raising money for the next election, taking away from their work for the people. But midterm elections are a good check on presidential power.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

The President is subject to the term limits of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. End of story.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

John Quincy Adams, who served in the House following his presidency.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

No.

Tell us your favorite joke.

It's The Aristocrats and I can't repeat it here.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Yes.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

That is everything to me. Why is the House under Mike Johnson surrendering this power so meekly to President Trump? Shameful! Be a man, Mike, if you know what that is.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Wisely, and not to score political points. Do not harass witnesses. Do not make speeches when you are allegedly asking questions. Do your homework ahead of committee hearings. Be open to all sides and above all do not try to hide the truth from the American people.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None, although in the past I've been endorsed by Tucson Weekly, the Florida Dollar Stretcher, and the PACs of the United Auto Workers, National Organization for Women, and United Mine Workers of America.

What committees interest you?

Any and all.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

The opposite of Elon Musk's, whose views at DOGE seem to be opaqueness and a complete lack of accountability to the people, to the Constitution, and to God, whom he mistakes himself for. In the 1990s I was a staff attorney in social policy at a research institution called the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the University of Florida College of Law. We worked on various issues from the environment to then-emergent democracies in eastern Europe and elsewhere to historic preservation and poverty law, and CGR was part of a groundbreaking lawsuit when a President tried to impound funds already approved into law by Congress, much as Dictator Trump is trying to do now. He may get away with it, given the corrupt nature of some of the U..S. Supreme Court's justices. Hopefully we can save American democracy, but it will be the biggest fight of our country's life since the Civil War.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grayson's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am the only person in the U.S. running as a candidate of the No Labels Party

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Death to fascism
• We control our own sexual and reproductive lives
• Cheaper housing, cheaper health care, cheaper higher education

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Every single freaking one.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to people who are taller than I am. I follow no man or woman, though sometimes I follow a dog when I am walking said dog.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Intelligence, kindness and truthfulness

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I dunno

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Legislating

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'll be dead, so I won't be aware of it; therefore, I don't give a shit.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The 1956 presidential election when I was 5.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked in my uncle's men's clothing store, on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn, when I was 14 and 15 in the summers of 1965 and 1966.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Of my own books, With Hitler in New York because it was my first hardcover story collection published when I was 27. Of others' books, Mrs. Dalloway or Candide or One Hundred Years of Solitude or A Good Man Is Hard to Find or Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina or Notes From Underground or Dubliners or The Crying of Lot 49 or The Sun Also Rises or Twelfth Night or Invisible Man or Portnoy's Complaint or Fear of Flying or The Forsyte Saga or The Professor's House or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Great Gatsty several dozen other books that I have loved teaching as a high school and college teacher since 1975.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

The narrator of "The Silicon Valley Diet"

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" after listening to a WNYC "On the Media" segment about it.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Can't think of anything at the moment

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

It's got more moronic loudmouth publicity-seekers than any other institution except perhaps a few mental institutions.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Uh-huh.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Fighting fascism, authoritarianism and totalitarianism; preserving whatever democracy we still have.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

No.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Confidentially, they stink.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

John Quincy Adams

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

No

Tell us your favorite joke.

The Aristocrats

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Yep.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

A big one

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Carefully and judiciously

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None that I'm aware of

What committees interest you?

The Committee for Immediate Nuclear, which I've been chairman of for over 40 years.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Favorable

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grayson's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born in Brooklyn in 1951. I have a B.A. and an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College, an M.A. in English from the College of Staten Island, and a J.D. with high honors from the University of Florida College of Law. The author of eight books of fiction and articles in The New York Times, New York Post, New York Newsday, People and other periodicals, I have taught at universities and colleges in New York, Florida, Arizona, New Jersey, South Carolina and California. I was a staff attorney in social policy at the Center for Governmental Responsibility in Gainesville and served on the board of directors of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida. My first campaign work was standing on street corners in New York City in the fall of 1964 handing out leaflets that said, “Get on the Johnson, Humphrey, Kennedy Team.” I worked for other Democratic and liberal Republican (John Lindsay, Lowell Weicker) candidates and as McGovern supporter, I attended the 1972 Democratic convention in Miami Beach. Three Florida Republican Secretaries of State appointed me to panels of the state Department of Cultural Affairs. I was the Democratic candidate in Wyoming’s At-Large Congressional District in 2014.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I support the Women's Health Protection Act prohibiting governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services.
• I support the Equality Act prohibiting discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
• I support the Medicare for All Act establishing a national health insurance program and prohibiting deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments) and other charges for covered services.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The rights of workers to organize and join labor unions. Abortion rights. LGBTQIA rights. Medicare for all. Forgiving all student loans. Expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices and limiting terms to 18 years. Expanding the number of members of the U.S. House of Representatives to more than double the current number. Ending the Senate filibuster. Amending the Electoral Count Act so that the undemocratic schemes to nullify presidential elections are prohibited. Supporting the prinicipals of the Library Bill of Rights. Increasing government funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. Supporting federal action to prevent future pandemics.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to everyone taller than 5'5". I would like to follow the example of my older relatives, including my father, who is 96, and my great-grandfather Isidore, who , like me, was an atheist, a socialist and a vegetarian.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Film: "Wild in the Streets" (1968) by Barry Shear Book: "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (1955) by Flannery O'Connor

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Self-reflection, a sense of humor, openness to new experiences and other points of view.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

That's for others to judge.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To protect democracy.

What legacy would you like to leave?

No debts.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember coming home from kindergarten a little after noon (it was just down the block) and watching President Eisenhower's second inauguration. I was 5.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

When I was 14, I worked for my uncle in his store, The Slack Bar, a men's pants store, on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn. I worked there summers for several years and learned a lot from our customers and my co-workers, who were overwhelmingly Black and Puerto Rican men.

What is your favorite book? Why?

"With Hitler in New York and Other Stories." It is the first book from a commercial New York publisher that had out, when I was 27 in 1979.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Richard Grayson

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Hands Down" (Dashboard confessional)

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Nothing, really. I am privileged.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

It's probably got some of the wackiest nutjobs of any national legislature in the entire world or perhaps the entire Milky Way Galaxy.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Probably.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Avoiding become a fascist dicatatorship under white Christian nationalists and avoiding a civil war.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I can serve on any committee with diligence and interest of the voters in mind.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

No.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I don't believe in them for elected officials. I believe in them for U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

John Quincy Adams.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

No.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Any joke with the punch line "What, and give up show business?"

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Yes.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

¿Quién sabe?

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Richard Grayson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grayson's responses.

Expand All

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a sick man.... I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I believe my liver is diseased. However, I know nothing at all about my disease, and do not know for certain what ails me. I don't consult a doctor for it, and never have, though I have a respect for medicine and doctors. Besides, I am extremely superstitious, sufficiently so to respect medicine, anyway (I am well-educated enough not to be superstitious, but I am superstitious). No, I refuse to consult a doctor from spite. That you probably will not understand. Well, I understand it, though.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Don't give up. Normally it is the last key on the ring which opens the door.
• Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
• One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Passion.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Everyone taller than 5'4".

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Wild in the Streets (film)

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Some.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

That's for me to know and you to find out.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Core.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Debts. Whoever dies owing the most money wins.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember Eisenhower's second inauguration when I came home from kindergarten at noon on January 20, 1957. (The school, P.S. 244, was just up the block where I lived on East 54th Street and Tilden Avenue in East Flatbush.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked for my uncle in his pants store, The Slack Bar, on Fulton Street, in downtown Brooklyn, July-August 1966.

What is your favorite book? Why?

With Hitler in New York. It is my first hardcover collection of stories, published in 1979.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Richard Grayson

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The cotton end of a Q-Tip.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Straggling. I struggle with straggling.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

One is even more stupid than the other.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Probably, but only if they're Democratic liberals. Republicans suck moose.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Making Arizona less of a shithole.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

Platonic

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

No. Causes disease.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Wrestling matches.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Any that do not have me as a member.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

No.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Yes. New York Assembly Member George Michaels. ||http://www.apogeemag.com/prosepoetry/melissa.html||https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Michaels

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

God, no.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

No, the residents of my district are mostly subhuman douchebag Trump supporters.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Richard Grayson campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Arizona District 5	Withdrew primary	$0	N/A**
2026*	U.S. Senate Alaska	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
2025*	U.S. House Arizona District 7	Lost general	$0	N/A**
2024	U.S. House Alaska At-large District	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
2024	U.S. House Idaho District 2	Withdrew primary	$0	N/A**
2024	U.S. House North Dakota At-large District	Withdrew general	$0	N/A**
2024	U.S. Senate Arizona	Withdrew general	$0	N/A**
2022	U.S. House Arizona District 8	Withdrew general	$0	N/A**
2022	U.S. House Arizona District 9	Lost general	$0	N/A**
2022	U.S. House Oklahoma District 4	Withdrew primary	$0	N/A**
2018	Arizona House of Representatives District 16	Lost general	$0	N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

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Footnotes

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