Celebs, memes, cartoons: Mecklenburg County wrote in these presidential candidates in 2024
Former presidential candidates, religious figures and “nobody” were among the most popular write-in candidates for president in Mecklenburg County in 2024.
About 0.66% of voters, 3,826 out of 580,343, wrote in their vote for president rather than pick from the major party nominees and third party candidates on their ballots.
Former South Carolina Gov. and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who ran against President-elect Donald Trump in the Republican primary, received more than 330 write-in votes, according to a review of by The Charlotte Observer. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who ran as a third party candidate but ultimately dropped out and endorsed Trump, received about 70 votes.
Religious figures also were a popular choice: more than 100 voters wrote in God, Jesus, Christ or Muhammad.
More than 40 voters chose to show their disapproval with the candidates by writing in “none of the above,” “nobody,” “none,” “abstain,” “no true choice,” “doesn’t matter” or “anyone but these candidates.”
Only candidates who meet the qualifications for president can actually be elected to the position, which excludes deceased people and fictional characters as well as those younger than 35, those who haven’t lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years and non-natural born citizens.
Here are some of the other politicians, celebrities, meme figures and fictional characters who also picked up votes for president in Mecklenburg:
Other politicians and political movements
Many of those who wrote in their presidential pick chose from well-known politicians in North Carolina or third-party candidates who didn’t make the ballot in the state. Others went with Republican Party figures. A handful chose historical figures.
Political write-in choices included:
Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz
Third party candidate Shiva Ayyadurai
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich
Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang
Former President Ronald Reagan
Retired Army Gen. and former CIA Director David Petraeus
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
Former President Abraham Lincoln
Former White House Chief of Staff and UNC President Erskine Bowles
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Former Democratic Charlotte City Council member Larken Egelston
Former Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory
Former North Vietnam President Ho Chi Minh
Democratic Attorney General and Gov.-elect Josh Stein
President Joe Biden
Republican Utah Sen. and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney
Former Republican Vice President Mike Pence
Republican Ohio Sen. and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance
Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz
Independent West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin
Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Former First Lady Michelle Obama
Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy
Former Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal
Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott
Former Republican congressman and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan
Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney
Former President Barack Obama
Former Democratic Congresswoman, Trump campaign surrogate and Trump Cabinet nominee Tulsi Gabbard
Former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Bob Dole
Rev. Franklin Graham
Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly
Democratic congressman and North Carolina Attorney General-elect Jeff Jackson
Former President Bill Clinton
Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Former President George Washington
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin
Former Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse
Former Republican presidential candidate and Arizona Sen. John McCain
Former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul
North Carolina House Speaker and Republican congressman-elect Tim Moore
Republican Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie
Former Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken
Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul
Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio
Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper
Democratic congresswoman Alma Adams
Former Democratic presidential candidate and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tilab
U.S. Transportation Secretary and former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg
Instead of writing in a specific person, a small number of voters instead wrote in political phrases, such as “personal sovereignty, “abolish the two-party system and “free Palestine.”
Celebrities and athletes
Celebrities and athletes were also among the most popular write-in candidates for president in Mecklenburg, including:
North Carolina-born singer Eric Church
North Carolina-born singer Luke Combs
Rapper Tupac Shakur
Rapper Lil Uzi Vert
Actor and former wrestler and football player Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Actor Terry Crews
Baseball player Ken Griffey, Jr.
Wrestler John Cena
Actor Matthew McConaughey
Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine
Podcaster Joe Rogan
“Never Gonna Give You Up” singer Rick Astley
Former UNC basketball coach Roy Williams
Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban
Television host Mike Rowe
Singer Taylor Swift
Singer Dolly Parton
Carolina Panthers linebacker and former South Carolina standout Jadeveon Clowney
Singer Ted Nugent
NASCAR driver Chase Elliot
Actor and comedian Roseanne Barr
Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith
Rapper Kanye West
Actor Denzel Washington
NFL quarterback Joe Burrow
Actor and comedian Jack Black
Businessman and television personality Mark Cuban
Singer George Strait
Soccer player Christian Pulisic
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld
Singer Alice Cooper
Actor Shia Lebouf
Wrestler Ric Flair
Author Dr. Seuss
Rapper Snoop Dogg
Baseball player Nolan Ryan
Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller
King Charles III
The memes
A handful of perhaps chronically online voters made reference to internet memes with their presidential write-in choices, including:
Harambe the gorilla
Deez Nuts
Hawk Tuah girl
Vermin Supreme
Fictional characters
They may be fictional, but these characters were real enough to some Mecklenburg voters for them to write them in for president:
Cookie Monster (Sesame Street)
Ron Swanson (Parks and Recreation)
Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation)
Pedro (Napoleon Dynamite)
Peter Griffin (Family Guy)
Morticia Addams (The Addams Family)
Donald Duck (Disney)
Mickey Mouse (Disney)
Minnie Mouse (Disney)
Daffy Duck (Looney Tunes)
Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Spongebob (Spongebob Squarepants)
This story was originally published December 2, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
