Think there are too many GOP candidates? Meet the 1,200 other people running for president

Republican 2016 presidential candidates&#039; campaign buttons.

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Republican primary field is gradually winnowing down from a confusing high of 17 candidates — a total that has left many voters (and probably many candidates, too) understandably overwhelmed.

But fear not: Even as GOP contenders drop out and the Democratic contest stays small, there are still some 1,200 other people running for president in America. They're fringe candidates with a wide array of agendas for America, and you probably can't vote for most of them, as they generally are registered in just one state (if they're on a ballot at all).

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.