Ben Fernandez

Benjamin Fernandez (February 24, 1925 – April 25, 2000) was an American politician, diplomat and businessman. He was a member of the Republican Party. He ran for President of the United States three times, seriously in 1980 and with more perfunctory campaigns in 1984 and 1988, making him America's first major-party presidential contender of Hispanic origin.

Fernandez was born in Kansas to Mexican parents who were illegal immigrants. He served in World War II and then began a successful business career. He began to get involved with politics in the late 1960s, co-founding the Republican National Hispanic Council and serving as a fundraiser for Republican candidates starting with President Richard Nixon in 1972. In 1973, Nixon appointed him U.S. Special Envoy to Paraguay.

Early life Benjamin Fernandez was born in the railroad yards of Kansas City, Kansas, in a converted railroad boxcar. Fernandez was one of seven brothers and sisters. His parents were illiterate Mexican migrants who were in the U.S. illegally seeking work. The entire family worked as farm workers in Michigan and Indiana, refusing government assistance. During his political career he was fondly nicknamed "Boxcar Ben".

Fernandez enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and served in the military for three years. After his tour of duty, he landed in California with only $20 and his G.I. benefits.

Political involvement When a reporter asked him why he was a Republican, Fernandez recalled a story from his college days in California when someone told him that the Republican Party was the party of rich people. "Sign me up!" Fernandez replied. "I've had enough of poverty." Fernandez stated that Hispanic voters presented a "golden opportunity for the GOP," and that the Republican Party was "truly the party of the open door." He was persistent in stating that the party could reap huge benefits by embracing the fast-growing Hispanic minority in the United States, claiming that Hispanics were "natural Republicans" because they had a "centuries-old suspicion of oppressive central governments" and "learned fiscal conservatism at the knees of their mothers, who assured them that if they didn't watch their nickels they wouldn't eat." President Nixon later named Fernandez to the President's Council for Minority Enterprise. After Fernandez's fundraising for Nixon led to accusations that he promised government favors in return for campaign contributions, Fernandez appeared before the Senate Watergate Committee on November 8, 1973, to deny allegations of wrongdoing.

In August 1973, President Nixon appointed Fernandez as Special Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay to represent the United States at the inauguration of the President of Paraguay. While there, he addressed the banking and savings and loan industries. Fernandez also served as a member of the Executive Council of the Republican National Committee in 1976.

Republican National Hispanic Assembly Fernandez was an early and adamant supporter of Hispanic involvement within the GOP. In 1967, Fernandez was one of five World War II veterans who came together in Washington, D.C., to discuss Hispanic involvement in American Politics. He co-founded the Republican National Hispanic Council and was elected as its first national chairman. The group would later change its name to the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, and became an official branch of the Republican National Committee under the leadership of then-RNC Chairman George H. W. Bush.

While chairman of the Republican Hispanic Assembly, Fernandez experienced his share of controversy. In one instance, he sent out a "dear amigos" letter to federal employees and contractors urging attendance at a fundraising dinner for President Gerald Ford. A Republican Hispanic Assembly spokesman said he saw no impropriety in the solicitations. President Ford relied heavily on Fernandez to raise money and rally support for him in the Spanish-speaking community. When President Ford's director of the Office of Minority Business Enterprise, Alex Armendaris was accused of misconduct, Fernandez allegedly made a personal phone call to Ford urging him not to fire Armendaris. Fernandez had previously teamed up with Armendaris to raise over $400,000 for Richard Nixon.

During the Presidential primaries, Fernandez campaigned in both English and Spanish, emphasizing that private enterprise can do a better job than government and calling for a balanced federal budget. His campaign focused heavily on the first primary in the nation in Puerto Rico, believing that the Hispanic vote would go to a fellow Hispanic. Fernandez's campaign manager, David Miller, later admitted that the Puerto Rico strategy was a failure, as the early voting states of New Hampshire and Iowa completely overshadowed the Puerto Rico primary. After a lackluster showing in Puerto Rico, Fernandez admitted that he was unable to fire up his Hispanic base as much as he thought he could, and the lack of TV coverage of his campaign made it difficult to raise money and garner name recognition. He kept to the New Hampshire primary, along with perennial candidate Harold Stassen. Each received around one percent of the vote. Fernandez ran one last campaign on a similar scale in 1988.

Personal life and later years Fernandez had three daughters with his first wife. He remarried later in life to Jacqueline Coon and they lived in Calabasas, California. Fernandez then resided in Las Vegas, Nevada, until his death. He continued his work professionally and politically even after his retirement, often traveling throughout the country as a consulting economist. In 2000, he served on the McCain Presidential Finance Committee, his last political involvement before his death.

Legacy Fernandez's status as the first Hispanic presidential candidate was largely forgotten in subsequent decades; when New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, running in 2008, declared himself to be the first ever Hispanic candidate, his statement went mostly uncorrected.