Dustin Ebey, 35, a U.S. Army veteran turned school teacher, has changed his name to ‘Literally Anybody Else’ and has announced his own presidential campaign. Many Americans like him are unhappy about this year’s presidential candidates, encouraging Else to intervene.
Else is currently gaining recognition from people across the nation. Although difficult, he strives to get his name on the ballots. In January 2024, he changed his name to state his dissatisfaction with Joe Biden and Donald Trump as candidates. Else is residing in North Richland Hills and teaches seventh-grade students.
Else’s new name stemmed from the domain, ‘LiterallyAnybodyElse.com,’ that he bought in 2023. Since then, he began creating and designing shirts with the name as a joke. Once Else learned that Biden and Trump were running for president again, he got serious about his new identity.
Else represents upset voters
“I didn’t change my name when it was a joke. I would not have changed my name. My father-in-law puts it nicely that that juice was not worth the squeeze,” Else stated. He knows that the odds are not in his favor, but he is willing to stand his ground and prove a point. On his campaign website, Else wrote, “America should not be stuck choosing between the ‘King of Debt’ (his self-declaration) and an 81-year-old.”
Else informed WFAA, a Texan news outlet, that his campaign’s intention is not about working in the White House. On March 22, he told WFAA in an interview that he wanted to help voters express their unhappiness towards Biden’s and Trump’s candidate-ships.
In his interview, Else stated, “People should have the option to vote for someone who resembles and represents them, not the lesser of two evils. I reject that.” Otherwise, else’s chances of being on the ballots this November are very low. To reach his goal, he must attain at least 113,151 signatures on his filed petition. All of these signatures must be from registered Texan voters who have not voted for the GOP or Democratic candidates.
Is Else brave or delusional?
Else’s chances lie beyond just Texan voters since other U.S. states must be counted. His challenge is intensified due to the signature requirements varying from 800 in New Jersey to 219,403 in California. Therefore, Else is hopeful that U.S. voters will write in his name to give his presidential campaign a real shot.
In his interview with WFAA, Else said, “Write that name in. We don’t really have a ‘neither’ option on the ballot, and this fills that role.” Many Americans are praising Else for his bravery in committing to his bold contribution to the election. Meanwhile, other Americans are calling him delusional and his campaign “rebellious.”
“I’m not delusional. This will be very hard to do, but it’s not impossible,” Else informed WFAA. “My hope is to have Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and then Literally Anybody Else right underneath.” He continued, “I really want there to be an outlet for folks like me who are just so fed up with this constant power grab between two parties that has no benefit for the common person.”
In January 2024, Reuters/Ipsos posted a poll displaying both presidential candidates’ unpopularity. The poll showed that 70% of voters deemed Biden unworthy for reelection, while 56% said Trump didn’t deserve the presidency either. However, this is good news for Else since his popularity may go up while Trump and Biden are deemed unfit by the masses.
On his campaign’s website, Else wrote, “For too long have Americans been a victim of its political parties putting party loyalty over governance. Together, let’s send the message to Washington and say, ‘You will represent or be replaced.'” Getting Else on the ballots this year may be nearly impossible, but he insists that “somebody has to do it.”
