Gary Reams
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Gary Reams is a telecommunications industry manager and was the 2001 Libertarian candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This candidacy followed an unsuccessful 2000 election bid for United States Senate. Reams dubbed his campaign the "Reams Reeferendum," declaring that it was a referendum on cannabis prohibition. He debated Democrat Tim Kaine on public television, persistently linking every question to the marijuana issue, which he regarded as relevant to all other political issues, including taxes, law enforcement, the environment, foreign policy, and public safety. Republican Jay Katzen declined to participate in the debate, but participated in other debates from which Gary Reams, as a third party candidate, was barred. Reams garnered less than 2% of the statewide vote, although he polled several times that percentage in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he had campaigned extensively.
Reams attributed the poor showing to the media blackout of his campaign resulting from the September 11, 2001 attacks, which focused attention on anthrax, terrorism and other issues of survival. Reams' strategy has depended on free media coverage, since he lacked a large campaign fund.
