In 1980 what elected office did Joe Walsh run for?

In 1980, Joe Walsh ran for President of the United States.

This was the Eagles guitarist and solo rocker Joe Walsh, not the later Illinois congressman and radio host who shares his name. Walsh’s 1980 presidential effort was a satirical campaign rather than a conventional bid for the White House. He used the slogan “Free Gas for Everyone” and proposed making his song “Life’s Been Good” the national anthem.

Walsh was only 32 during the 1980 election, below the Constitution’s minimum presidential age of 35. He therefore could not legally have assumed the office even if he had won. He said the campaign was intended partly to raise public awareness about the election and to make political commentary through humor.

Walsh later staged another tongue-in-cheek campaign in 1992, this time for vice president, alongside Reverend Goat Carson. The 1980 episode is remembered as one of rock music’s more unusual political stunts, rather than as a serious party campaign.