Ben Fernandez

Date of Birth: February 24, 1925

Place of Birth: Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.

Date of Death: April 25, 2000

Place of Death: Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

Ethnicity: Mexican

Ben Fernandez was an American politician, financial consultant, and special ambassador. A Republican, he served as a U.S. Special Ambassador to Paraguay, from August 1, 1973 to August 31, 1973, and a Member of the Executive Council of the Republican National Committee, in 1976.

He was a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 1980, 1984, and 1988.

His parents were Mexican immigrants. They were in the U.S. illegally. Ben was married to Jacqueline Coon. He had three children.

Ben was one of several people of Hispanic ancestry to mount a major campaign for President of the United States. The others were/are:
*Bill Richardson (who sought the 2008 Democratic nomination; three of Richardson’s grandparents were Hispanic)
*Ted Cruz (2016; Republican; won 11 contests; Cruz’s father is Cuban)
*Marco Rubio (2016; Republican; won 3 contests; Rubio’s parents are Cuban)
*Richard Ojeda (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Ojeda’s paternal grandfather was Mexican)
*Julián Castro (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Castro is of Mexican descent)
*Francis Suarez (who sought the 2024 Republican nomination; Suarez is of Cuban descent)

Several prominent candidates for President of the United States can be considered Hispanic in a sense, though they were not of Spanish and/or Indigenous ancestry:
*George W. Romney (who sought the 1968 Republican nomination, and whose name was placed in nomination for 1964’s; he was born in Mexico, of non-Hispanic descent)
*Pierre S. du Pont IV (who sought the 1988 Republican nomination; his maternal grandfather was born in Chile, of non-Hispanic descent)
*John McCain (who sought the 2000 Republican nomination, and who was the 2008 Republican nominee; he was born in Panama, of non-Hispanic descent)
*Mitt Romney (who sought the 2008 Republican nomination, and who was the 2012 Republican nominee; his father George was born in Mexico, of non-Hispanic descent)