T. Coleman Andrews

Who was T. Coleman Andrews?

Thomas Coleman Andrews was an accountant and an independent candidate for President of the United States.

Andrews was born in Richmond, Virginia. After high school, he worked at a meat packing company in Richmond. He then worked with a public accounting firm and he was certified as a CPA in 1921. Andrews formed his own public accounting firm in 1922. He went on leave from his firm in 1931 to become the Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Virginia, a position he held until 1933. He also took leave in 1938 to serve as controller and director of finance in Richmond. Andrews served in the office of the Under-Secretary of War as a fiscal director. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1943, working as an accountant in North Africa and in the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing.

Andrews retired from his firms in 1953 to become the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. He left the position in 1955 stating his opposition to the income tax. Andrews ran for President as the States' Rights Party candidate in 1956; his running mate was former Congressman Thomas H. Werdel. Andrews won 107,929 votes, running strongest in the state of Virginia, winning Fayette County, Tennessee and Prince Edward County, Virginia.