Fred Tuttle Goes From Mockumentary to Senate Candidate (1998)
Podcast:This Day (An America 250 History Show) Published On: Thu Sep 04 2025 Description: It's September 4th. This day in 1998, an elderly Vermont farmer by the name of Fred Tuttle has all of a sudden found himself as the Republican Senate candidate, after initially entering the race as a joke.Jody, Niki, and Kelllie discuss how Tuttle first came to attention by staring in a mockumentary, why Vermonters started to actually support him, and how his unlikely candidacy presaged an era of populist-celebrity politics.Don't forget to sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical tidbits.https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more about the show at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices