Jerome Michael Segal (born November 25, 1943) is an American philosopher, political activist, and perennial candidate[1][2] who resides in Silver Spring, Maryland.

He was the founder of the socialist, progressive, and somewhat libertarian[3] Bread and Roses Party, which achieved ballot access in Maryland in January 2019,[4] and which Segal ran from 2018 to 2021.

His father, a socialist and member of the Jewish Labor Bund, was born in Poland and immigrated to the United States, where he found employment as a factory worker in the garment industry.

[10] After receiving his MPA from the University of Minnesota, Segal moved to Washington, D.C. in 1974 to work as an aide to Congressman Donald M. Fraser and administrator of the House Budget Committee's task force on distributive impacts of economic policy.

After leaving government, he joined the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland as Senior Research Scholar.

[14][15] In May 1989, Segal founded the Jewish Peace Lobby, which he envisioned as acting as a counterweight to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

[21][22] In December 2021, Segal disbanded the Bread and Roses party to seek the Democratic nomination for the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial election.