John Michael Schaefer[1] (born March 25, 1938) is an American politician and former perennial candidate who served on the San Diego City Council from 1965 to 1971 and then ran for 33 local and state offices in California, Arizona, Maryland, and Nevada for nearly half a century before unexpectedly winning election to the California Board of Equalization in 2018.

In 1968, he received the Republican nomination in California's 37th House district, but was defeated by incumbent Representative Lionel Van Deerlin.

[10] He ran as a member of the Democratic Party and placed second in the top-two primary behind state senator Joel Anderson.

[11] Schaefer was briefly a Democratic candidate for California's 47th congressional district in the 2024 election, but later switched to the race for the U.S. Senate in Nevada.

He was successfully sued by his tenants in Los Angeles for the low quality of his housing and they were awarded $1.83 million.

[16] In 2013, comedian Brad Garrett filed a restraining order against Schaefer, stating in his application: "As a celebrity, I am very concerned about stalkers who seek notoriety by associating themselves with me."