Thomas J. Harens (born 1954) is a former third-party candidate (Christian Freedom Party) for President of the United States in the 2004 presidential election in which he was only on the ballot in Minnesota.
He had created the Christian Freedom Party in June 2004,[1] and filed his "affidavit of candidacy" with the Minnesota Secretary of State in August.
[2] Some claimed Harens was a stalking horse for the John Kerry campaign, "a device for luring away Republican votes from George W. Bush in a tight election," an accusation he denied.
[3] He did, however, express a desire to have a spoiler effect on the election, hoping to win more votes than the margin between the major party candidates.
Harens had previously run unsuccessfully for mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota in 1997 as a member of the Reform Party.