Reynolds was a multi-time candidate for national office with the Socialist Labor Party of America.

However, Johns died later that month trying to rescue a young boy who had fallen in a river at a campaign event in Bend, Oregon.

Two days after his death, Reynolds was nominated as the SLP's nominee for president alongside Jeremiah D.

Alongside vice-presidential nominee John W. Aiken, the campaign increased the number of votes received to 34,038,[2] which was the most for an SLP presidential ticket since the 1900 election.

[4] Verne's son was the science fiction writer Mack Reynolds, who wrote one of the first Star Trek novels.