During the nomination campaign, he put forth a four-point plank that included his plans to restrict immigration, balance the federal budget, decrease the size of government, and institute congressional term limits.

He continuously faced criticism that his campaign would act as a "spoiler", taking votes from presumptive Republican Party nominee Mitt Romney and helping President Barack Obama win re-election.

By discussing alternative solutions, restricting individual campaign donations to $200 and not accepting money from Political Action Committees, Goode cast himself as a grassroots "average citizen" that offered a distinct choice for voters outside of "Tweedledum and Tweedledee".

His career began in 1973, when, after serving in the Army National Guard and graduating from law school,[1] he won a special election to the Senate of Virginia as an independent on a platform advocating the Equal Rights Amendment.

Upon hearing that Ellison planned to be sworn in on a Qur'an, Goode drew the ire of some of his House colleagues[5] with a controversial letter describing the election of Muslims as an adverse effect of immigration policy.

However, he later told The Daily Progress that his views were in greater accord with the Constitution Party on such issues as support for Arizona SB 1070 and opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

[22] Hollins University political science professor Ed Lynch lauded Goode's potential appeal to the Tea Party movement and his "personal conversation" style but argued that his public speaking ability and strong Old Virginia accent could hurt his chances with the American audience.

[22] Political strategist David Saunders speculated that if Goode chose to run, he would take votes away from the Republicans in Virginia and possibly sway the state to the Democrats.

He discussed plans to cut government spending to the Department of Education, defense, and foreign aid; continued arguments against free trade agreements and immigration; and added his support for term limits in Congress.

[25] The next day, Goode set up a campaign website[26] and informed the press he would formally announce his candidacy on February 21 in front of Federal Hall National Memorial in New York City.

Just prior to the nomination, 2008 vice presidential nominee Darrell Castle decided to enter the race, saying several convention delegates had urged him to run.

[36] In his acceptance speech, Goode thanked his opponents, and presented himself as an alternative to President Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Hoping to differentiate himself, he said that unlike Obama and Romney, he supports cutting the budget for education, "No Child Left Behind", and foreign aid, as well as auditing the Federal Reserve, and ending Diversity Visas.

[44] With Romney likely coming out of the convention as the GOP nominee, Goode told the Martinsville Bulletin that he also hoped to win support among those members of the Tea Party movement concerned about "Romneycare" and government spending.

[48] Though short of the debate requirements, if replicated in the election, it would meet scholar Walter Dean Burnham's five percent threshold for successful third party runs.

[51] He reflected this sentiment during a May 13 interview on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, saying that he wanted to give voters a choice, and hoped to take enough votes from both the Republicans and Democrats in order to win the election.

Near the end of May, John Long, a columnist for The Roanoke Times compared Goode's campaign to the role of Virgil in Dante's Inferno, explaining he "eventually disappears, powerless to climb to the heights of Paradise.

[55] At this time, Goode continued to work on ballot access with petitions circulating in Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia.

He compared his views to those of Paul, affirming his support for a Federal Reserve audit, a non-interventionist foreign policy, and a return to the Gold Standard.

"[59] The next day, Goode repeated this view during a meeting with the Rotary Club of Martinsville at the Virginia Museum of Natural History; however, he pledged that as president he would not seek cuts to military salaries or veterans' benefits.

He observed that Goode had embraced non-interventionism, but still expressed the belief that pre-invasion Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction, and used a tone "a bit off for someone who is leading a party that truly advocates a humble foreign policy" when arguing the U.S. "send Iran a clear message that if we are assaulted, we will meet it and trump it".

"[76] Nevertheless, the Times noted that third party support generally falls before the election, and that according to University of Mary Washington political science professor Stephen Farnsworth, even within Virginia, Goode is less-known outside his former congressional district.

He described himself as an "average citizen" and said he was offering a choice to voters as a candidate not beholden to moneyed interests, and who is in favor of term limits and reducing the distribution of green cards.

[79][80] After this, Goode campaigned in Birmingham, Alabama,[81] and then traveled to Raleigh, where he filled out paperwork to appear as a recognized write-in candidate in North Carolina.

Discussing his limits on fundraising with Time, Goode asserted, "if you want big money candidates, you've got two great ones running," referencing Romney and Obama.

[86] On the trail, after departing the Midwest, Goode appeared outside the State Capitol in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he spoke before a crowd of 20 supporters, characterizing himself as "a true grassroots president who will answer the telephone from somebody sitting in this audience ... as quick as [he] would take a call from somebody like Warren Buffett or a heavy hitter from Bain Capital.

He finished his trip with a stop in New Mexico, meeting with leaders of the state Constitution Party to discuss the strategy of the campaign's final two months.

Meanwhile, the campaign secured ballot access in Rhode Island, Alabama, and New Hampshire, raising the total number of ballot-qualified states to 26, the final count.

[111] Again with Johnson, Stein, and Anderson, Goode participated in the November 4 third party debate in Washington D.C. at Busboys and Poets moderated by consumer advocate and four time presidential candidate Ralph Nader.

"[112] Wikinews afforded Goode, Anderson, and Tom Hoefling (candidates excluded from the second Free and Equal Debate) the opportunity to give their "final plea" to voters on the eve of Election Day.