Mark Clayton (politician)

Mark Clayton (born 1976/1977) is a United States Senate candidate from Tennessee. On August 2, 2012, he received the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate with roughly 30% of the vote. He will face incumbent Republican Bob Corker in the November election. The state Democratic Party disowned Clayton after his victory in the primary, citing his conservative and libertarian views and his membership in the socially conservative group Public Advocate of the United States which is known for its pro-life and pro-marriage activism. The party issued a statement saying that "The only time that Clayton has voted in a Democratic primary was when he was voting for himself. Many Democrats in Tennessee knew nothing about any of the candidates in the race, so they voted for the person at the top of the ticket. Unfortunately, none of the other Democratic candidates were able to run the race needed to gain statewide visibility or support" and "Mark Clayton is associated with a known hate group in Washington, D.C., and the Tennessee Democratic Party disavows his candidacy, will not do anything to promote or support him in any way, and urges Democrats to write-in a candidate of their choice in November."

In 2008, Clayton ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in order to challenge Lamar Alexander, whom he described as a "neo-conservative".

Clayton's political positions include his opposition to the North American Union, the NAFTA superhighway, and the national ID card. He has also warned that America faces a "godless New World Order" and that Americans who speak out against the government run the risk of being sent to FEMA prison camps. He has spoken out against Chinese oppression of the Tibetan people.

Following Clayton's victory, Public Advocate of the United States issued a press release touting Clayton's victory and proclaiming that it "associates with members of both major parties in a non-partisan fashion and promotes traditional values in both parties" and that Clayton showed that "an American patriot can put his or her name on the ballot and win big as a conservative even in the Democratic Party." Clayton's spokesman criticized the state Democratic party for disowning him, arguing that its leadership had violated the law by using party resources to attack one of its own candidates and saying that the Clayton campaign would file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.