Robby Wells

Robert Carr Wells Jr. (born April 10, 1968) is an American politician, perennial candidate and former college football coach. He was the head football coach at Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.[1]

For other persons of like name, see Robert Wells (disambiguation).

Robby Wells
Biographical details
Born (1968-04-10) April 10, 1968
Bartow, Georgia, U.S.
Playing career
1986–1989Furman
Position(s)Fullback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1990–1994Greer (SC) HS (asst.)
1995–1997C.E. Murray HS
1998–1999South Carolina (DB)
2000–2001South Carolina (LB)
2002–2005South Carolina State (DC)
2007Benedict (DC)
2008–2009Savannah State
Head coaching record
Overall7–15

Wells unsuccessfully sought the Constitution Party's nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election.[2][3][4] He ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election. He was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

College football career

Wells played football at Furman University, playing fullback and wide receiver. He was a member of the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA national championship team.[5]

Coaching career

Wells coached football from 1990 to 2009. He began his career as an assistant coach at Greer (S.C.) High School (1990–1995). He served as head coach at C.E. Murray High School Greeleyville, SC (1995–1997).[5][6]

He moved to the University of South Carolina as a graduate assistant for four seasons. Wells worked with the defensive backs (1998-1999) and middle linebackers (2000). </ref> Wells moved on to become the defensive coordinator at South Carolina State University in 2002.[5] As the Bulldog's defensive coordinator (2002–2005) Wells' defense attained numerous national rankings and a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship (2004).[5]

In 2006, Wells was hired as the General Manager for the Augusta Spartans Arena Football Team where his duties included coaching, player personnel decisions, player development, team travel, fund raising and media relations.[5]

Wells' final position before joining Savannah State was as the defensive coordinator and football marketing director for one season at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina.[5]

Savannah State

Wells was hired as head football coach on December 22, 2007 (2007-12-22). In his first season as head coach, the team saw as many victories as the previous four seasons combined. Wells resigned his position on January 28, 2010 citing personal reasons. He subsequently filed a lawsuit against SSU for reverse discrimination, alleging that his resignation as head coach was forced.[7] The lawsuit was settled in November 2011.[8][9]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Savannah State Tigers (NCAA Division I FCS independent) (2008–2009)
2008 Savannah State 5–7
2009 Savannah State 2–8
Savannah State: 7–15
Total:7–15

Presidential bids

2012

On November 21, 2011, Wells announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2012 general election.[2][10] He initially stated that he would run as an independent, saying "Our party system is broken. We need a third option".[2] In December, he became a candidate for the presidential nomination of the Reform Party.[11] In January 2012, Wells withdrew his bid for the Reform Party nomination and announced that he would instead seek the presidential nomination of the Constitution Party.[3][12] At the Constitution Party National Convention, Wells received 58 of 402 votes (14.39%) for the party's presidential nomination, which was won on the first ballot by former U.S. Congressman Virgil Goode.[4]

Wells at a debate between independent candidates

2016

Wells announced on November 3, 2012, that he would run for President of the United States again in 2016 as an independent candidate.[13] On July 17, 2013, he held a conference call to address a variety of accusations by his former campaign managers.[14]

On September 24, 2013, Wells announced that he would discontinue campaigning as an independent candidate and would instead seek the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.[15][16] On March 9, 2016, a press release on Wells' website claimed that Wells is no longer running as a Democrat, but as an independent once again.[17]

Wells never attempted to get his name on the ballot in any state.[18]

2020

In 2018, Wells filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for President in the 2020 Democratic Party primary.[19] He filed in person at the office of Secretary of State Bill Gardner to enter the New Hampshire Democratic primary on November 13, 2019.[20] He then went on to get on the ballot in the Texas and Louisiana Democratic primaries.[21]

Personal life

Wells holds both a master's degree in adult education from the University of South Carolina (2000) and a Bachelor's degree in health and physical education from Furman University (1990).[5]

References
  1. "Savannah State University 2009 Media Guide" (PDF). Savannah State University. Retrieved December 4, 2009.
  2. Peterson, Larry (November 21, 2011). "Robby Wells settles SSU lawsuit, says he's running for president". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  3. Hassanali, Zoheb (January 17, 2012). "Former football coach running for presidency". WACH. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  4. Retting, Arielle (April 22, 2012). "Constitution Party to run Virgil Goode for president". The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  5. "Robby Wells". Savannah State Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  6. "SSU football starts 'new era'". December 24, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
  7. "Wells resigns as SSU head football coach". SSUAthletics.com. Savannah State University. January 28, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  8. Jones, Walter (November 18, 2011). "Coach's lawsuit against SSU settled". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  9. Heath, Donald (November 30, 2011). "Robby Wells receives $240,000 in settlement with SSU". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  10. "Charlotte man plans to run for President in 2012". WSOC-TV. November 19, 2011. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  11. "3rd Party Presidential Candidate Robby Wells visits FOX 35". FOX 35 (Orlando). January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  12. "Robby Wells drops Reform Party bid to run for Constitution Party nom". Independent Political Report. January 16, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  13. "Robby Carr Wells Announces Presidential Bid For 2016 @ Music City Liberty Festival". YouTube. November 4, 2012. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  14. Lesiak, Krzysztof (July 21, 2013). "Robby Wells Addresses Accusations, Claims He Has Virgil Goode's Endorsement for 2016, Independent Political Report, 7/21/13". Independent Political Report.
  15. Lesiak, Krzysztof (September 24, 2013). "Robby Wells To Seek Democratic Nomination For President In 2016". Independent Political Report.
  16. Patrick Gavin (November 29, 2013). "2016 already here for fringe hopefuls". Politico.
  17. "Press Release 03-09-16". robbywells2016.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  18. "Ballot access for presidential candidates". Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  19. "FEC Filing" (PDF). Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  20. https://sos.nh.gov/
  21. "Presidential Candidate - Robby Wells for President". Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
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