 Kotlikoff attempted to run for President of the United States in the 2012 election, and sought the nominations of the advocacy group Americans Elect and the Reform Party of the United States before ending his campaign in May 2012.Kotlikoff ran for president again in 2016 as an independent alongside his Vice President, Dr. Edward Leamer, a renowned economist at UCLA.He achieved ballot-access in 38 states, making him one of only six people in the world that could be legally elected president.