Jonathan Makeley

Jonathan Makeley is a Western New York historian and chair of the Prohibition Party of New York, running a declared write-in campaign for governor — the party's first gubernatorial candidate in New York since 1926. His campaign centers on treating alcohol, tobacco and other drugs as public-health issues, reforming state ballot-access laws, and increasing state support for public education.[1][2]

Makeley describes himself as a lifelong New York resident who has spent his life in Western New York, and he graduated from Genesee Valley Central School. His campaign website says he grew up in Angelica and lives in Amherst.[2][3] He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Alfred University (2017) and two graduate degrees from the University at Buffalo (2019 and 2021), a master's in history and a master's in library and information science.[2] He works as a historian and describes his specialty as 19th-century American reform movements; his first job, per his Ballotpedia survey, was as a research assistant at Alfred University.[2]

Makeley serves as chair of the Prohibition Party of New York and as the national party's Secretary. As of 2018, Ballotpedia lists him as associated with the Prohibition National Committee, the Prohibition Party of New York and the Prohibition Trust Fund Association.[1][2] According to his Ballotpedia survey, he is running as a write-in candidate because New York's ballot-access laws make it almost impossible for alternative parties to get on the ballot.[2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.