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Jo Jorgensen presidential campaign, 2020

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2020 Presidential Election
Date: November 3, 2020
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“ I am glad that the voters will finally have a real choice because the non-choice between Trump and Biden is still an option between big government and more big government.[1] ”
—Jo Jorgensen (May 2020)[2]


Jo Jorgensen was the 2020 Libertarian Party presidential nominee. She was nominated at the Libertarian National Convention on May 23, 2020, becoming the first woman to lead the party's presidential ticket.[2][3] She lost the general election on November 3, 2020.

Her running mate was entrepreneur and podcaster Jeremy "Spike" Cohen.

Jorgensen framed her campaign as an alternative to Democratic and Republican policies she said created trillion-dollar deficits and led to involvement in expensive and deadly foreign wars. "Big government mandates and programs created these problems. To solve them, we need to make government smaller – much, much smaller," her campaign website said.[4]

She was the Libertarian vice presidential nominee in 1996.[5]

Jorgensen participated in Ballotpedia's Candidate Conversation series in October 2020. Click here to watch her interview.

Jorgensen in the news

See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing and Editorial approach to story selection for the Daily Presidential News Briefing

This section featured five news stories about Jorgensen and her presidential campaign. For a complete timeline of Jorgensen's campaign activity, click here.

  • November 1, 2020: Jorgensen campaigned in North Carolina.
  • October 31, 2020: Jorgensen campaigned in Iowa.
  • October 26, 2020: The American Conservative published an op-ed by Jorgensen about foreign policy.
  • October 24, 2020: Jorgensen discussed limited government, healthcare, and foreign policy in an interview on Iran International TV.
  • October 22, 2020: Jorgensen participated in a town hall interview.

Biography

Jorgensen was born in Libertyville, Illinois.[6] She graduated from Baylor University in 1979 with a B.S. in psychology. She then received her MBA from Southern Methodist University in 1980.[5]

She worked as a marketing representative for IBM before launching a software sales business in South Carolina in 1983. After taking a sabbatical to raise her children, Jorgensen started a consulting company and earned her Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from Clemson University in 2002.[5]

Jorgensen previously served as the Greenville County chair, state vice chair, and national marketing director for the Libertarian Party. She ran for South Carolina's 4th Congressional District in 1992 and vice president of the United States in 1996.[5]

Campaign staff

See also: Jo Jorgensen presidential campaign staff, 2020 and Presidential election key staffers, 2020

The table below shows a sampling of the candidate's 2020 national campaign staff members, including the campaign manager and some senior advisors, political directors, communication directors, and field directors. It also includes each staff member's position in the campaign, previous work experience, and Twitter handle, where available.[7] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.


Jo Jorgensen presidential national campaign staff, 2020
Staff Position Prior experience Twitter handle
Joe Hauptmann National campaign chair Former chairman, Libertarian Party of Indiana @JoeHauptmann


PredictIt markets

See also: PredictIt markets in the 2020 presidential election


Libertarian presidential primary debates

The following videos provide a sampling of the Libertarian presidential primary debates held in the 2020 presidential election cycle.

Virtual Libertarian Primary Debate, May 21, 2020
Debate hosted by the Libertarian Party of Texas, May 18, 2020
Debate hosted by the Libertarian Party of Kentucky, May 9, 2020

Campaign advertisements

This section shows a sampling of advertisements released to support or oppose this candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

Support

"The First Ones Free" - Jorgensen campaign, released July 9, 2020
"Locate, Activate, Motivate" - Jorgensen campaign, released April 17, 2020
"Break the Media Blockade" - Jorgensen campaign, released April 17, 2020
"Stop Breaking Legs" - Jorgensen campaign, released April 9, 2020

Policy positions

The following policy positions were compiled from the candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews.

Immigration

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says the U.S. should not build a wall along the southern border or separate children from adults who illegally attempted to cross the border. Jorgensen supports deporting illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes. She opposes local law enforcement detaining illegal immigrants and transferring them to federal immigration authorities unless the crime involves a victim and is serious. [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Healthcare

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says, "Republican and Democratic policies over the past fifty years are the reason health care has become so expensive. Their latest proposals to ‘fix’ health care will further micromanage your doctors and restrict your access to care while failing to solve the underlying problem. They differ only on whether this should be done by private insurance companies or government bureaucrats. This is the exact opposite of what needs to be done. We can reduce the cost of health care 75% by allowing real price competition, and by substantially reducing government and insurance company paperwork. This will make health care affordable for most Americans, while also reducing the cost of legacy programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA.” [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Energy and environmental issues

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says, "I will work to remove government barriers to replacing coal-burning and oil-burning power plants in the United States with safe, non-polluting, high-tech nuclear power plants – and allowing off-grid use of solar power. Worldwide, I believe we need to consider all scientific & economic knowledge to care for our environment, not cherry-pick data to support a pre-determined outcome. Most pollution is generated in developing countries, so reducing pollution worldwide requires cost-efficient zero emission energy sources like nuclear.” [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Trade

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says, "The freedom to trade and travel are fundamental to human liberty. As American citizens, we should be free to travel anywhere we choose, and to buy and sell anywhere in the world. As President, I will use my Constitutional authority to eliminate trade barriers & tariffs, and work to repeal arbitrary quotas on the number of people who can legally enter the United States to work, visit, or reside." [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Economy

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says, "The real cure for poverty is a vibrant economy that generates plentiful jobs and high wages, combined with an affordable cost of living. As President, I will work to eliminate policies that cripple economic growth. I will give special attention to regulations driving up the cost of housing and health care, as well as those creating barriers to creating new businesses or entering professions. Finally, I will work to repeal laws and regulations that prevent individuals and charitable organizations from helping those in need.” [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Education

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says, "The Department of Education has failed. In the forty years since the Department of Education was created, government spending on education has skyrocketed, while the quality of education has declined. Students used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. As President, I will work to eliminate the Department of Education and return control of education to where it belongs – with parents, teachers, and students.” [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Gun regulation

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says she opposes additional restrictions on the process of purchasing a gun. She also opposes allowing victims of gun violence to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers. [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Criminal justice

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says communities should determine whether police officers are required to wear body cameras. She opposes the government hiring private companies to run prisons, solitary confinement for juveniles, mandatory minimums for people charged with drug possession, and the death penalty for drug traffickers. Her campaign website says convicted criminals should have the right to vote. [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Foreign policy

Jo Jorgensen says on her campaign website, "Turn America into One Giant Switzerland: Armed and Neutral – with the military force to defend America’s shores and soil against any foreign attackers or invaders. Protected by an armed citizenry and by a military laser-focused on defending America. No US involvement in foreign wars. Bring home our 200,000+ American military personnel stationed in foreign countries. No US military aid to foreign governments. No US blockades or embargoes of non-military trade. Peace.” [source, as of 2020-07-28]

Impeachment

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website does not include a position on the impeachment of President Donald Trump. [source, as of 2020-06-20]

Abortion

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says of abortion, "Keep the government out of it, no subsidies, no regulations." [source, as of 2020-08-12]

Supreme Court vacancy

Jo Jorgensen released a list of 18 potential Supreme Court nominees on September 23, 2020. She said, "We need justices who, unlike the majority of those appointed to our highest court over the past 100 years, will strictly uphold our Constitution. We must restore the limits that our Founders imposed on federal authority and rigorously defend both individual liberty and property rights."

She initially tweeted about the Supreme Court vacancy, "I'm not going to comment on that until Justice Ginsburg's family has had a chance to mourn and lay her to rest." [source, as of 2020-09-23]

Other policy positions

Click on any of the following links to read more policy positions from the 2020 presidential candidates.

Abortion

Criminal justice

Economy

Education

Energy and environmental issues

Foreign policy

Gun regulation

Healthcare

Immigration

Impeachment

Labor

Trade

Potential Supreme Court nominees

On September 23, 2020, Jorgensen released a list of 18 potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jorgensen said, "We need justices who, unlike the majority of those appointed to our highest court over the past 100 years, will strictly uphold our Constitution. We must restore the limits that our Founders imposed on federal authority and rigorously defend both individual liberty and property rights."[8]

The following individuals were named:

  • Richard Epstein, New York University
  • Andrew Napolitano, former New Jersey Superior Court judge
  • Randy Barnett, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Clint Bolick, Arizona Supreme Court
  • Eugene Volokh, UCLA
  • Janice Rogers Brown, former District Court for the D.C. Circuit judge
  • Dana Berliner, Institute for Justice
  • Anastasia Boden, Pacific Legal Foundation
  • Timothy Sandefur, Goldwater Institute
  • Scott Bullock, Institute for Justice
  • James Ostrowski, attorney
  • Alan Gura, attorney
  • Jonathan Turley, George Washington University Law School
  • Damien Schiff, Pacific Law Foundation
  • Clark Neily, Cato Institute
  • Nadine Strossen, New York Law School
  • Jacob Hornberger, Future of Freedom Foundation
  • Don Willett, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Campaign themes

Candidate Conversations

Moderated by journalist and political commentator Greta Van Susteren, Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A. Click below to watch the conversation for this race.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Jo Jorgensen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Jorgensen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

On Day One of a Jorgensen administration, I will pardon all 80,000 non-violent people imprisoned on federal drug charges. The War on Drugs has been a disaster, and has been used to target the poor and people of color, and to ruin lives that could have been salvaged. Neither Republicans or Democrats have the courage to change the status-quo. I will also use my pardon power to free whistleblowers who risked their liberty to expose corruption and abuse by government agencies. We can protect our communities without sacrificing freedom through failed initiatives like civil asset forfeiture, no-knock raids, qualified immunity, mass surveillance, and the War on Drugs. The land of the free will no longer lead the world in incarceration.
Both my opponents have been raising taxes, accelerating government spending, and adding trillions to the nation’s debt. Both have, by their records, continued U.S. military expansion. Both failed to make meaningful changes to immigration, criminal justice, and drug war policies which continually put Americans at odds with law enforcement and exacerbate inequalities.

Politicians and special interests who will endorse my opponents want to keep your taxes high so they can profit from business-as-usual in big government. Our support will come from everyday workers, taxpayers and small business owners who desperately need relief from high taxes and red tape.
No one in Washington has the courage to oppose our non-stop involvement in expensive, unnecessary, and deadly foreign wars. I have pledged to turn America into one giant Switzerland—armed and neutral. Democrats and Republicans in the federal government have needlessly mired us in conflicts to appease special interests, including the Military industrial complex. These wars have caused the injury or death of hundreds of thousands of American soldiers and millions of innocent people around the world. They have wasted trillions of tax dollars and created trillions of dollars of burdensome federal government debt. As your president, I will immediately begin the process of closing military bases and bringing our troops home to their families.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Jorgensen submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 1, 2020.

Website

The following campaign themes were published on Jorgensen's presidential campaign website:

“

Jo Jorgensen’s Bold, Practical, Libertarian Vision for America’s Future

Generations of Republican and Democrat politicians have failed the people of America. Together they’ve given us:

  • Over $23 trillion in debt, trillion-dollar deficits, plus trillions more in unfunded liabilities
  • Non-Stop Involvement in expensive and deadly foreign war
  • Skyrocketing health care costs
  • The highest imprisonment rate in the world; even higher among racial minorities and the poor
  • A broken retirement system unable to pay promised benefits
  • Tariffs that are destroying markets for American farmers
  • An endless immigration crisis

Big government mandates and programs created these problems. To solve them, we need to make government smaller – much, much smaller.

Here is a brief overview of my bold, practical, Libertarian vision for America’s future:

Government Spending, Deficits, and Debt:

"As President, I will use my Constitutional authority to block any new borrowing. I will veto any spending bill that would lead to a deficit, and veto any debt ceiling increase. I will give every Cabinet secretary a specific spending reduction target to meet and hold them accountable. There is simply no excuse for sticking our children and grandchildren with the bill for these bipartisan bloated budgets."

Neutrality and Peace:

"Turn America into One Giant Switzerland: Armed and Neutral – with the military force to defend America’s shores and soil against any foreign attackers or invaders. Protected by an armed citizenry and by a military laser-focused on defending America. No US involvement in foreign wars. Bring home our 200,000+ American military personnel stationed in foreign countries. No US military aid to foreign governments. No US blockades or embargoes of non-military trade. Peace."

Health Care:

"Republican and Democratic policies over the past fifty years are the reason health care has become so expensive. Their latest proposals to ‘fix’ health care will further micromanage your doctors and restrict your access to care while failing to solve the underlying problem. They differ only on whether this should be done by private insurance companies or government bureaucrats. This is the exact opposite of what needs to be done. We can reduce the cost of health care 75% by allowing real price competition, and by substantially reducing government and insurance company paperwork. This will make health care affordable for most Americans, while also reducing the cost of legacy programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA."

Environment:

"I will work to remove government barriers to replacing coal-burning and oil-burning power plants in the United States with safe, non-polluting, high-tech nuclear power plants – and allowing off-grid use of solar power. Worldwide, I believe we need to consider all scientific & economic knowledge to care for our environment, not cherry-pick data to support a pre-determined outcome. Most pollution is generated in developing countries, so reducing pollution worldwide requires cost-efficient zero emission energy sources like nuclear."

Social Security:

"Do you trust politicians to keep their promises? I don’t. They’ve spent every cent in the Social Security Trust Fund on other spending, leaving behind worthless IOU’s. Other countries have successfully replaced their government-run systems with individual retirement accounts safe from greedy politicians. As President, I would work to implement a solution like the Cato Institute’s “6.2% solution”, which would allow any American the opportunity to “opt out” of the current system while making the current system fiscally stable for those who choose to remain."

Trade & Immigration:

“The freedom to trade and travel are fundamental to human liberty. As American citizens, we should be free to travel anywhere we choose, and to buy and sell anywhere in the world. As President, I will use my Constitutional authority to eliminate trade barriers & tariffs, and work to repeal arbitrary quotas on the number of people who can legally enter the United States to work, visit, or reside. “

Criminal Justice Reform:

“I am appalled that the United States ranks number one in the world for having the highest percentage of people imprisoned. I am also appalled that the federal government permits police to seize a person’s assets without first convicting them of a crime, and then keep most of the assets seized. This is literally highway robbery. As President, I will use my Constitutional authority to end federal civil asset forfeiture prior to conviction, and pardon persons convicted of non-violent victimless crimes. I will also work with Congress to end the failed War on Drugs and other victimless crime laws.”

Poverty:

“From 1959 to 1969, the poverty rate was nearly cut in half while government did little to address poverty. However, after the war on poverty was fully implemented in the early seventies, progress stopped. Fifty years of federal anti-poverty programs – zero impact. Government anti-poverty programs don’t work. The real cure for poverty is a vibrant economy that generates plentiful jobs and high wages, combined with an affordable cost of living. As President, I will work to eliminate policies that cripple economic growth. I will give special attention to regulations driving up the cost of housing and health care, as well as those creating barriers to creating new businesses or entering professions. Finally, I will work to repeal laws and regulations that prevent individuals and charitable organizations from helping those in need.”

Education:

“The Department of Education has failed. In the forty years since the Department of Education was created, government spending on education has skyrocketed, while the quality of education has declined. Students used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. As President, I will work to eliminate the Department of Education and return control of education to where it belongs – with parents, teachers, and students.”

Taxes:

“Taxes are never voluntary – they are always paid under threat of punishment. If you fail to pay what government says you owe, you can be fined, have your wages garnished, assets seized, even go to prison. Voting for more government spending inevitably leads to higher taxes to pay for it – now, or in the future. As President, I will work tirelessly to slash federal spending, make government much, much smaller, and let you keep what you earn.”[1]

”
—Jorgensen 2020[9]

Presidential debate responses

See also: Presidential debates, 2020

Jorgensen did not qualify for 2020 presidential debates, which required candidates to meet certain constitutional, ballot access, and polling requirements. Her campaign uploaded the following videos in response to the presidential and vice presidential debates:

"2020 Presidential Debates Interview" - Jorgensen campaign, released September 30, 2020

Libertarian presidential and vice presidential nominees, 1972-2016

The following chart shows the Libertarian presidential ticket from every presidential election between 1972 and 2016.[10]

Libertarian presidential and vice presidential nominees, 1972-2016
Year Libertarian presidential nominee Libertarian vice presidential nominee Percentage of national popular vote Raw votes
1972 John Hospers Tonie Nathan 0.0% 3,674
1976 Roger MacBride David Bergland 0.2% 172,557
1980 Ed Clark David Koch 1.1% 921,128
1984 David Bergland James Lewis 0.3% 228,111
1988 Ron Paul Andre Marrou 0.5% 431,750
1992 Andre Marrou Nancy Lord 0.3% 290,087
1996 Harry Browne Jo Jorgenson 0.5% 485,798
2000 Harry Browne Art Olivier 0.4% 384,532
2004 Michael Badnarik Richard Campagna 0.3% 397,265
2008 Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 0.4% 523,433
2012 Gary Johnson James Gray 1.0% 1,275,923
2016 Gary Johnson Bill Weld 3.3% 4,489,235

Libertarian Party Platform

The following embedded document contains the Libertarian Party Platform adopted by the party in July 2018. The party made no changes to the platform at its 2020 national convention.[11]

Social media

Accounts

Twitter feed

Ballot access

See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

The following map shows the states where Jorgensen qualified to be on the ballot as a presidential candidate:

In order to get on the ballot, a candidate for president of the United States must meet a variety of complex, state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A presidential candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.

There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for president of the United States.

  1. An individual can seek the nomination of a political party. Presidential nominees are selected by delegates at national nominating conventions. Individual states conduct caucuses or primary elections to determine which delegates will be sent to the national convention.[12]
  2. An individual can run as an independent. Independent presidential candidates typically must petition each state to have their names printed on the general election ballot.[12]
  3. An individual can run as a write-in candidate.[12]


Click here for more information about ballot access for minor parties.

Archive of Political Emails

The Archive of Political Emails was founded in July 2019 to compile political fundraising and advocacy emails sent by candidates, elected officials, PACs, nonprofits, NGOs, and other political actors.[13] The archive includes screenshots and searchable text from emails sent by 2020 presidential candidates. To review the Hawkins campaign's emails, click here.

Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

The following section provides a timeline of Jorgensen's campaign activity beginning in July 2020. The entries, which come from Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing, are sorted by month in reverse chronological order.


2020


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Washington Times, "Libertarians nominate psychologist grandmother to be presidential candidate," May 24, 2020
  3. ↑ YouTube, "LNC Convention Day 2," May 23, 2020
  4. ↑ Jorgensen 2020, "Issues," accessed June 11, 2020
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Jorgensen 2020, "About Dr. Jo Jorgensen," accessed June 11, 2020
  6. ↑ Daily Herald, "Woman who grew up in Grayslake is Libertarian Party's presidential pick," May 25, 2020
  7. ↑ Democracy in Action, "Organization," accessed November 4, 2019
  8. ↑ Jorgensen 2020, "Jorgensen issues list of potential U.S. Supreme Court picks," September 23, 2020
  9. ↑ Jorgensen 2020, "Issues," accessed June 11, 2020
  10. ↑ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections, "Election Results," accessed October 30, 2019
  11. ↑ Libertarian Party, "Platform," accessed October 8, 2020
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Vote Smart, "Government 101: United States Presidential Primary," accessed August 15, 2015
  13. ↑ Archive of Political Emails, "About," accessed September 16, 2019
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