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Libertarian Party
| Libertarian Party | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Alexandria, Va. |
| Type: | Political party |
| Top official: | Nicholas Sarwark, Chair |
| Founder(s): | David Nolan |
| Year founded: | 1971 |
| Website: | Official website |
The Libertarian Party is the third-largest political party in the United States after the Democratic and Republican parties. According to the Libertarian Party's website, "Libertarians strongly oppose any government interference into their personal, family, and business decisions."[1]
Background
The Libertarian Party was formed in 1971 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, by David Nolan. The group held its first national convention in 1972. Since its inception, the Libertarian Party has supported and fielded Libertarian candidates in races across the United States. According to the party's website, Libertarians held 202 elective offices throughout the United States as of October 31, 2019.[2]
Platform
The Libertarian Party platform is a written document that outlines the party's policy priorities and positions on domestic and foreign affairs. The platform also describes the party's core concepts and beliefs.[3]
Click here to view the full text of the 2018 Libertarian Party platform.
Leadership
The following tables display the national and regional leadership of the Libertarian Party:[4]
National leadership
As of October 31, 2019, the following individuals served on the Libertarian National Committee:[5]
| Title | Officer |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Nicholas Sarwark |
| Vice chair | Alex Merced |
| Treasurer | Tim Hagan |
| Secretary | Caryn Ann Harlos |
| At-large | Joe Bishop-Henchman |
| At-large | Sam Goldstein |
| At-large | Alicia Mattson |
| At-large | William Redpath |
| At-large | Joshua Smith |
National committee members as of 2017
| Title | Officer |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Nicholas Sarwark |
| Vice chair | Arvin Vohra |
| Treasurer | Tim Hagan |
| Secretary | Alicia Mattson |
| At-large | William Redpath |
| At-large | Sam Goldstein |
| At-large | Starchild |
| At-large | Joshua Katz |
| At-large | Daniel Hayes |
Regional representatives
Regional representatives are members of the Libertarian National Committee and are elected according to the rules of their respective regions. As of October 31, 2019, the following individuals held regional representative positions with the Libertarian Party:[6][7]
| Name | Region |
|---|---|
| Richard Longstreth | Region 1 |
| Steven Nekhaila | Region 2 |
| Elizabeth Van Horn | Region 3 |
| Jeffry Hewitt | Region 4 |
| Jim Lark | Region 5 |
| John Phillips | Region 6 |
| Whitney Bilyeu | Region 7 |
| Justin O'Donnell | Region 8 |
Regional representatives as of 2018
| Name | Region |
|---|---|
| Richard Longstreth | Region 1 |
| Steven Nekhaila | Region 2 |
| Elizabeth Van Horn | Region 3 |
| Jeffry Hewitt | Region 4 |
| Jim Lark | Region 5 |
| John Phillips | Region 6 |
| Whitney Bilyeu | Region 7 |
| N/A | Region 8 |
Election activity
| Libertarian Party |
|---|
 |
| Libertarian Party candidates |
| •2018 candidates •2017 candidates •2016 candidates • 2015 candidates • 2014 candidates • 2013 candidates • 2012 candidates |
2019 elections
The Libertarian Party supported 262 candidates for federal, state, and local-level offices across the country in the 2019 election cycle.[8]
2018 elections
The Libertarian Party supported 973 candidates for federal, state, and local-level offices across the country in the 2018 election cycle.[9]
The following is an abbreviated list of the party's 2018 U.S. Senate candidates:
2017 elections
- See also: Libertarian Party candidates, 2017
The Libertarian Party supported 89 candidates for federal, state, and local-level offices across the country in the 2017 election cycle. [10] Of these candidates 19 were elected or re-elected to public office.[11]
2016 elections
- See also: Libertarian Party candidates, 2016
- See also: Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016
In 2016, the Libertarian Party nominated Gary Johnson as the party's presidential nominee and William Weld as the vice presidential nominee. The party also supported a number of federal, state, and local candidates across the country. The following is an abbreviated list of the party's 2016 U.S. Senate candidates:[12]
- Jonathan Dine, Missouri
- Herschel Young, Missouri
- Cean Stevens, Alaska
- Frank Gilbert, Arkansas
- Lily Tang Williams, Arkansas
- Allen Buckley, Georgia
- Michael Kokoski, Hawaii
- Kent McMillen, Illinois
- Lucy Brenton, Indiana
- Chuck Aldrich, Iowa
2015 elections
- See also: Libertarian Party candidates, 2015
The Libertarian Party supported 103 state and local-level candidates in elections across the country in 2015. Of these candidates, 24 Libertarians were elected or re-elected to public office.[13]
2014 elections
- See also: Libertarian Party candidates, 2014
The 'Libertarian Party supported 756 congressional, state, and local-level candidates across the country during the 2014 election cycle. An additional 20 Libertarians ran as fusion candidates and appeared on the ballot under a different or multiple party labels. Of these candidates, 23 Libertarians were elected or re-elected to public office, including seven fusion candidates.[14][15]
2013 elections
- See also: Libertarian Party candidates, 2013
The Libertarian Party supported 98 congressional, state, and local-level candidates in elections across the country in 2013. An additional six Libertarians ran as fusion candidates and appeared on the ballot under different or multiple party labels. Of these candidates, 16 Libertarians were elected or re-elected to public office, including two fusion candidates.[16]
2012 elections
- See also: Libertarian Party candidates, 2012
In 2012, the Libertarian Party nominated Gary Johnson as the party's presidential nominee and Jim Gray as the vice presidential nominee. Johnson and Gray captured 1,275,804 votes in the general election, nearly 1 percent of total votes cast. Johnson's 2012 vote total ranked as the highest number of votes for a Libertarian presidential candidate in history and fell just short of 1960 Libertarian presidential candidate Ed Clark's record of 1.1 percent of total votes.[17][18]
The Libertarian Party also supported 567 congressional, state, and local-level candidates across the country. Of these candidates, 30 Libertarians were elected or re-elected to public office.[19][20]
Conventions
2018 Libertarian National Convention
The 2018 Liberatarian National Convention took place from June 30 to July 3, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the convention, delegates are voting on amendments to the party's platform and rules and are electing the party's national leaders.[21]
2016 Libertarian National Convention
- See also: Libertarian National Convention, 2016
The Libertarian Party's 2016 National Convention took place in Orlando, Florida, from May 27 to May 30, 2016. The party chose former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson and former Governor of Massachusetts William Weld as its presidential and vice presidential nominees, respectively.[22][12]
Convention coverage
Day one
Day one of the Libertarian National Convention in Orlando, Florida, featured spirited debates on both party platform planks and between four candidates vying for the vice presidential nomination. There were just under 800 credentialed delegates in attendance with Libertarian National Chair Nick Sarwark presiding over the meetings.
 Date: November 8, 2016 |
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Day two
Six candidates garnered enough tokens, another name for secret ballots, to be eligible for nomination by the delegation. Of those, five reached the vote threshold for participating in the debate, moderated by Larry Elder and televised on CSPAN. Gary Johnson, Daryl W. Perry, Austin Petersen, John McAfee, and Marc Allan Feldman took the stage to try to earn supporters for Sunday morning's election. Introduced and brought on stage one at a time, Johnson and Petersen received the most applause, though each had a significant amount of support.
Day three
Although it took nearly eight hours from the time the first ballots for president were distributed to state delegation chairs, the Libertarian Party ended up with the odds-on favorites Gary Johnson and William Weld winning the ticket as expected. A total of 997 credentialed delegates and alternates were on hand to cast their vote. The meeting was chaired by Nicholas Sarwark, who won re-election as National Chair later in the afternoon.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "Libertarian + Party"
- All stories may not be relevant to this organization due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Libertarian National Convention, 2016
- Day one of the Libertarian National Convention: Vice presidential candidates speak
- Day two of the Libertarian National Convention: Presidential candidates take the stage
- Day three of the Libertarian National Convention: Johnson/Weld chosen as nominees
- Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016
- Gary Johnson
- Cato Institute
- Coalition on Free and Open Elections
- Marijuana Policy Project
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "About the Libertarian Party," accessed October 31, 2019
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "Elected Officials," accessed October 31, 2019
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2018 Platform," accessed October 31, 2019
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedLead - ↑ Libertarian Party, "Libertarian National Committee," accessed October 31, 2019
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBylaws - ↑ Libertarian: The Party of Principle, "Libertarian National Committee (LNC)," accessed July 30, 2018
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2019 Candidates," accessed October 31, 2019
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2018 Candidates," accessed October 31, 2019
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2017 Candidates," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "Elected officials," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Libertarian party, "2016 Libertarian Party Candidates," accessed July 5, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2015 election results," accessed July 13, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2014 election night updates," accessed July 14, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2014 election results," accessed July 13, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2013 election results," accessed July 13, 2016
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Federal Elections 2012," accessed January 6, 2016
- ↑ Reason, "Gary Johnson pulls one million votes, one percent," November 7, 2012
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2012 Elected Libertarians," accessed July 13, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "2012 election results," accessed July 13, 2016
- ↑ Libertarian Convention, "2018 Libertarian National Convention," archived November 21, 2017
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "LP 2016 National Convention," accessed July 5, 2016
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