H/T Liberty Crier for posting this article about the Libertarian Party of Virginia.
By Alix Bryan
May 7, 2014RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – If it seems like there are more Libertarians entering the political arena this election year that’s because there are –so far at least ten have announced they are running for office, according to the official party website.
Nine Libertarians have their eyes set on U.S. House of Representatives offices in multiple congressional districts, so far.
And Robert Sarvis, previously the Libertarian candidate in the 2013 gubernatorial race, will make a run for Mark Warner’s U.S. Senate seat. He finished third in the governor’s race, but he made a landmark achievement for a third party candidate in Virginia.
Sarvis received just over 6.5% of the vote, a number that hadn’t been seen for a third party gubernatorial candidate in the South since 1970.
Sarvis doesn’t seem to be done breaking records either. He has made a priority of finding Libertarian candidates to run for the House of Representatives this fall, and his star power has brought many forward.
They provide this list of candidates:
- Robert Sarvis – U.S. Senate
(website, Facebook, Twitter) - Xavian Draper – U.S. House of Representatives, 1st Congressional District
804-837-6358
(website, Facebook, Twitter) - Allen Knapp – U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd Congressional District
(website, Facebook)
- Justin Upshaw – U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd Congressional District.
(website, Facebook) - Bo Brown – U.S. House of Representatives, 4th Congressional District
(Facebook) - Will Hammer- U.S. House of Representatives, 6th Congressional District
(website, Facebook) - James Carr – U.S. House of Representatives, 7th Congressional District
(website, Facebook, Twitter) - Jeffrey Carson – U.S. House of Representatives, 8th Congressional District
(website) - Bill Redpath – U.S. House of Representatives, 10th Congressional District
- Marc Harrold – U.S. House of Representatives, 11th Congressional District
(Facebook, Twitter)
The article also provides this link to the website for Virginia LP:
Also Libertarian Tyler Brown was elected to the Occoquan Town Council on Tuesday (local races are non-partisan in Virginia). The top 5 are elected. They select one as the vice-mayor at their first meeting.
http://electionresults.virginia.gov/resultsCTY.aspx?type=CTY&rid=9&osn=030&map=CTY
Virginia is very close to having a full slate of congressional candidates… we just need one more candidate (I think we already have a 9th district candidate, only lacking the 5th district). However, it’s possible some of the candidates may fall short of their petitioning requirements (1,000 valid signatures) if they don’t step up the pace.
I’ve already gotten a fundraising phone call from Jeffrey Carson, who left his job to campaign full time until election day and hopes to raise $50,000 in the next month.
And of course Robert Sarvis is a superstar campaigner who relentlessly travels around Virginia. He is managing his own petition drive.
Congratulations to all of you who have worked so hard in the Virginia LP! This is great to see!
Photo from the District 3 nomination posted with the original article:
Living petitioner legend Bob Lynch can be seen at the table on the right.
Interesting how 7 of the 11 districts manage to extend themselves into the NoVa area where federal spending is the tail wagging the dog.
Can the Virginia leadership come down to Florida and show us how to be a political party?
LOL, Joe! We need some help in California, also!
I’m so extremely happy for Virginia. The LPVA has grown leaps and bounds in the past few years and so many people have worked so tirelessly for that. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible!
@Chuck Moulton, I think it is a great idea to have the candidates running their own signature drives. It is buzz marketing in politico. They can start their brand by campaigning through each signature. Great job.
It’s good when candidates can do that, but not all candidates can.
I am very happy to see this happening here in Virginia. In VA, every campaign must petition their way onto the ballot. There are no party petitions, and no easy access to the ballot. So, its difficult to field many candidates here.
Bill Redpath, Marc Montoni, and Rob Sarvis deserve a lot of the credit for this. Also Chuck Moulton, Mike Kane, and Wes Benedict’s Libertarian Booster PAC deserve praise for their roles in getting the ball rolling with last years campaigns. There are many others in VA who have worked hard too, and I don’t mean to leave anyone out. But, these guys have done a lot, in some cases for years, and even decades. They deserve recognition.
We may well see a full slate of candidates in VA this year – something that was nearly inconceivable just a couple of years ago!
With that said, I hope that every one of our candidates puts forth a true libertarian message, and works to build the party. Then, maybe next time around we can have contested conventions for every race!
Several of the candidates’ petitions are in rough shape. Anyone who is looking for something to do for a couple of weeks, we could sure use the help.
Virginia is an almost impossible state to run a full slate in, because there is no party petition.
“Marc Montoni May 11, 2014 at 9:21 am
Several of the candidates’ petitions are in rough shape. Anyone who is looking for something to do for a couple of weeks, we could sure use the help.
Virginia is an almost impossible state to run a full slate in, because there is no party petition.”
I offered to go Virginia to petition for Libertarian Party candidates several weeks ago, and I was told that they did not need any help. It looks like they are falling short on expectations as it gets closer to the deadline.
Some of the drives started VERY late.
I may be available in a couple of weeks. When is the VA deadline? Anyone available to put me up and/or drive me? If A but not B how easy is it to get around without a car where they live? Is anyone available to work with me and do the sign-offs?
I think the NoVA drives are in good shape. So, its probably quite difficult to get around without a car if you’re talking about going between districts.
I believe the deadline is June 10th.
“Matt Cholko May 11, 2014 at 12:07 pm
Some of the drives started VERY late.”
As I understand the situation, around a month was wasted after Rob Sarvis received the LP of VA nomination and when they started gathering petition signatures, or at least when they started paying for petition signatures. I inquired about going in during that time period and I was told that they did not need any extra help.
It is quite foolish for candidates to jump in the race late, and for candidates who know that they are running to not get started on the petition drive as soon as possible.
I urged all the candidates with whom I spoke to start their petition drives immediately. I’ve found in practice without exception that every first time candidate has no conception of how difficult a petition drive is and vastly underestimates the time and money required to get on the ballot.
Paulie was in Virginia for a week immediately following our state convention. I urged several campaigns to get him petitioning. None did. You can lead a horse to water, you can’t make it drink.
I absolutely agree with Chuck’s comment about first time candidates managing petition drives. The only exceptions are candidates who have been active in the party for a while before running. But even many of them don’t get it.
Matt, thanks for the info. I was talking about any part of Virginia (except Richmond area – Bob is very territorial about that) and not just NoVA. I meant getting around whatever town I would be in.
Ideally, I need someone with a place I can stay (unless the motel is paid for), some free time, and a car to take me around in (unless it’s a place where it is easy to get around without a car). They don’t have to be a good or experienced petitioner or even willing to talk to people (it wouldn’t hurt if they do though). Just observe and sign off would be fine. It would help if they know the area where they live well, although that is not an absolute requirement
My deadline in Alabama is June 3. I could possibly come up to VA if I get done here early, or maybe hit it for a few days on my way to DC if a job I just was contacted about there pans out. I have other possible offers in other directions.
Bravo to the Libertarian Party of Virginia for recruiting all tehse candidates. Best of luck getting them all on the ballot.
A little bit of luck and a lot more intelligent planning will get the job done every time.
Full slate!!
http://bearingdrift.com/2014/05/22/virginia-libertarians-recruit-full-slate-for-congress/
Hopefully they all make the ballot.
I may be able to go there after Wednesday to help with that. Trying to wrap up Alabama by then if possible.