The Libertarian candidate for Vermont governor is mounting a write-in campaign to also obtain the Republican nomination.
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Dan Feliciano launched a write-in campaign for the Republican nomination Thursday in Waterbury.
The move by Feliciano irritates both the Republican and Libertarian party leaders. Jeremy Ryan, Vermont Libertarian party chair, issued a press release noting that Feliciano’s move is quite controversial within the party. “We discussed it in the state committee and a majority of us didn’t support the move. We would have preferred that he stayed as Libertarian only. We were concerned about how it could confuse voters and it might cause people to question whether or not he’s still a Libertarian. We have a lot of members that have come to us recently from both sides. People from the left side we feel would be, might be, possibly disillusioned or confused by our candidate all of a sudden seeking the Republican nomination. And so we felt that it wasn’t the best thing for him to go ahead with. But we realize that this all started back in June, really. He started getting a lot of support from some Republican members urging him to seek the nomination.”
Dunno how many people reading here have Libertarian and Republican friends in Vermont. I am trying to think of who I know that fits that category and you are the only one who comes to mind. I think we had a Ben Todd on the Kubby campaign some years ago, whom I haven’t spoken to since then. Is he still involved?
ABC News, folks, mentioning the LIBERTARIAN candidate with the potential to upset the GOP Primary.
With your help! PLEASE tell your Libertarian and Republican friends in Vermont to go out and vote for our candidate Dan Feliciano today in the GOP primary!
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/08/the-primary-primer-12-races-to-watch-in-arizona-florida-vermont-and-oklahoma/
VERMONT GUBERNATORIAL REPUBLICAN PRIMARY: In this bright blue state, the Republican nominee for governor may not have much of a chance against two-term incumbent Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, but the race has still been an interesting one with the momentum now possibly with a write-in candidate. WHY IT MATTERS: Shumlin has more money than any of his potential opponents, but he has also faced questions over the state’s health care exchange. Business owner Scott Milne has most of the party establishment backing and he’s up against retired marketer Steve Berry and Emily Peyton, who has run twice as an independent and admits she is not a Republican. The other candidate is Dan Feliciano, a Libertarian who is running write-in campaign in the Republican primary. Feliciano has gotten the backing of some high profile members of the GOP state party recently and his ads, which include name spelling, have given him somewhat more of a higher profile.
Thanks..interesting article.
What to look for on Tuesday — low turnout, open primary, and several write-in campaigns making it hard to guess who’s going to use which ballot!
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/23/vermont-primary-election-primer/14453785/
That depends.
For example:
Ron Paul (R) or Joe Stalin (Scientific Socialist)?
I’d vote for a socialist over a Republican any day.
Suggesting that Libertarians vote for the Liberty Union Party candidate is absurd. Liberty Union is an avowedly socialist party, and moreover, has little support outside the family of Peter Diamondstone.
Mr Diamondstone founded Liberty Union around 1970. It affiliated with The Peoples Party in 1972 but has been independent since the dissolution of The Peoples Party.
Interestingly, in his 2012 race for U.S. Senate, Mr Diamondstone called for an end to the Federal Reserve System, pointing out that when the Fed prints a dollar, the value of the dollars in your wallet goes down. But that is not enough to overcome the party’s commitment to socialism.
Notice that unlike the LPNY, Vermont Libertarians reject (con)fusion voting and want their candidate to run as a “Libertarian only”. Given Mr. Feliciano’s actions, I would recommend to VT Libertarians that they openly support and vote for another alternative candidate, such as Liberty Union Party candidate Pete Diamondstone, or independents Cris Ericson or Bernard Peters. The VTLP needs to send a message that it rejects (con)fusion voting and is completely opposed to the Republican and Democratic Parties.