Last updated on July 16, 2024
WASHINGTON, DC — The 2024 Libertarian Party Convention, which kicked off on Thursday, May 23rd, unfolded with an intensity and unpredictability that will be remembered for years to come. The day began with registration and committee meetings, with this reporter serving on the Platform Committee.
The real business began on Friday, May 24th. At 9:00 AM. LNC Chair Angela McArdle’s welcoming remarks were followed by the credentials report, a typically brief formality that this time turned into a contentious marathon. Several state delegations, including Michigan, Oklahoma, and Washington, faced challenges. Michigan’s delegation saw only 7 of its 33 elected delegates seated due to an LPMI Judicial Committee ruling. The initial Credentials Report had also omitted 25 alternates that were elected at the March 9th National Delegate Selection convention. The credentials report faced such vehement opposition that it was not approved until all delegations were seated, delaying proceedings significantly.
Agenda Amendments and Regional Realignment
In an unprecedented move, delegates amended the agenda, prioritizing officer elections over the presidential nomination and deferring platform and bylaw discussions. This reshuffling resulted in the first Libertarian Party convention to adjourn without debating bylaws or platform reports, save for a temporary bylaws amendment (passed Saturday) allowing additional delegates by a two-thirds vote.
Friday afternoon saw the Michigan delegation caucus, learning that Chair Andrew Chadderdon had realigned Michigan’s regional affiliation, making it part of Region 1. Chadderdon was also named Region 1 Alternate Representative.
Speakers, Presidential Contenders & A Re-elected Chair
Outside the business meetings, attendees engaged with independent candidate Robert Francis Kennedy (RFK), who was nominated for the Libertarian presidential bid but eliminated early. Former GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy spoke later, engaging in a discussion with Clint Russell (who was seeking the LP VP nomination) moderated by comedian Dave Smith.
Saturday, May 25th, began with the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) chair debate. Business resumed in the afternoon, dominated by discussions on credentialing delegates and procedural adjustments. The day ended early after Angela McArdle was re-elected chair. Anticipation grew as Secret Service prepared for former President Donald Trump’s visit, marking the first time a former president attended a Libertarian convention. It was also be the First time a major parties Presidential candidate attended a convention at which an opponent would be nominated.
Trump’s Controversial Visit
Trump’s presence sparked controversy and national media attention. Libertarians greeted him with “Free Ross” signs, hoping for a pardon for Ross Ulbricht. Despite heckling and booing from the audience, Trump pledged to commute Ulbricht’s sentence. Post-Trump, presidential hopefuls Michael D. Rectenwald, Mike ter Maat, and Chase Oliver delivered rebuttals, criticizing Trump’s policies and actions.
Washington Post reporter Meryl Kornfield photographed this article’s author, Scotty Boman, after she saw him wearing a Donald Trump mask. He expressed concern that the visit could give the impression that Libertarians were leaning toward Trump or that Trump was a libertarian. However, reports after the event presented a different impression: Upon taking the stage, and throughout the speech Libertarians booed and heckled the former President. This became the subject of headlines that night and the following Sunday.
Final Day: Presidential Nominations and Elections
As Sunday dawned, the convention faced an unprecedented scenario: no bylaws or platform reports had been discussed, and many officer positions remained unfilled. The presidential nomination process began, with elections for higher-level officers extending into the afternoon. Ron Paul addressed the delegates during ballot counting. Awards were also given during some of the down time as ballots were being counted.
Late-Night Balloting and Vice Presidential Selection
Created by Kyle O’Donnel, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Maryland
Presidential balloting commenced as afternoon became evening and officer elections continued. This was already later than previous national conventions had ended, but most delegates stayed to continue voting. There were several ballots cast. The embedded Stankey diagram provides a summary and graphical analysis of the voting. While the two finalists were Chase Oliver and Michael Rectenwald, the numbers in the last two ballots were remarkable. On the second to last ballot the Chase Oliver received 423 votes, Michael Rectenwald received 382 and 44 went to None of the above (NOTA). Since NOTA is the always a candidate Chase was the only person remaining on the ballot. However the final ballot went to Chase Oliver with 497 votes while NOTA got an unprecedented 300 votes. If NOTA had won the Libertarian Party would have been without a Presidential candidate.
At 10 PM Nobody had yet been elected to be Chase Oliver’s running mate. On the previous day Oliver had announced that Kristin Alexander would be his Vice Presidential Choice, but Mike ter Matt had announced his acceptance of Oliver’s offer for him to be his running mate as ballots were being collected for the 6th round. As midnight approached Delegates elected Mike ter Matt to be their Vice Presidential nominee.
Convention Conclusion
The convention, ending in the first hour of Memorial Day, filled all officer slots. Mark Rutherford was elected vice-chair, Caryn Ann Harlos re-elected secretary, and Bill Redpath elected treasurer. The new at-large officers are Andrew Watkins, Travis Bost, Steven Nekhaila, Robert Vinson, and Kathy Yeniscavich. This was the first time a national LP convention ran so late that it was adjourned the next morning. It was one of numerous firsts, proving that in politics, the unexpected should always be expected.
As I said, style is largely a matter of taste. But I assure you that using the first person in a letter to the editor-type contribution like this, is perfectly good journalistic style and one that has been preferred since the early to mid 1950s, over creating a very forced and unnatural sentence to express the authors own opinions while making them sound like they are someone else’s.
Sorry Nuña, no, that’s good journalistic style. The Buckleyite NR (I see what I did) would have done the same. (Apologies if this is semi-duplicate; the site’s kind of acting up for me again.)
“Washington Post reporter Meryl Kornfield photographed this article’s author, Scotty Boman, after she saw him wearing a Donald Trump mask. He expressed concern that the visit could give the impression that Libertarians were leaning toward Trump or that Trump was a libertarian.”
Style is of course largely a matter of taste, but personally I think simply writing this in the first person would have felt less jarring and contrived.
The Sankey diagram [not Stankey, though I agree that this particular one does stink] is not quite accurate, since it relies on several false assumptions, such as there not having been write-ins until the final round, and nobody who abstained from voting in a prior round voting in any later round. Based on my own attempts at working out the flow of votes, we don’t actually have enough data to make a deterministic chart without making assumptions though.
It could be the last. So many divisions exposed.