Libertarian National Committee Chair Steven Nekhaila is warning members of the committee that the party is on the brink of failure if it does not take immediate and serious steps to reform its operations and unify behind its mission.
In a message forwarded to the LNC public Business List on Friday, Nekhaila sharply condemned a recent leak of an internal report, which he described as an attempt “to score political points” at the expense of the party’s stability. He referred to the incident as “pathetic and weak,” but stressed that the report itself was “necessary.”
“We are an organization in dysfunction,” Nekhaila wrote. “We are bleeding every month. Our membership is in decline. Donor trust is shattered. Our staff, the few left, are overworked, underpaid, and somehow still showing up while we play political games and throw sand in the gears.”
Nekhaila’s remarks follow the unauthorized release of excerpts from a strategic audit prepared by the consulting firm Strategists, Inc., which the Libertarian Party hired earlier this year to assess its organizational health. The excerpt outlines severe staffing shortages, internal dysfunction, and growing staff dissatisfaction with board behavior.
According to the leaked section, which was circulated online by someone who received it through a member of the board and confirmed as authentic by a committee alternate, the party is operating with only two full-time staff and a part-time executive director. The remaining personnel are largely contractors balancing other full-time work. The report described this staffing model as “not ideal” and unsustainable for a national organization.
Staff are reportedly “embarrassed by board behaviors” and are discouraged by frequent interference in their work. Strategists, Inc’s assessment also noted that recent staffing cuts, including the loss of the party’s last in-house fundraiser with major donor contacts, have further weakened operations. Despite this, the report praised the leadership of the party’s Executive Director Hannah Kennedy, describing her as “a very effective manager” who has earned the trust of her team and demonstrated resilience amid a challenging environment.
Nekhaila’s response pledged a renewed focus on unifying and stabilizing the party, outlining the revival of Project Archimedes, mandatory fundraising benchmarks, and the hiring of a professional development lead and creation of a support team. He warned that continued infighting and obstruction would no longer be tolerated.
“If you’re here to build, let’s get to work,” he wrote. “If you’re here to stir shit, sabotage, or ride this thing into the ground with a smirk, get the hell out of the way. We still have a window. Barely.”
The party needs to stop trying to appeal to woke socialists and people who believe in vaccine mandates.
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2025/05/libertarian-party-releases-100-day-review-of-trumps-second-term/#comment-2744108
If anyone else who’s reading is wondering what on earth I was babbling about there.
Thank you, and I posted the follow-up in the wrong discussion anyway.
Reality: You were fine. I never meant to leave your comment in queue. The mistake was mine!
I think I just now finally have a guess as to why the comment from last night wasn’t approved. My use of “you” was generic, not personal, but because I said you it could have been misread as a personal attack. There was no such intent on my part.
My point was that none of us know what practical (as opposed to theoretical) constraints presidents have to work under when we try to judge them from a distance. No one except the president at any given moment knows all of them, and the vast majority of people know very little about them in general.
“handful of Senate candidates sometimes succeed in handing tight elections to Democrats.”
It’s often stated as a fact that the libertarians draw primarily from voters who would otherwise vote Republican, but actual polling shows that they draw about evenly from both as well as from people who otherwise wouldn’t vote at all. Whether they help the Democrat or Republican depends on the individual candidates and campaigns of all the parties in any given race.
Andylit
“Both Paul’s had to feign GOP allegiance to gain office. ”
A better case that is true could be made for Ron Paul than Rand Paul, I think.
What do you find interesting about the situation?
Interesting situation. Also interesting that there’s 18 comments and one name not here. Kudos to the management.
Andylit said
“The LP message simply does not resonate with folks. Has NEVER resonated with folks. It is long past time for it to lurch to its final rest.”
I could not agree more. The LP’s ideology is backwards on both social and economic issues and both foreign and domestic policy. The American Solidarity party is a lot better on domestic issues, but they need to come off as more patriotic when it comes to foreign policy to really resonate with the masses.
There was a suggestion in a post in Third Party Watch that George Phillies would make a good chair and would clean things up. I would support George running for chair as I have supported George many times in the past.
“No State Senators, no State House members.” – Andylit
True for state senators but not true for state representatives. Alaska, New Hampshire and Wyoming have elected Libertarians to the lower house of the legislature and perhaps Vermont as well without fusion. But I get your point about not much electoral success and I agree.
The problem the LP has since its founding is its failure to build a LOCAL foundation. They’ve never elected ANY national office holder under their own banner. Both Paul’s had to feign GOP allegiance to gain office. On the State level the LP has never produced more than a handful of victories. No State Senators, no State House members.
And as you look at the list of local elected officials, it is pathetic. School board members, sanitation district board, town council members. Once in a while a rare County board member. They go all out every 4 years for the POTUS election. A handful of Senate candidates sometimes succeed in handing tight elections to Democrats.
The LP message simply does not resonate with folks. Has NEVER resonated with folks. It is long past time for it to lurch to its final rest.
I joined the LP in 1976. Left the party in disgust along with L. Neil Smith and others
Sadly, the LP has been a little more than a specter for 40 years.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the majority of people don’t want personal freedom; they prefer being lied to and led around like mindless sheep, just so long as they get their food and toys.
Oh, and if you don’t know who L. Neil Smith is, you’re not a libertarian in my book.
“I’ve been a member of the LP since 1979.” – George Whitfield
I joined in Dec 1974 myself. I just can’t believe the LP is destined to end up like the Prohibition Party… a footnote in history.
I hope that Steven Nekhaila can pull this craft up before it crashes. Put Project Archimedes into operation immediately. I’ve been a member of the LP since 1979.
With all the charges of embezzlement being thrown back and forth, what is the evidence if any?
Looks like the LP has been mismanaged. And from what I heard about how things were managed in Florida, Nekhalia is not going to fix it.
The profanity is indeed most unprofessional and disturbing. Such degenerate language should not be permitted in public, much less in the leadership of a party. Shame on them.
Perhaps they should look at possible embezzlement, and I am talking about McArdle.
McArdle was Chair for more than 3 years, Nekhaila has been chair a couple months. It is pretty clear who is responsible for the
dire shape the Libertarian Party.
And those Caucus members who supported Donald Trump – look at the attacks on freedom and free trade that he has carried out.
Hope they are suffering regret, at the very least. They are probably at least suffering losses in their 401(K) accounts, if they have ever had
jobs.
He should clean up his language, for starters. Cussing does not convey professionalism.
Why isn’t Nekhaila taking any responsibility for this? It’s not like he was just appointed to the board yesterday.
He’s a poor leader and should resign in my opinion.
Perhaps they should look at possible embezzlement, and I’m not talking about McArdle…