2025 National Party Chair Questionnaire: Steven Nekhaila, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee

The Outsider Media Foundation, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to increase public understanding of and participation in underrepresented political activity by the media and other organizations, is proud to begin sharing the responses received for its inaugural National Party Chair Questionnaire, launched earlier this year. This initiative is part of the Foundation’s broader mission to inform and educate the public about alternative political movements throughout the United States.

The following response was submitted by Steven Nekhaila, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. Questions appear in bold, followed directly by the responses. Responses are published as submitted, with only minor formatting adjustments for readability. To learn more about the Foundation or the questionnaire, including how to participate, please contact the Executive Director for more information or visit the official website.

Reflections on the 2024 Election Cycle:

What key lessons did your party learn from the 2024 election cycle, and how are those insights shaping your strategy for the next cycle?

The Libertarian Party got 3rd, 4th, and even 5th place in many states. The Libertarian Party scored 3rd place in the last several elections with some record breaking percentages, this past one was different. The Libertarian Presidential ticket received a historically low level of support. Ultimately, anticipating tough competition, fundraising, and meeting voters where they are are going to be the biggest take aways. The Party is also considering upping its convention date to February 2028 in order to create a longer runway for ballot access drives as well as allowing the POTUS ticket to begin campaigning earlier.

Vision for the Future:

What are your party’s primary goals and priorities for the next two years, and what concrete steps will you take to achieve them?

The Libertarian National Committee is primarily focused on fundraising and membership, candidate support, and legislative objectives such as Defend the Guard. Project Archimedes 2.0 is the LNC’s project to use a data driven approach for prospecting new members. In the late 90’s/early 00’s we achieved record breaking growth and revenue. We hope to recreate the project in modern times with more advanced tools and data sets. Fundraising and membership growth will help us fund Project Decentralized Revolution, which has the objective of fielding 500 Libertarian candidates over the next 2 years. And finally pushing Defend the Guard legislation by phone banking in states where it is being proposed.

Competitive Strategy:

How does your party plan to strengthen its electoral competitiveness, and what specific tactics will you prioritize to improve performance in future races?

Project Decentralized Revolution is our electoral strategy, it involves identifying opportunity races and supplying, training, and equipping the candidate for that race. We hope that through Project Archimedes 2.0, as was the case a quarter century ago, the project will bring qualified new blood to help fill this diaspora of Libertarian races around the country. We are focusing on local level candidates in winnable races, which by our estimates have a 33%-50% odds of success.

Membership Growth:

What initiatives is your party pursuing to attract and retain new members, and how are you working to ensure greater representation across different demographics?

The Libertarian ideology represents a diverse cross section of Americans, with different backgrounds, careers, and values. However, a disillusionment in the old two party’s and government along with a willingness to explore other options seems to be the lowest common denominator. With data driven tools and a plethora of platforms to target supporters and potential supporters, Project Archimedes 2.0 represents the core of the LNC’s membership strategy.

Member Engagement:

How do you keep members actively engaged and aligned with your party’s mission, particularly during non-election periods?

Staying current on messaging, showing donors and supporters what we are up to, and spinning Libertarian narratives against the mainstream background is crucial to keep members engages. The LNC is also looking to launch a membership portal where members can sign in, look up their membership information, and gamify their participation.

Fundraising Strategy:

What key approaches will your party take to secure funding for operations, outreach, and initiatives, and how do you plan to sustain long-term financial stability?

Candidate Support, Ballot Access, and Ideology are the biggest reasons donors support the LP. We must provide value, and show that we do. We must also show that Libertarianism is not only still relevant, it is the only political ideology that makes sense and has solutions people want. Meeting our people where they are at is extremely important, and for consistency in fundraising it requires both large and small donors. To that end, sustainable fundraising, constant prospecting, and donor retention programs are crucial. Automating messaging and targeting via data and solid copy on a number of platforms including direct mail, text, email, phone, and social media is a part of our fundraising strategy.

Collaboration and Alliances:

What is your strategy for building alliances with other political organizations or advocacy groups, and what shared objectives do you hope to achieve through these partnerships?

We have partnered with Defend the Guard, which is a non-partisan campaign to pass Defend the Guard legislation which would prevent National Guardsmen from being deployed to foreign wars without a declaration of war from Congress. This legislation has passed in several states, and the Libertarian Party has been working hard to support the effort. The LP has always been interested in single issue coalitions like decriminalization, anti-war, ballot access, etc. We have worked with the Green Party in the past, and many states work closely with the Greens on ballot access.

Public Messaging:

How does your party plan to communicate its message effectively to voters and supporters, and how will you adapt to challenges posed by the evolving media landscape?

Many Libertarians make the mistake of borrowing rhetoric from the R’s and the D’s to point out what we believe, that is not enough, Libertarians must craft their own narratives as it points to fixing issues or even on what we agree or disagree on with the other Party’s. To that end, public messaging must involve explaining the Libertarian ideology, meeting voters where they are in it’s application, and disillusioning people to the government fixing their problems.

Preparing for Challenges:

What obstacles do you anticipate in the coming years, and how is your party proactively preparing to address them?

More tyranny, more ballot access hurdles, and more people sick and tired of the old two party’s. Most Americans want a third Party.

Closing Remarks:

What do you see as your party’s greatest opportunity for growth or influence in the near future, and what message would you like to share with members and supporters moving forward?

If the myriad of Libertarian Party’s popping up around the world tells us anything, it is that Libertarianism is more popular and more needed now than ever. Javier Milei’s victory in Argentina is a cornerstone of the movement, and the US LP is looked up to internationally. We have a huge opportunity to make a difference, with 700k registered Libertarians and many more supporters, the market for growth is there, and like true free market capitalists we will capture it.