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Darryl: My (delayed) thanks for the update!
Trump-backed Ed Gallrein defeated Thomas Massie in the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, ending Massie’s 14-year tenure in Congress. For libertarians who viewed the GOP as a viable vehicle for advancing liberty-minded politics, and Massie as one of the few remaining members of the Republican Party’s liberty wing, the defeat is a heavy blow.
The Reform Party can easily regain ballot access in Florida. It is just a matter of them filing paperwork with the Florida Secretary of State. Since they are a federally recognized party Florida law allows them to place a presidential ticket on the ballot in 2028 without having to gather petition signatures.
Ballot Access News reports the Reform Party has lost ballot access in Florida, and now lacks ballot access in any state.
https://ballot-access.org/2026/05/12/florida-reform-party-is-no-longer-ballot-qualified/
Jake: I appreciate the update, thank you!
Free Speech Media has published the results of a national chair preference poll of likely delegates to the Libertarian National Convention later this month. FSM does not go into detail about how it identified those delegates or how many responded; however, among those who did respond, a plurality preferred Wes Benedict to lead the Libertarian National Committee. Results below:
I should have stated incumbents to the State Central Committee. My bad.
I know it’s old news at this point, but the Libertarian Party of Illinois held its state convention in Springfield in the middle of last month.
Officers were elected two days prior during the county conventions on April 15, with the new officers being Vice Chair Ray Walden IV, Secretary Ken Mattes (re-elected), and Treasurer Jake Leonard. All incumbents were re-elected with a couple of exceptions involving people not seeking re-election.
Convention recap is available at https://lpillinois.org/2026/04/20/recap-2026-libertarian-party-of-illinois-convention/.