The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire is taking first steps to appeal its disaffiliation by the Libertarian National Committee, authorizing its state chair to petition the national party’s Judicial Committee on its behalf.
In a resolution adopted June 4 and later shared to the LNC’s public Business List, the New Hampshire party’s Executive Committee repudiated a prior endorsement of Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, reaffirmed its compliance with the Libertarian Party’s bylaws and Statement of Principles, and authorized Chair Jeremy Kauffman to formally petition the Judicial Committee on behalf of the disaffiliated state party.
The resolution was adopted 5 to 0, with the document noting Vice Chair Josh Elbahrawy was not present.
The appeal follows the LNC’s May 25 vote to disaffiliate the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire. During that meeting, the national committee voted 15 to 2, with one abstention, to revoke the state party’s affiliate status and require it to stop using the Libertarian Party’s name and logo. While the party announced the disaffiliation online shortly after, LPNH stated in its resolution that it only received formal notice of the revocation on June 4.
Before the disaffiliation vote, some LNC members first tried to establish an investigatory committee. During the debate, members referenced the New Hampshire affiliate’s endorsement of Trump, its criticism of Libertarian candidates, and what some said was a repeated promotion of “anti-libertarian positions.” LNC Chair Evan McMahon later called the vote “the unfortunate culmination of years of behavior in violation of the Libertarian Party’s platform” in a statement that made the same arguments.
The New Hampshire resolution directly addresses one of those central issues. It states that a prior Executive Committee, which it says shared no voting members with the current Executive Committee, “purported to endorse Donald Trump” in 2024. It adds that the present committee “does not ratify, and repudiates” that endorsement, saying the act “does not reflect the position of LPNH as the present institution speaks.”
However, minutes from the November 4, 2024, Executive Committee meeting introduce some ambiguity into that claim. Those minutes show that, before the Trump endorsement was considered, the committee unanimously voted to appoint Kauffman, now LPNH chair, as secretary after interim Chair Ryan Bloodworth raised the need to fill the office.
A 2024 version of the bylaws appears to distinguish between officers appointed to fill vacancies, who take office immediately, and interim officers, who may carry out the duties of a position but do not vote on the Executive Committee. The minutes do not describe Kauffman’s appointment as interim; however, he is also notably not listed among those voting when the endorsement motion was later adopted by three votes in favor and one opposed.
The resolution also states that, moving forward, no official act of the New Hampshire party, its officers, or an agent acting on behalf of the organization shall constitute an endorsement of any candidate of another party in a partisan election. The committee further promises to monitor its organizational conduct and take corrective action if needed.
At the same time, the New Hampshire party is preserving its earlier objections to the process. The resolution states that the party is not waiving its claims that the national committee “failed to specify cause, failed to provide notice and opportunity to be heard, proceeded contrary to the deliberative judgment of the 2026 Regular Convention, escalated inconsistently with its September 2025 censure disposition, and acted with punitive rather than corrective intent.” Kauffman is also authorized to engage counsel and take further action in the name of defending the organization’s rights and interests.
Under Libertarian Party bylaws, the Judicial Committee will have 20 to 40 days after receiving the appeal from Kauffman to hold a hearing. The committee must then either affirm the revocation or order LPNH reinstated within 30 days of the hearing.
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