The Pirate National Committee has endorsed Libertarian Michael Veloff in his bid for Ohio’s 5th Congressional District, adding him to a growing list of independent and third party candidates supported by the organization for the 2026 election cycle.
The committee considered backing Veloff during its July 18 weekly meeting, voting 5–0 with one abstention to formally endorse his campaign against Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Latta. The motion came from the Florida Pirate Party’s representative after Veloff appeared before the committee to discuss his campaign and field questions from members.
“Running against a beneficiary of nepotism, Veloff is running a serious campaign; topped off with a position to move all the gold from Fort Knox into his basement,” the party wrote in its usual post-meeting wrap-up.
A biography published by the national Libertarian Party states that Veloff is a resident of Galion and a graduate of Ohio State University at Mansfield, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature. His previous political involvement spans parties, including moderating and managing an online Green Party community between 2014 and 2020 and serving as a moderator for a Libertarian Discord community supporting Jo Jorgensen’s 2020 presidential campaign. Veloff has also been involved with presidential candidate Vermin Supreme, who in turn has endorsed his campaign this cycle.
While he doesn’t have a single campaign website, Veloff identifies bail reform, lowering the drinking age to 18, and a gun rights position he calls “Guns 4 Thots” among his priorities on the Libertarian Party website and his campaign social media accounts. The Libertarian Party of Ohio also identifies him among its six federal candidates this cycle, including four other candidates for the U.S. House and Bill Redpath for U.S. Senate.
In earning the Pirate National Committee’s support, Veloff joins a varied list of candidates backed by the United States Pirate Party for the 2026 election cycle. The committee has also endorsed Green Party candidate Pete Karas for Wisconsin secretary of state and Drew Bingaman, whom it initially backed while he was seeking the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s 108th House District before he later relaunched his campaign as an independent—also retaining that previous support.
The party is also backing independent Ohio gubernatorial candidate Timothy Grady and Arizona Pirate member Blase Henry in his independent bid for one of two Arizona House of Representatives seats in the state’s 17th Legislative District.
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