News from the Libertarian Party of Michigan
For Immediate Release
Contact Bill Hall, Political Director, [email protected] 616-460-9516
Emily Salvette, State Chair, [email protected] 734-645-5809
The Libertarian Party is fielding 83 candidates for office on Michigan’s November 2, 2010 ballot (list attached). This is a 46% increase over the number of candidates it placed on the 2006 ballot.
The party nominated its candidates in caucus on Saturday, May 22 in Okemos, and the paper work was filed today with county clerks all across Michigan and the state Elections Bureau in Lansing. The Libertarians will field candidates for Governor, Secretary of State and all other statewide seats and Congressional seats, 15 state Senate seats, 29 state Representative seats, and many county and local offices. Bill Hall of Rockford, the Party’s Michigan political director, says that “Libertarian candidates this year have pledged to work to make our government fair, open and honest. Unfortunately, these are principles most Republican and Democratic politicians abandoned long ago.”
The Libertarian Party (www.lp.org), founded in 1971, is the third-largest political party in America. It is the only political party consistently calling for smaller government, lower taxes, and individual rights.
Also see
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2010/05/ballot-access-news-libertarian-party-national-registration-up-11-since-2008-all-other-nationally-organized-parties-decline/
and comments 1 and 2 in that thread
Most recent chart I could find at BAN http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/120108.html#9 has the Greens slightly ahead, but I think they are slipping, especially in California (which accounts for about half their national total) — a lot of them are left over from the Nader runs and are not being replaced at the same rate.
CPNYS is not listed, so I’ll have to take your word for it. I’m not really counting them, though, as they are a one-state party that generally co-endorses larger party candidates, so it would be hard to make a case that they are the third largest national party.
As for parties with independent in the name, besides being non-national parties, they don’t show strength in other measures that is comeasurate to their registration totals, and most of those registrations are from people who thought they were registering nonpartisan.
So I’d say that the LP is indeed the third largest national party.
I don’t think so. I believe the Greens have you beat on registered members, too. As does the Conservative Party of New York. And I see no reason why “Independent” parties should be discounted.
Number of candidates, yes. Number of candidates elected or appointed, yes. Number of dues paying members, yes.
I think we’re number one (well, number three if you count Ds and Rs) in registered voters if we don’t count the parties that have “independent” in their name. I’m not 100% sure about that, though.
Michael,
That depends upon the metrics actually. In raw vote totals, yes. In registered voters, no. In amounts of money raised, yes.
Yes we are the 3rd largest party and growing. And we WILL be winning some of these elections.
All or very nearly all will lose. Unless somebody tries PLAS. Emily? Probably not. She is a Root tooter.
Is the LP still the “the third-largest political party in America”?