Libertarian delegates met in Washington, D.C., this weekend, reelecting LNC Chair Angela McArdle and selecting Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat as their presidential ticket after multiple rounds of voting. Business extended the convention into the early hours of Monday morning.
The convention, which began on Friday, saw several highlights over the weekend in addition to selecting a 2024 ticket. These included heated discussions surrounding credentialing on Friday, the election of several new leadership members on Saturday and Sunday, and speeches from former Congressman Ron Paul, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and likely Republican nominee Donald Trump, among others.
Readers interested in our convention live-stream and open thread, which detailed a significant number of the weekend’s events in the comments, can read it here. A huge thanks to editor Joe Buchman, contributor Nathan S., site host Jake Porter, and readers Darryl Perry, X, Nuña, Actually, and more for helping detail events and supporting the site.
Regarding elections, the presidential nomination race on Sunday was one of the more hotly contested in recent party history, with former Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Chase Oliver winning on the seventh round of voting. In the final round, Oliver was pitted against the option to choose no candidate. Leading up to this, party delegates nominated a large number of candidates, including Republican former President Donald Trump, who was deemed ineligible, and independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who became eligible after becoming a Libertarian Party sustaining member and submitting the necessary paperwork but was still eliminated in the first round of voting
Oliver secured the nomination after striking a deal with Mike ter Maat, one of the last three candidates in the nominating process. ter Maat endorsed Oliver on the convention floor following the fifth round of voting, saying he accepted Oliver’s offer to be his vice-presidential candidate after expressing concerns about the Mises Caucus’ strategy. Mises Caucus founder Michael Heise, who took to the microphone shortly after, responded that the Mises Caucus had also offered ter Maat a vice-presidential slot with Michael Rectenwald, who led the early rounds of voting.
Leading up to the convention, Oliver originally announced 34-year-old Libertarian Party of Indiana Vice Chair Kristin Alexander as his vice-presidential preference.
But in the sixth round, neither Oliver nor Rectenwald earned the necessary 50% majority to secure the nomination, despite being the only two candidates remaining on the ballot. This led to a situation where Oliver would face off against “None of the Above.” LNC Chair Angela McArdle explained ahead of the final round that if NOTA were to win, the party would not nominate a candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
| Candidate Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Oliver | 181 | 219 | 230 | 231 | 286 | 423 | 497 |
| None of The Above | 11 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 22 | 44 | 300 |
| Michael Rectenwald | 259 | 293 | 319 | 335 | 334 | 382 | Elim. |
| Mike ter Maat | 141 | 162 | 165 | 175 | 225 | Elim. | – |
| Lars Mapstead | 122 | 123 | 137 | 139 | Elim. | – | – |
| Joshua Smith | 73 | 62 | 45 | Elim. | – | – | – |
| Jacob Hornberger | 59 | 37 | Elim. | – | – | – | – |
| Charles Ballay | 21 | Elim. | – | – | – | – | – |
| Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | 19 | Elim. | – | – | – | – | – |
| Josh “Toad” Anderson | 16 | Elim. | – | – | – | – | – |
| Art Olivier | 4 | Elim. | – | – | – | – | – |
| Other | 9 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 23 |
In addition to selecting a presidential ticket, delegates also chose party leadership for the next two years, beginning the process on Saturday and finishing after the announcement of Oliver’s nomination. The incumbent Libertarian National Committee retained a considerable number of officers but with several major changes.
Incumbent Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle was reelected for two more years, defeating 2012 LNC Vice Chair Mark Rutherford in the second round of balloting. McArdle earned 497 votes, or 53.44% of the total. However, Rutherford will still return to the Libertarian National Committee, this time as the party’s newest Vice Chair. He narrowly defeated Hannah Goodman and Joshua Hvlaka in the first round of voting with 50.11% of the total.
| Candidate Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angela McArdle | 454 | 497 | 53.44% |
| Mark Rutherford | 299 | 414 | 44.52% |
| Ken Moellman | 100 | With. | – |
| Steven Nekhaila | 54 | With. | – |
| Jorge Besada | 5 | Elim. | – |
| None of The Above | 0 | 15 | 1.61% |
| Other | 2 | 4 | 0.44% |
| Candidate Name | Round 1 | Round 1 Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Rutherford | 448 | 50.11% |
| Hannah Goodman | 357 | 39.93% |
| Joshua Hvlaka | 75 | 8.39% |
| None of The Above | 13 | 1.45% |
| Other | 1 | 0.11% |
Caryn Ann Harlos won another term as the Libertarian National Committee Secretary by narrow margins. She secured her fourth term by defeating Mimi Robson and Shawn Levasseur with 50.73% of the total vote. For the Treasurer position, former LNC Chair and longtime member Bill Redpath replaced Todd Hagopian, who chose not to run for another term. Redpath defeated Allison Spink and Patrick Mitchell in the first round of voting with 57.05% of the total.
| Candidate Name | Round 1 | Round 1 Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Caryn Ann Harlos | 454 | 50.73% |
| Mimi Robson | 314 | 35.08% |
| Shawn Levasseur | 118 | 13.18% |
| None of The Above | 6 | 0.67% |
| Other | 3 | 0.33% |
| Candidate Name | Round 1 | Round 1 Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Redpath | 510 | 57.05% |
| Patrick Mitchell | 330 | 36.91% |
| Allison Spink | 44 | 4.92% |
| None of The Above | 8 | 0.89% |
| Other | 2 | 0.22% |
For the five Libertarian National Committee At-large seats up for election, Andrew Watkins, Travis Bost, Kathy Yenisavich, Robert Vinson, and Steven Nekhaila handily defeated a field of almost two dozen candidates.
Editorial note: The initial screenshot of the LNC At-large results produced during the convention had a calculation error in the spreadsheet, which has since been corrected. The error had no bearing on the outcome. An updated list of results is now reflected. Thanks to Teller Team member Seebeck for bringing the error to the attention of Independent Political Report.
| Candidate Name | Round 1 | Round 1 Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Watkins | 392 | 48.76% |
| Travis Bost | 392 | 48.76% |
| Kathy Yenisavich | 378 | 47.01% |
| Steven Nekhalia | 369 | 45.90% |
| Robert Vinson | 365 | 45.40% |
| Mimi Robson | 308 | 38.31% |
| Evan McMahon | 284 | 35.32% |
| Tony D’Orazio | 238 | 29.60% |
| Carole “Beth” Vest | 231 | 28.73% |
| Richard Longstreth | 231 | 28.73% |
| Heide Alejandro-Smith | 228 | 28.36% |
| Christopher Trasher | 216 | 26.87% |
| Doug Craig | 213 | 26.49% |
| Jessi Cowart | 197 | 24.50% |
| Jim Turney | 127 | 15.80% |
| Valerie Sarwark | 115 | 14.30% |
| Hannah Goodman | 80 | 9.95% |
| Josh Hlavka | 76 | 9.45% |
| Pietro Geraci | 58 | 7.21% |
| Dru Heaton | 35 | 4.35% |
| Eric Parker | 34 | 4.23% |
| Mike Saliba | 34 | 4.23% |
| Write-ins | 25 | 3.11% |
| NOTA | 9 | 1.12% |
The results of the regional caucuses have not yet been announced as of this article. However, context to some of the changes has been provided on the LNC public business list. A graphic distributed by the Mises Caucus and acquired by the Libertarian Party watchdog site Third Party Watch Monday evening states the Mises Caucus elected 19 out of its 22 endorsed candidates in regional seat elections, providing an early look at the composition of the new Libertarian National Committee.
It’s not yet known who the other representatives are in the regions not listed or where a Mises Caucus candidate was unsuccessful.
Additionally, some states are to be renumbered with certain others now considered regionless. According to the Libertarian National Committee Secretary, the states that were part of Region 6 but did not join Region 1 or 7 are now considered regionless, as the deadline for joining a region has passed. Additionally, a fragment of the former Region 7 joined Region 3.
Editorial note: According to reader commentary, Independent Political Report has since learned that Judicial Committee terms from the 2022 to 2024 term have been extended to 2026.
Thanks, everyone! I added some of the information disclosed in the comments here or updated on the LNC public list into the article. The corrected full At-Large candidate list is now a chart instead of just a screenshot.
Very nice group of people on LNC. Glad to see more female faces, and I suggest continue the outreach for Black and American Indian ones. Great IPR coverage.
Since I’m getting old and inform and passing on the baton, will share some of the knowledge and perspective below.
Every presidential and VP pick since 1971 has been someone I pre-approved (I had no problem with most of the picks, but I had a strategic preference for those elected.) I don’t wish to make too much of this as my wishes follow the internal logic of how we constituted the LP, and the missions and side-goals it was meant to do. (Thus, the Marxist professor and Smith have too much to learn and were doomed from the start–I suggest the Mises focus on their actual promise of teaching RRO, Mises tools, and localism–there4 is NO reason except lack of LNC/State Committee focus that we don’t have 9,000+ US LP members in local office who wish to move up by now therefore set a plan for the next few years).
In the past as now many candidates like the present winners were for obscure strategic reasons that became obvious with time.
In general the idea adopted in the strategic plan decisions is run an activist for a support check and work on a strategic issue/a demographic one cycle (the present one), and then distinguished retiring Dem and GOP and if possible state LP public official on issues where we’re pushing public momentum past the tipping point.
THE MAJOR PROBLEM besides the LNC failure to set up a committee to ensure documentation of achievements and wins (Harlos is way over-burdened and not focusing on what the EALO’s are doing, props to her)is this:
2/3rds of our votes get stolen by the GOP from day one. (Trump’s writer perhaps unintentionally let that out of the bag–we average 1%–he said 3%…this is why the GOP never went for investigating re-marking of ballots when the DEMS started stealing US LP votes big time in 2016 on. IMHO.. .Will have an article on this in due course at my new site–all the sites/articles documenting this were taken down by Facebook and others)….BE THAT AS IT MAY–a campaign to have multi-partisan ballot watching teams in every state led by libertarians is critical–and a great fundraising vehicle—and solid ‘goo-goo’ publicity….and solid localism building to discover future candidates/activists/supporters
Job# 0 is get 30 local libertarians in elective or adlective offices per million population WHO WISH TO ADVANCE TO HIGHER OFFICE (Unlike Libertarian Program, strictly local adlective). The document and train on that. Then get them de-brainwashing in the schools as invited speakers. This we know we can do. We did it before in NH, Vermont, parts of PA, etc. What is not happening is LNC focus on making it routine. (We’ve done up to 50 per million though with strain Pinellas, Florida), 30 is just best practice. So ANY LP meeting without some focus on that and matching people to potential offices is a waste of time.
Job #1 is enforcing democracy via free Ballot Access and all votes counted. As part of that moving states to be like libertarian-direction Florida with direct democracy, no income tax, balanced budget rule etc. and 16+% LP voters. And of course inviting folks from other parties to speak and find common ground. So Mises has 1/3rd of that right…
Meanwhile, follow that selection cycle UNTIL we start producing Libertarian Congresscritters and Governors (LP Congressional PAC’s job). arising from the locals (Mises promise and LNC’s job with State Committees).
Chase is wobbly on specifics but speaks well and clearly likes to learn, and just put the Libertarian gay rooster in the pseudo-gay woke henhouse. He just took their microphone away, woke up the traditionally pro-libertarian LGBT+, and upset a global strategy by Communist China and Putin’s neo-communists. He is doing this while the GOP spokespeople whine about the woke and do the opposite of what is effective like a bunch of, as was once the term, communist-dupe sissies. Hence the relentless attacks from across the spectrum–and some in Mises– on Chase. He is over the target. That is why on YouTube Trumpsters to Jimmy Dore to various Marxist tankies are firing on him. HE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO EXIST. Bombs away, Chase.
Plus they’re worried the other guy has a PhD in Economics and cops love him. What a team.
I suggest McCardle and team fundraise with the rich LBGT+ (the original libertarian initials BTW–the L stood for ‘love-positive’) and cops. Invite them to share their concerns. Maybe join ballot watch teams. get folks to run this that don’t proselytize at this point. Take surveys, listen.
BTW, our first candidate for Prez was my mentor (among many) John Hospers, then ranking philosophy teacher in the US. He was also gay as a ballad from 1890, and made no secret of it. He got an electoral vote thanks to a well-placed libertarian in the GOP. I hope LNC is working on that. BOTH GOP and DEM electors.
Again, IMHO.
There was no betrayal. He told them a long time ago he did not want to ally with them and did not change his mind.
Found it. Apparently, party wrecked, mission accomplished, time to go home.
https://thirdpartywatch.com/2024/05/28/michael-heise-withdraws-from-politics/
Poor Heise, I think ter Maat’s betrayal was the last straw for him. Ter Maat didn’t just turn down the offer to be Rectenwald’s running-mate in favor of Oliver, he conveniently neglected to mention that the same offer had been made when he announced he was throwing in with Oliver.
Rectenwald allegedly ate an edible, not smoked, but yeah. But dodging one bullet is a small matter in a turkey shoot.
Please elaborate on Heise resigning. He left the L.P., found a figurehead to take over his wholly owned Pac, or something else? I know nothing about Casey.
Those looking for a summary of the state of the party post convention would do well to also consider that the leaders of the two major caucuses (caucii?), Casey and Heise, both declared that they are stepping down.
According to an article in Reason online at the convention Michael Rectenwald was high. He had a bit too much to smoke. I voted for him, but it seems we might have dodged a bullet.
It should be noted that the percentages on the At-Large totals are incorrect but the raw votes are correct. This is a calculation error in the spreadsheet that has since been corrected. It had zero bearing on the outcome.
The Teller Team regrets the error.
The screen shot fort At-Large is also cut off and doesn’t show the last three candidates, write-ins, or NOTA, all of which received under 60 votes each.
One comment on the previous thread said judicial is now a 4 year term, so the 2022 committee will serve through 2026.
Rutherford was not the Vice Chair elected in 2012. He was elected in 2010,and left that office in 2012.
Comment did not post due to lpedia link but can be verified with search.
I.think you may have cut off at large but I’m not sure. I thought there were more of them.
Third party watch has a graphic with the regional results, or at least more of them.