The Libertarian Party of Nevada is calling on the Libertarian National Committee to reverse its disaffiliation of the New Hampshire state party, adopting a resolution accusing the national organization of acting improperly and against affiliate sovereignty.
The resolution, shared both online and to the LNC’s public Business List, was unanimously approved by the Nevada affiliate’s Executive Committee in a July 3 vote. It comes in response to an earlier LNC decision to revoke recognition of the New Hampshire state party on the grounds that the state organization had endorsed Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 general election, undermined Libertarian candidates, and promoted what the national party called anti-libertarian positions.
The revocation vote was one of the first actions of the newly seated Libertarian National Committee, which met immediately following the party’s national convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During the meeting, some members pushed to first establish an investigatory committee, but that effort failed after opponents of the idea argued that the reasons for disaffiliation were already public and sufficient to warrant national action.
In the resolution, the Nevada affiliate said the LNC overstepped its authority over state affiliates and acted inconsistently with the Libertarian principles of voluntary association, decentralization, and autonomy. It accused the National Committee of acting hypocritically for not applying the same standard to other affiliates that it says engaged in similar conduct, including “platform deviations, controversial messaging, or endorsements.”
“[H]eavy-handed interventions by the LNC in state affiliate matters are tactically unwise, as they risk alienating active members, reducing grassroots energy, and damaging the party’s reputation for championing decentralization and federalism—core tenets that distinguish Libertarianism from centralized political structures,” the resolution reads, adding that such actions “contradict the Libertarian Party’s emphasis on bottom-up organization where states retain significant autonomy.”
The resolution does not specify which other state affiliates the Nevada party is referencing; however, there were several instances during the 2024 general election where state affiates pushed back against Chase Oliver, the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee, following that year’s convention. One such example was in Colorado, where state party leaders instead attempted to place independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the Libertarian line. Oliver ultimately appeared as the party’s nominee on the state ballot in November.
The party also claims the vote was taken contrary to the will of convention delegates, who it says “considered and rejected” a proposal to disaffiliate LPNH, though Independent Political Report, which followed the convention stream as it happened, is unaware of any such explicit vote reaching the convention floor. Delegates were originally expected to consider an amendment related to the disaffiliation of state affiliates as part of the Bylaws Committee report, but due to time constraints, the convention failed to reach that portion of the document before adjourning.
The Nevada resolution further echoes arguments raised by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire in its recent appeal to the Judicial Committee, including that the current LPNH leadership is not the same group that voted to endorse Donald Trump in 2024. The New Hampshire party filed its petition earlier this month, asking the Judicial Committee to either reverse the disaffiliation or order the creation of an investigatory committee similar to the one chaired by Patrick Dixon that was responsible for addressing an earlier dispute over control of the state party in 2021.
The Nevada affiliate said it expresses “strong displeasure” with the national party and calls on it to reverse New Hampshire’s disaffiliation. It also asks the LNC to prioritize “persuasion and voluntary alignment” over what it refers to as more punitive measures against affiliates, as well as to allow affiliates flexibility in operating in their own states.
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