A separate group of New Hampshire Libertarians is seeking to become the Libertarian Party’s new state affiliate, with documentation recently made public showing that the group sought recognition more than a week before the formation of the Granite State Libertarian Party for the same purpose.
Libertarian National Committee Region 6 Representative Alfa Shaw shared the application on the committee’s public business list earlier this week after questioning why it had not previously been circulated to the full board. A forwarded email shows the request was originally sent on August 22 by New Hampshire Libertarian Matthew Strong and reached Shaw six days later after Strong initially sent it to an incorrect email address, prompting Shaw to make it public after waiting several more days for other recipients to do so.
“Why have the officers listed in the recipient’s portion of this email chosen not to inform the other directors of this organization about this important communication?” Shaw asked fellow LNC members.
Responding to Shaw’s post, LNC Chair Evan McMahon said he had intended, and believed he had, forwarded Strong’s application to the full committee after receiving it. He said the message apparently did not go through and that he had not otherwise shared the contents of the application.
“For the record… regardless of what people are being told or speculating, the process for submitting an affiliate application is to send the documents to Secretary McGee,” McMahon added. “Not the Judicial Committee, not a Region Rep/Alt, not an At-Large, nor any other LNC contact. The LNC Secretary.”
The application was signed on August 20 and includes the group’s bylaws. It formally identifies the organization as the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, the same name still used by the former state affiliate disaffiliated by the national party earlier this year. That older organization continues to operate independently and has been raising funds for legal action in response to its disaffiliation.
Strong, who previously served in leadership positions with the Libertarian Party of Vermont, is identified in the application as chair of the new organization, with Dennis Pratt serving as vice chair, Sean Dempsey as secretary, and Brent Tweed as treasurer. Its larger board also includes Dylan Iacoboni, Rachel Goldsmith, Ryan Bloodworth, Masha Bloodworth, Reinita Sussman, Stephen Nass, Rick German, Lori Germain, and Patrick Binder.
While the application does not include anyone currently serving on the Executive Committee of the disaffiliated Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, several of those involved have previous ties to the organization. Bloodworth previously served as interim LPNH chair, while Dempsey and Nass have served on its Executive Committee in the past. Binder was elected LPNH treasurer at the organization’s 2025 convention. Goldsmith is the partner of current LPNH Chair Jeremy Kauffman.
Strong’s group is competing for recognition with the Granite State Libertarian Party, another organization of New Hampshire Libertarians that held its founding convention on August 30. The group, also known as Granite State Libertarians, adopted bylaws and elected Rachel “Blackfyre” Danner as chair before announcing plans to similarly seek LNC recognition.
The two organizations are alike in some ways but differ substantially in how they structure membership. Unlike Granite State Libertarians, which uses a tiered system with waiting periods before most new members receive full convention voting rights, Strong’s organization provides a more direct path to full participation. Its bylaws allow New Hampshire residents, as well as those intending to move to the state, to become members after signing the Libertarian non-aggression pledge, meeting any dues requirement, and generally not belonging to another political party, so long as they are accepted by the party’s Executive Committee.
Those members in good standing can also vote at conventions and serve in party leadership without the waiting periods established by Granite State Libertarians, where most new members must progress through multiple membership levels over roughly two years before gaining full convention voting rights.
Notably, none of the documents reviewed by IPR clearly state when the new organization held its inaugural convention. Independent Political Report reached out to Strong to ask when the convention took place and how notice was provided.
“Our affiliate was formed on August 20th, in the year of our Lord, 2026, in full compliance with the Libertarian Party bylaws and policy manual,” Strong told IPR. “We have no further comment for a publication openly funded by socialists.”
McMahon also said that Stephen Nass had submitted an “identical” application for affiliation on August 18, several days before Strong sent his copy. According to McMahon, Nass sent the application to the Judicial Committee, national chair and secretary, and an incorrect email address for Shaw before the Judicial Committee had formally issued its ruling on the former affiliate’s appeal. McMahon said the application was therefore premature and could not be accepted at the time.
McMahon added that discussion and potential votes on affiliate applications will be placed on the agenda for the LNC’s September 13 meeting, with applicants invited to speak about their respective requests and answer questions from committee members.
National Libertarian Party rules permit only one state affiliate in each state. Although the rules outline what groups must do to qualify for affiliation, they do not say what happens when two groups from the same state both seek recognition.
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