The Libertarian Party of Michigan has formally disavowed the campaign of gubernatorial nominee Anthony Hudson following an earlier censure and what party leaders say was his continued disparagement of the organization and its platform.
The Michigan affiliate’s Executive Committee met Sunday for an emergency meeting where members adopted the resolution formally distancing themselves from Hudson, who was nominated at the party’s June state convention. Hudson was one of 30 candidates nominated by the party this election cycle.
According to the resolution, the committee said Hudson’s statements and campaign positions oppose what it considers foundational constitutional liberties and that the ideology promoted by his campaign conflicts with the party’s “core values, platform, and purpose.” It formally resolved to “disavow the Anthony Hudson campaign and publicly disassociate from any affiliation, support, or political connection with his candidacy.”
While the resolution distances the party from Hudson, it does not revoke his nomination, meaning he will continue to appear on the November ballot under the Libertarian line.
“The Libertarian Party of Michigan remains committed to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, equal individual rights, and the principle that government should neither infringe upon those liberties nor discriminate among individuals,” the party said.
The disavowal follows an earlier formal censure of Hudson over public statements the party said conflicted with its principles, including his positions on freedom of speech and religion. A member of the party’s executive committee who shared the resolution with Independent Political Report also included a clip from a longer video produced by Hudson, which IPR was told prompted that earlier censure.
In the clip, Hudson is speaking from his car to someone named Patrick and uses a homophobic slur before criticizing what he says is Patrick’s relationship with another man. IPR has not seen the full video and does not know the context leading up to Hudson’s remarks.
“I saw your pictures on your page,” Hudson said. “Man and woman. Man and woman. Not man and man, Patrick. That’s disgusting, the lifestyle that you live. It’s disgusting that you live the way you do.”
Hudson continued by saying it was Patrick’s choice to live that way and that he would eventually need to “answer to God.” He then said freedom of speech, representation, and religion were among the reasons the “country is falling apart.”
The state party said Hudson continued to publicly disparage the Libertarian Party of Michigan and its platform after receiving the censure. The Executive Committee also acknowledged that continued friction in its resolution as one reason for formally disavowing his campaign now.
Hudson later addressed the recent disavowal in a statement to Dave Bondy News. According to the Substack newsletter, Hudson said he was comfortable with the decision and would not change his views to align with those of the Libertarian Party.
“The Libertarian Party has chosen to disavow my campaign—and I’m perfectly comfortable with that,” Hudson told Bondy. “I will never compromise my morals, my principles, or my convictions just to fit the narrative of any political party.”
Hudson said Americans do not need a political party telling them what to believe and accused party insiders of moving away from what he considers individual liberty, limited government, personal responsibility, and constitutional freedom. He also issued disavowals of his own, specifically naming Scotty Bowman [sic], Mike Saliba, Angela Thornton, Dana Carver, Jay Gillotte, and Rafael Wolf, all of whom are members of the Libertarian Party of Michigan’s current state leadership team.
“This campaign was never about serving a party. It was about serving the people,” Hudson said. “[…] So if standing on principle means standing alone, then I’ll stand alone. Because I would rather lose a political party than lose my principles.”
The Libertarian Party of Michigan also prepared a letter directed at people who may have become interested in the party through Hudson’s campaign. The party states that the purpose of the letter is to give readers a more accurate picture of what the Libertarian Party stands for before addressing a large number of issues Hudson has raised on the campaign trail.
Among the areas of agreement, the party points to Hudson’s support for ending the state income tax, withdrawing from the Flock camera program, and moving Michigan to a part-time legislature. However, that is largely where the common ground ends.
The document then contrasts the party’s positions with a far wider range of views espoused by the Hudson campaign, including disagreements involving immigration enforcement and ICE, private property, religious liberty, government regulation, foreign policy, and the War on Drugs.
Among them, the letter says Hudson’s support for using the National Guard to round up immigrants conflicts with the party’s position on peaceful migration, while his proposals to prohibit new data centers, solar panels, or wind turbines run counter to its views on private property rights and a free market economy. It also rejects government efforts to force Muslims in Dearborn to assimilate into mainstream American culture and argues that rules governing transgender participation in sports should be left to voluntary organizations and private property owners rather than the government.
The letter also references several statements it attributes to Hudson, including calling the Libertarian Party “the GOP’s little brother” and remarks about hanging government officials. The party rejected Hudson’s portrayal of it as subordinate to Republicans, calling itself an independent political party, and pointed to the Libertarian Party’s Statement of Principles, which rejects the initiation of force to achieve political or social goals. “If that’s a big issue for you, this might not be a good fit,” the party added.
“We’re always happy to see new people interested in our party, but we also want people to understand what the Libertarian Party actually stands for so they can decide whether it’s a good fit for them,” the letter reads, before encouraging readers to review the party platform for themselves.
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