A political action committee created by a former New Hampshire U.S. Senate candidate to support third party candidates is turning its attention to 2028 with plans to oppose Vice President J.D. Vance in the Republican presidential primary, should he decide to run.
Following Tuesday’s general election, Aaron Day, the co-founder of StarkFreedom, said on X that the organization intends to oppose Vance in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, calling him a puppet of billionaire technology investor Peter Thiel.
“We fully oppose technocracy. JD Vance is Peter Thiel’s puppet,” Day said. “We have experience with Presidential primaries. JD will not pass in New Hampshire.”
Day’s remarks refer to Vance’s previous ties to Thiel, whose venture capital firm once employed Vance and who financially backed his successful 2022 Senate bid in Ohio. Vance has not said that he intends to seek the Republican nomination in 2028, however, he is widely seen as a potential candidate.
Day is a longtime figure in New Hampshire’s libertarian scene, having previously chaired the Free State Project and the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. He first ran for U.S. Senate as an independent candidate in 2016, capturing 17,742 votes in a race where Democratic nominee Maggie Hassan narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte. Day has claimed his candidacy played a role in Ayotte’s defeat.
He pursued another independent Senate bid this year but was initially prevented from filing by state election officials over issues with his voter registration. Day successfully challenged that decision in federal court, but ultimately decided against submitting his nomination papers. The Secretary of State later said Day would still not appear on the ballot because his nomination papers were not submitted by the deadline.
Instead, Day, along with his wife, Eileen, launched StarkFreedom, with Day announcing plans to use artificial intelligence to support third party candidates in a variety of ways in key Senate races at the expense of their Republican opponents. Day said the effort was intended to punish Republicans for failing to deliver on earlier promises.
“Our goal is to cost Republicans control of the Senate by supporting third-party candidates and campaigning against the Republican in each race,” Day explained at the time. “Not because Democrats deserve our loyalty. Because Republicans hold power, and keeping it should depend on keeping their promises.”
The group said it had a budget of $2.5 million, announcing its support of four candidates in its initial launch, starting with Constitution Party nominee Ed Laplante in New Hampshire. It later expanded to a slate of 11 candidates nationwide, including Libertarians and independents.
StarkFreedom’s initial filing with the Federal Election Commission, along with several 24-hour expentidure reports made before the general election, show that it spent just under $7,000 collectively toward the effort. However, depending on what he did during the final moments of the election, that likely doesn’t depict a complete picture.
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