12 Libertarians win office in November elections

Libertarian Party Wins More Than a Dozen Elections Across the Nation - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Brian Doherty:

November 8, 2017 - "The Libertarian Party participated in elections in 12 states yesterday: Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. The party's candidates won races (not always partisan ones) in the following states:

• In Florida, party members were elected to the Altamonte Springs City Commission, the Coconut Grove Village Council, and the Cape Canaveral City Council.
• In Pennsylvania, party members were elected Rome Township auditor, Spring Township auditor, auditor of Upper Providence, Victory Township supervisor, Houston Borough judge of elections, Exeter Township school director, Lower Nazareth auditor and judge of elections, constable in Sunbury, and member of the Houston Borough Council.
• In Washington, party members were elected to the Long Beach City Council and the Covington City Council.
• In North Carolina, a party member was elected to the Carthage Town Board of Commissioners.

"While nowhere near the spread between winning Democrat Ralph Northam and losing Republican Ed Gillespie, at least 29,000 Virginians voted for Libertarian Cliff Hyra for governor. Michelle Darnell won an impressive 32 percent in a Washington State Senate race in the Redmond area, though with only one major-party opponent, the winning Democrat.

"Details on the L.P.'s results yesterday can be found on the party's website."

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2017/11/08/libertarian-party-wins-more-than-a-dozen
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Cliff Hyra condemns opponents' name-calling

Calling himself the 'grown-up in the room,' Libertarian Cliff Hyra bashes Gillespie and Northam over harsh attack ads | Virginia Politics | richmond.com - Graham Moomaw, Richmond Times-Dispatch:

November 2, 2017 - "Libertarian Cliff Hyra wants Virginians to ignore the attack ads in the governor’s race featuring MS-13 gang members, pedophiles and neo-Nazis.... On Thursday, less than a week before Tuesday’s election, Hyra held a news conference at the state Capitol to emphasize his dismay over the 'wild-eyed accusations and divisive rhetoric' flying between Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam and their supporters.

"'I fear for the future of our commonwealth and of our nation [when] even the most staid candidates feel that they have to descend to this level of discourse ...' said Hyra, a 35-year-old Mechanicsville patent attorney who will appear on the ballot ... as the only third-party candidate for governor.... '“It’s unbelievable to me that I had to be the grown-up in the room, because these 60-year-old men, these establishment politicians, a sitting lieutenant governor and a (former) chairman of the Republican National Committee apparently think that the best strategy (for) getting elected to the highest position of the state is name-calling'.....

"Gillespie has invested heavily in ads attacking Northam as soft on the Latino street gang MS-13 because Northam voted against a ban on sanctuary cities earlier this year, even though no sanctuary cities exist in Virginia. Gillespie has also used the case of a convicted sex offender to bash Northam for supporting Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s expansive approach to restoring felons’ voting rights.

"Northam and the rest of the Democratic ticket put out a mailer linking Gillespie and President Donald Trump to the Tiki torch-carrying white supremacists who have rallied in Charlottesville, despite Gillespie’s repeated denunciations of the group. An outside group, the Latino Victory Fund, put out a video ad showing a pickup truck with a Confederate flag and Gillespie bumper sticker chasing down minority children....

"All of it, Hyra said, has distracted from real policy discussions that could better serve voters. He ticked off several of his own policy positions, which include legalizing marijuana and other criminal justice reforms, scrapping SOL testing, protecting property owners from eminent domain 'abuse,' opposing proposed pipelines, and cutting taxes and regulation.

"Hyra was not invited to participate in any of the three gubernatorial debates, and his poll numbers have reflected the limited ability of third-party candidates to break through.... He said he’d like to hit 10 percentage points, which would make it easier for Libertarians to get on the ballot in future elections."

Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/calling-himself-the-grown-up-in-the-room-libertarian-cliff/article_a40aae45-648b-56ae-99e2-943c37e6be31.html
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Associated Press covers Cliff Hyra campaign

Libertarian candidate a longshot who could alter race | National politics | stltoday.com - Alan Suderman, Associated Press:

October 4, 2017 - "Cliff Hyra, the long-shot Libertarian candidate in this year's closely watched race for Virginia governor, ... an intellectual property attorney and 35-year-old father of four, is polling at just a few percentage points in most polls. That's not enough to have a chance to win, but it could be enough to alter what's likely to be a close contest between Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam.

"It's unclear who may benefit, and some supporters of both Gillespie and Northam have expressed concern that Hyra could pull critical votes away from their preferred candidate. Adding to the stakes is the fact that Virginia is one of only two states electing new governors this year, and the swing state's contest is getting national attention as a possible early referendum on President Donald Trump.

"But Hyra said he's running to 'move the policy debate' and is not worried about potential side effects.

"'I'm not Republican, I'm not a Democrat, I really don't care if I spoil the election for one or the other,' said Hyra, who has been shut out of the candidate debates and has little money to get his message out. 'If we can build momentum for some of the places where I think Virginia needs to improve ... that's a major reason I'm in the race.'

"Hyra's campaign platform is heavy on protecting personal freedoms and limiting government power. It includes calling for a severe curtailment of the state's numerous food and beverage laws, legalizing marijuana and protecting individual property rights. He said his emphasis on criminal justice reform has already partially paid off by the emphasis both Gillespie and Northam are giving to the issue.

"He said he's gained support from Republican voters turned off by Trump, but is also drawing close looks from environmentalists and landowners who are unhappy with Northam for not opposing two proposed natural gas pipelines. Hyra is the only candidate opposing the pipelines, saying property rights should outweigh a private company's ability to seize land for profit.

"Libertarian campaigns are not new in Virginia. Libertarian Robert Sarvis may have played a pivotal role in the 2013 gubernatorial contest when he won 7 percent, including a high number of independent voters. That campaign was marked by a lack of voter enthusiasm for Democrat Terry McAuliffe, the winner, and Republican Ken Cuccinelli. Support for Sarvis was much lower a year later, though, when he only won 2 percent in a U.S. Senate race where Gillespie narrowly lost to Mark Warner."

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/libertarian-candidate-a-longshot-who-could-alter-race/article_52271a2c-e8e9-5b1b-8fce-0bd3c51917e2.html
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Hyra excluded from 1st Virginia governor's debate

First Gubernatorial Debate Does Not Include Libertarian Candidate | WVTF - Michael Pope, Virginia Public Radio:

July 24, 2017 - "The first of three debates for governor is scheduled for this weekend, when Democrat Ralph Northam will square off with Republican Ed Gillespie at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs. But there’s one candidate who’s not invited to the party.

"Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra spent months collecting signatures of voters to get on the ballot statewide. Last month, the Virginia Department of Elections said he qualified to be on the ballot in every jurisdiction in Virginia. But when voters are confronted with his name they might not know anything about him. That’s because debate organizers of the three debates for governor have not invited him to participate....

"The last Libertarian candidate for governor, Robert Sarvis, says that’s not fair to voters. 'It’s basically undermining the ability of the people to hear different ideas and to see everybody who’s going to be on their ballot. When there’s only three people who are going to be on the ballot, there’s no argument for keeping people out.'

"The bar association policy for who gets to be part of the debate says candidates must be 'significant' to participate, which they define as someone who does well in polling, has raised a significant amount of money and attracted a fair amount of media coverage. The policy doesn’t include any specific numbers for polling or fundraising, leaving it to the judgment of the organizers....

Read more: http://wvtf.org/post/first-gubernatorial-debate-does-not-include-libertarian-candidate
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Virginia Libertarian makes ballot for governor

Libertarian candidate for Virginia governor qualifies for November ballot | Virginia Politics | pilotonline.com - Bill Bartel, Virginian-Pilot:

June 29, 2017 - "Virginians will have a third choice for governor in the Nov. 7 general election.

"Cliff Hyra, a 34-year-old patent attorney from Hanover County, has qualified to be on the ballot as the Libertarian Party candidate, the Virginia Department of Elections confirmed Thursday.

"Hyra and his supporters submitted petitions bearing more than 10,000 signatures to earn a spot....

"Hyra is making his first bid for elected office. He has a law degree from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech, according to his law office website. He is married with three children.

"Four years ago, Libertarian Robert Sarvis qualified for the gubernatorial election but collected less than 7 percent of the popular vote. Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe narrowly defeated GOP candidate Ken Cuccinelli in 2013 by 56,435 votes out of 2.2 million cast."

Read more: https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/libertarian-candidate-for-virginia-governor-qualifies-for-november-ballot/article_2a35de71-fc10-5e5f-a620-4744a6dda7b0.html
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