Iowa Libertarians challenge early filing deadline

Iowa Libertarians sue for equal access to state ballot | Cedar Rapids Gazette:

August 5, 2019 — "Iowa Libertarians are challenging an Iowa law they claim puts them at a disadvantage because their candidates must file months earlier than Democrats and Republicans seeking office. The lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Des Moines claims state law violates Libertarians’ rights of association and voting under the First Amendment, and denies them the equal protections guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

"The lawsuit names 'Paul D. Tate' as the plaintiff, an apparent reference to Iowa Secretary of State Paul D. Pate, the state commissioner of elections. Pate’s office had no comment regarding the suit other than to say the law change did not originate in the Secretary’s office.

"The Iowa Libertarian Party and Jake Porter of Council Bluffs, who plans to run for the U.S. Senate, also ask for an injunction barring enforcement of the law and for the state to pay their attorney fees.

"The law stems from a change the GOP-controlled Legislature made earlier this year to require candidates nominated by a non-party political organization — often referred to as an NPPO — must file with the state in mid-March of an election year while political party candidates don’t have to file until August.

"Under Iowa law, NPPOs are organizations that sponsor candidates, but their candidates did not receive at least 2 percent of the votes cast for president or governor in the previous election. Iowa Libertarians have been recognized as a political party in the past, but their current status is as an NPPO.

“'A filing deadline in mid-March imposes heavy burdens on NPPOs,' according to the lawsuit.... There is no legitimate state interest in the earlier filing deadline, Libertarians argue, or in treating NPPOs differently from political parties."

Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/iowa-libertarian-party-lawsuit-nppo-20190805
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Iowa Libertarians lost major party status in 2018

Libertarians to refocus after losing major party status in Iowa - Barbara Rodriguez, Des Moines Register:

November 21, 2018 - "A lackluster performance in Iowa's midterms has cost Libertarians the major party status they earned for the first time after the 2016 general election.... Jake Porter, the Libertarian candidate for governor, received 1.6 percent of the vote ...  — less than the 2 percent that Iowa law requires to retain major party status....

"The setback comes despite a period of growth for Iowa Libertarians. They have new party registrations, more candidates on the ballot and more people voting for those candidates.

"The 2 percent threshold, required in either a governor's race or a presidential race, allowed Libertarians to participate in this year’s state primary.... Instead, heading into the 2020 presidential election, Libertarians once again will be categorized in Iowa as a non-party political organization, and candidates will need to circulate nominating petitions to qualify to appear on the ballot. Party leaders predict they'll bounce back and regain their status in two years....

"A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll in September showed 7 percent of Iowans said they supported Porter. Another Iowa Poll days before the election showed Porter's support had dropped to 2 percent.

"That's despite a surge in registered Libertarians — from about 9,000 in early 2017 to more than 13,000 as of November. Porter ultimately received 21,426 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast in the governor's race....

"There were 27 Libertarian candidates running for congressional, statewide and legislative races in Iowa this year [which] surpasses the 2016 record of 24. But some of those candidates posted little, if any, information about themselves, and some had no website or social media presence. More importantly, ... campaign filing data show the four Libertarian congressional candidates raised no money....

"Nationally, Election Day produced mixed results for the Libertarian Party. Libertarians running for governor in Oklahoma and New York cleared the voting thresholds needed to maintain ballot access. In the governor’s race in New Hampshire, the Libertarian candidate failed to secure enough votes. Libertarians in Ohio are considering legal action over any attempt by that state to take away their newly acquired party status."

Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/21/iowa-libertarians-lose-major-party-status-candidate-registration-election-jake-porter-governor-race/2053696002/

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Porter wins Iowa Libertarian primary for governor

Jake Porter wins Libertarian Iowa governor primary:

June 5, 2018 - "Jake Porter won the Libertarian nomination for governor Tuesday, defeating opponent Marco Battaglia.

"According to the Secretary of State's unofficial election results, Porter earned about 54 percent of the vote over Battaglia's 38 percent. About 7 percent of Libertarian primary voters opted for a write-in candidate....

"Porter is a business consultant from Council Bluffs and a former retail manager. He has associate's and bachelor's degrees in business from AIB College of Business. He said he’s been a member of the Libertarian Party since he was 16 years old and helped establish the party in Iowa"

Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/06/libertarians-iowa-governor-tuesday-gary-johnson/656231002/
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Des Moines paper endorses in Libertarian primary

The Register endorses Jake Porter in Libertarian primary for governor - Des Moine Register, editorial:

May 23, 2018 = "The Libertarian Party of Iowa gained major-party status under Iowa law two years ago by winning more than 2 percent of the vote in the 2016 presidential race. Being a major party ... means Iowa voters, when they vote early or head to the polls on June 5, can choose to vote in the Libertarian Party primary.

"There are also significant disadvantages, especially a struggle for exposure. That’s one reason why the Des Moines Register editorial board decided to make an endorsement in the Libertarian primary race.

"We conducted a joint interview with the two candidates:

• Marco Battaglia is a Des Moines native who studied communications at the University of Northern Iowa. He’s a musician who has worked as a journalist as well as in insurance, banking and home mortgage businesses.
• Jake Porter is a business consultant from Council Bluffs and a former retail manager. He has an associate degree and bachelor's degree in business from AIB College of Business.  He said he’s been a member of the Libertarian Party since he was 16 years old and helped establish the party in Iowa.

"We were pleased to hear the two candidates adopt many priorities that we support.... However, both candidates also take positions that we consider untenable. Battaglia says he wants to phase out the income tax.... Porter ... says he eventually would like to see the state sales tax phased out.... We can’t envision endorsing any candidate in the general election who wants to severely narrow the options for funding priorities like schools and health care.

"But we do think one of these candidates is a better spokesman for the Libertarian Party of Iowa and stands a better chance of helping maintain major-party status than the other. For that reason, the Register endorses Jake Porter....

"Battaglia should be commended for his interest in public service and the civility he’s shown on the campaign trail. But his rambling speaking style and occasional inability to articulate details of his priority proposals would put him at a severe disadvantage compared with major-party candidates.

"Porter’s experience and clearer articulation of his positions make him better able to make a case for his party in the fall. He is the better choice for Iowa Libertarians who hope to maintain their major-party status."

Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/05/23/register-endorses-jake-porter-libertarian-primary-iowa-governor/629840002/
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Libertarian Jake Porter running for Iowa governor

Libertarian Iowa gubernatorial candidate calls for 'real changes' | Cedar Rapids Gazette - James Q. Lynch:

July 19, 2017 - "The politics-as-usual approach to state government by Republicans and Democrats is unsustainable and hurting vulnerable Iowans, according to Jake Porter, a Libertarian who is joining the race for governor.

"'We’re having this huge budget crisis, and I don’t see other candidates proposing real changes,' Porter said Tuesday.

"Instead, Statehouse lawmakers and the governor are using the budget as a weapon, according to Porter, who will formally announce his candidacy on 'The Simon Conway Show' on WHO Radio between 4 and 7 p.m. Thursday.

“They’ve decided we’re having a budget crisis, so we’re going to cut the services people use most, whether it’s mental health services, sexual abuse hotlines, domestic abuse shelters (or) hearing aids for kids,” Porter said. 'They’re not actually going after any of the waste that could easily be cut. They’re going after the things that are going to hurt the most people, probably as an excuse to raise the sales tax next year.'

"Porter, 29, a Council Bluffs business consultant long active in the Libertarian Party, previously ran for secretary of state. He thinks his views and priorities are more closely aligned with voters than either the Democratic or Republican platform.

"He wants to make medical cannabis available, restore voting rights for felons who have served their time, end corporate welfare, return Medicaid to its pre-privatization status and phase out the state sales tax.

"He opposes corporate welfare on libertarian principles. It’s wrong, Porter said, to ask Iowans to pay millions of dollars to financially sound corporations. He singled out the Research Activities Credit that refunds tax money to corporations even if they have no tax liability.

"'They’ve put the tax bill on the smallest Iowans and smallest companies,' he said. 'I don’t think the state should favor one business over another....

"'I’ve watched the budget grow from $6.2 billion from the end of the Culver administration to $7.3 billion' under Gov. Terry Branstad, he said. 'So they can’t claim they’ve actually cut any government. They’ve grown it while giving large tax breaks to big financially sound corporations.'"

Read more: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/libertarian-iowa-gubernatorial-candidate-calls-for-real-changes-20170718
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