US Libertarians aim for 2,000 candidates in 2018

Cara Schulz joins staff as candidate recruiting specialist | Libertarian Party - Wes Benedict:

October 25, 2017 - "I’m excited to announce the hiring of Cara Schulz to serve as candidate recruiting specialist for the Libertarian National Committee. Cara (pronounced “care + a”) has not only managed other people’s campaigns at federal, state, and local levels, but has personally run for public office and won.

"After her first attempt fell short in 2014, she ran again in 2016 for Minnesota’s Burnsville City Council (population 61,630) and won. Although the position is officially nonpartisan, she defeated opponents that had been endorsed by the the Republican and Democratic parties and supported by the Chamber of Commerce. Schulz will continue her service on the council and will work for the LNC from Minnesota.

"Schulz has more than two decades of experience in sales and sales management, mostly working with remote teams. That experience will come in handy as she faces the monumental task of helping our affiliates nationwide recruit 2,000 candidate for office in 2018!

"In recent election cycles, we’ve had closer to 600 or 800 candidates nationwide, so, yes, we’re trying to more than double recent results for 2018.

"In 2016, Schulz knocked on more than 22,000 doors in five months while campaigning for herself and while serving as the state director for the Gov. Gary Johnson/Bill Weld campaign. She won’t accept many excuses. She’s the kind of person we need to rally libertarians to run for office nationwide.

"If you are even remotely considering running for something in 2018, please express your interest today here: LP.org/run-for-office"

Read more: https://www.lp.org/cara-schulz-joins-staff-candidate-recruiting-specialist/
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Libertarian Party wants "racists and bigots" out

Libertarian Party to White nationalists: Get out - Christie Zizo, Central Florida News 13:

August 15, 2017 - The National Libertarian Party says it stands for freedom for all, but it won't stand for white nationalists.

"The party, considered the fastest growing third party in the country, issued a statement Tuesday asking any white nationalists who belong to the party to leave.

"'There is no room for racists and bigots in the Libertarian Party,' said Libertarian National Committee executive director Wes Benedict. 'If there are white nationalists who — inappropriately — are members of the Libertarian Party, I ask them to submit their resignations today. We don’t want them to associate with the Libertarian Party, and we don’t want their money. I’m not expecting many resignations, because our membership already knows this well.'

"Benedict says the Libertarian Party supports civil liberties, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. The party also believes in open borders, racial diversity and free trade -- things he says white nationalists abhor.

"The statement comes in the wake of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville that turned violent as protesters engaged with some counterprotesters and one suspected white nationalist drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one and injuring 19.

"Among the headliners of that 'Unite the Right' Rally was Augustus Invictus, who ran for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian in 2016. At the time his candidacy caused a stir. Florida Libertarian Party Chairman Adrian Wyllie resigned his post because he believed Invictus was a white nationalist who believed in eugenics [and] wanted to start a civil war. Invictus denied the charge....

"Invictus announced he was leaving the Libertarians in July for the Republican Party. He announced Tuesday he is running as a Republican candidate for Senate in Florida in 2018."

Read more: http://www.mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2017/8/15/libertarian_party_wh.html
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Ron Paul coalition fragments in 2016

Where are all the Ron 'Paulite' libertarians in 2016? - Daniel Libit, CNBC:

April 14, 2016 - "Last month, Walter Block, a libertarian professor of economics and long-time acolyte of Ron Paul, pinched his nose and co-launched a group, Libertarians for Trump.... While he finds much of Trump's domestic agenda odious, Block very much likes Trump's noninterventionist foreign policy positions.

"Still, Block insists his group ... advocates only for Trump as the Republican nominee, and it intends to promptly disband after the primary. Then, Block said, even his vote is up for grabs. 'If it was Bernie [Sanders] versus Donald, I would vote for the Libertarian [Party candidate] for sure," he told CNBC.com. 'If it was Donald versus Hillary [Clinton], I would have a much harder time. I would have trouble deciding.'

"His conundrum is not unique among his kind. Four years after its political awakening, and in the absence of an obvious rallying point, the Ron Paul coalition finds itself in a diffuse, conflicted and confused diaspora. Paul's devotees .. are now erratically strewn across the political spectrum of the 2016 election, ... attaching themselves to Trump's populism, Ted Cruz's conservatism and even Sanders' socialism....

"The current state of the Paul coalition ... suggests ... its support had much more to do with Paul's outsiderism, than his libertarianism. It is this reality that dawned too late on the presidential campaign of his son, Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who thought he could expand on his father's base of support by appealing to establishment Republicans as well as true libertarians ... the campaign's internal polls found that of Iowa voters who said they supported Ron Paul in 2012, only about a third identified generally as having libertarian leanings....

"Paul commits his time to leading the Campaign for Liberty and the Ron Paul Institute, a foreign policy nonprofit.... But perhaps Paul's greatest political legacy is Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian student organization that Paul is not formally affiliated with, but which grew out of his 2008 presidential campaign. It currently counts 600 college chapters and 200,000-plus members....

"Cruz, despite Paul's withering criticisms, has arguably made the most consistent effort to attract his former supporters, even name-checking libertarians in his Iowa Caucus victory speech. Prior to Rand Paul dropping out of the race, Cruz had already snatched the support of Iowa state Sen. Jason Schultz, who endorsed Ron Paul in 2012, and Joel Kurtinitis, an activist who served as Paul's regional director. Cruz also won the endorsement of former Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr, who has gotten crosswise with Paul in the past....

"But at least one political organization sees a unique opportunity this election — the national Libertarian Party. 'This is a year where things are so uncertain, and where the two parties are split among themselves, that it could be a very big opportunity,' said Wes Benedict, the Libertarian Party's executive director. Past nominee Gary Johnson's 1,275,871 votes in 2012 represented a high-water mark for the party in its 44-year history....

"During the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial race, Libertarian Party candidate Robert Sarvis ended with almost 7 percent of the vote, the most a third-party candidate has netted in the South since 1970.

"Immediately after Rand Paul's exit from this year's nominating contest, the Libertarian Party saw notable spikes in new donors, according to figures provided to CNBC.com. The party is on the ballot in 32 states (and Washington, D.C.) — the most of any third-party — and Benedict says he's confident it will be on all states' ballots for November."

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/14/where-are-all-the-ron-paulite-libertarians-in-2016.html
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Nationally televised Libertarian debate April 1

Good News! Libertarian debate on TV, moderated by Stossel | Libertarian Party - Wes Benedict:

March 3, 2016 - "There will be a debate of Libertarian presidential candidates on TV this year!

"Many thanks to John Stossel and FOX Business Network for making this happen. A nationally televised debate is long overdue and we are delighted that it is finally happening...

"So please help us spread the word about the upcoming debate on FOX Business Network.

"It will be filmed on March 29 and aired on April 1.

"We'll update you on key details such as the time it airs as these details become available.

"A limited number of free tickets are available. To request them, email stosseltix@foxbusiness.com."

Read more: https://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/good-news-libertarian-debate-on-tv-moderated-by-stossel
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Stossel: What are libertarians doing wrong? | Fox News - John Stossel:

March 9, 2016 - "The Stossel TV show on the Fox Business Network will host a Libertarian presidential forum. Three leading Libertarian presidential candidates -- 'leading' because they placed top three in a poll done by the Libertarian Party -- will debate. They are former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, software entrepreneur John McAfee and Libertarian Republic founder Austin Petersen.

"The forum will air, unfortunately, on April 1. But this is no April Fools' Day joke. Our future is a stake."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/03/09/stossel-what-are-libertarians-doing-wrong.html
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Rand Paul may seek Libertarian nomination, too

Rand Paul Could Win Libertarian Nomination, Too - US News & World Report - Steven Nelson:

October 27, 2014 - "Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., may follow in his father’s footsteps not only by seeking the Republican presidential nomination, but also by receiving the Libertarian Party’s ballot line....

"Paul is unlikely to directly seek the third party’s support, but could win it anyhow through the work of eager activists like those who worked the campaigns of his father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a GOP presidential contender in 2008 and 2012 and the Libertarian nominee in 1988.

"A co-nomination from one of the nation’s most significant minor parties could help Paul - if he’s the Republican nominee - avoid losing hundreds of thousands of votes to an ideological ally. In some states, his name would appear twice on ballots.

"If Paul is nominated by both the Republican and Libertarian parties, it could also unleash electoral scenarios unseen in decades, such as the negotiation of a fusion slate of electors. Libertarians could, theoretically, nominate their own vice presidential candidate.

"Though the Libertarian Party’s Orlando, Florida, nominating convention isn’t until May 2016, Libertarian National Committee Executive Director Wes Benedict foresees a fight.

"'If Rand Paul wins the Republican nomination, I'd expect a big fight within the [party] over whether or not we should run our own candidate,' Benedict says. 'It wouldn't just be a discussion.'

"Libertarian Party chairman Nicholas Sarwark, officially neutral on the matter, says 'there is a possibility that the delegates in Orlando would nominate Sen. Paul and if they were to do so, I'd work hard to support their choice'."

Read more: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/10/27/rand-paul-could-win-libertarian-nomination-too
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Robert Sarvis denies "Democratic plant" rumors

Libertarian Sarvis denies being in cahoots with Democrats - Roanoke Times: Politics - Marcus Schmidt, Richmond Times-Dispatch: 

September 30, 2014 -  "Libertarian Robert Sarvis, the only third-party candidate on the ballot in Virginia’s U.S. Senate race, vehemently denies allegations that his Senate campaign and his 2013 gubernatorial bid were meant to help Democrats defeat Republican candidates.

"'It’s just an absurd claim and just a way to scare people,' Sarvis said in an interview Tuesday with editors and reporters at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

"The rumors date to a story posted by the conservative blog The Blaze shortly before Election Day last year, when Sarvis ran for governor against Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Ken Cuccinelli....

"The blog said that Texas-based software billionaire Joe Liemandt was the major benefactor to the Libertarian Booster PAC, which had contributed $11,454 to Sarvis’ campaign to pay for signature collection, yard signs and campaign materials....

"But in 2012, ABC News reported that Liemandt had also contributed between $100,000 and $200,000 for President Barack Obama’s re-election bid.

"But Sarvis on Tuesday denied that Democrats were actively backing his last campaign and are behind his Senate bid, hoping that his participation in the race will weaken support for Republican Ed Gillespie, who wants to defeat Sen. Mark Warner.

"'We can put the truth out there, but we still get a lot of responses from conservatives who claim that I was a Democratic plant and that I am again this year,' he said. 'The most you can do is to say, well, it’s not true.'

"Wes Benedict, executive director of the Libertarian National Committee and founder of the Libertarian Booster PAC, also denied allegations that his PAC only supported Sarvis’ gubernatorial bid as a tool of moneyed Democratic Party interests."

Read more: http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/libertarian-sarvis-denies-being-in-cahoots-with-democrats/article_c378acdf-992b-5fec-87a5-1127685381f1.html
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Paul & Cruz praised, criticized for Ferguson responses

Ferguson response shows libertarian divide between Paul and Cruz | TheHill - Kevin Cirilli:

August 17, 2014 - "Rand Paul and Ted Cruz’s differing tone in response to the Ferguson riots could provide clues for the divergent trails they're forging to woo libertarian voters in 2016.

"Both the Kentucky and Texas Senate Republicans urged that civil liberties be protected in statements following unrest in Ferguson, Mo.. After an officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an 18 year old African American teen, last weekend, riots have erupted and police have been criticized for using overly-aggressive force against protesters and reporters calling for answers.

"Strategists say Paul struck a more provocative tone against in his TIME op-ed, calling for the demilitarization of police but also noting inequality in the prison system. Meanwhile, Cruz took a more tame tack in calling for protection of civil liberties.

"'With Ferguson, Rand Paul took a more libertarian approach – Ted Cruz is just giving lip-service to civil liberties,' said Wes Benedict, president of the Libertarian Party. 'I think the press sometimes gives Sen. Cruz undue credit for leaning-libertarian, but I just don't see it.' Benedict added: 'You're not really libertarian when your gut reaction is to defend militarized police and say, 'Let's study this"'....

"On Friday, authorities were still releasing details into the investigation, including allegations that Brown robbed a convenience store to steal cigars. His family has since criticized authorities for attempting to smear their son's name, and later the Ferguson police chief said the officer who killed Brown did not know he was a suspect in a robbery that took place minutes earlier....

"Matt Wills, executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, praised Cruz for 'saying, let's figure this out first and let cooler heads prevail' and compared Paul's rhetoric to that of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).....

"'Look, I live about 4.5-miles outside of Ferguson,' Wills said. 'I really feel for that community... but the political response from Paul and McCaskill to what happened is a little premature.'"

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/215312-ferguson-response-shows-libertarian-divide-between-paul
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Libertarian response to 2014 State of the Union address

Libertarian Party response to 2014 State of the Union address - Your Houston News: Opinion:

January 30, 2014 - "Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address:

"'Thanks to unprecedented levels of government interference and government coercion, Americans’ rights are violated like never before. We are harmed by taxes, regulations, prohibitions, and shocking privacy intrusions.

"'Unfortunately, most of the harm and injustice of government occurs because too many Americans support existing government policies. We’re suffering under a tyranny of the majority. Our Libertarian hope is that we can convince enough Americans to change their minds. We hope voters will come to understand that government is force, and force is unjust.

"Here are some of the problems we see.

"The government debt situation is atrocious. Government debt is a terrible thing, because it forces future generations to pay off debts they never agreed to incur. From 2001 to 2008, George W. Bush doubled the debt, mostly with the support of a Republican Congress.... Since 2009, Barack Obama and the Democrats (and Republicans) have nearly doubled it again. "

"'Thanks to the work of Republicans and Democrats, America has declined in the Economic Freedom Index. We’ve been sliding for years, and now we’re down to #12. We’re below Australia, Canada, and Denmark. Libertarian policies would get us back to #1."

Read more: http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/humble/opinion/libertarian-party-response-to-state-of-the-union-address/article_fc203a75-383a-511b-8b0f-fdff6c8885a4.html
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The most Libertarian place in America?

The most Libertarian place in America - POLITICO.com - Charles Mahtesian:

December 14, 2012 - "Is Austin’s Travis County the nation’s Libertarian Party stronghold?

"The co-founders of a Libertarian political action committee based there make that case, arguing that the Texas locale is the “most Libertarian large county in America.'

"Wes Benedict and Arthur DiBianca of Libertarian Booster PAC note that 31 Libertarian candidates were on the Travis County ballot this year, more than any other county in America. Among the other stats they cite:

"Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson won 2.7% there, his highest percentage nationwide for large counties outside his home state of New Mexico.

"Four Libertarians got over 40% of the vote for the portion of their district within Travis County

"The current chairman of the national party, Geoffrey Neale, lives in Travis County, and 2004 Libertarian presidential nominee Michael Badnarik had previously run for office as a Libertarian in Travis County, and his presidential campaign headquarters were located in Travis County."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/blogs/charlie-mahtesian/2012/12/the-most-libertarian-place-in-america-152016.html
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