 | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | June 30–July 3, 2018 |
| City | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Venue | Hyatt Regency Hotel |
| Chair | Daniel Hayes |
| Keynote speaker | Amaryllis Fox |
The 2018 Libertarian National Convention was held from June 30 to July 3, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana. According to the Libertarian Party, the 2018 convention was the "biggest Libertarian National Convention ever," breaking previous records in attendance and fundraising. [1]
The theme was "I'm THAT Libertarian!", a phrase uttered by the late Marc Allan Feldman in a Libertarian presidential debate at the 2016 national convention. [2] [3]
Nicholas Sarwark's seat as Chair of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) was up for election. Sarwark faced challenge from Washington LP member Joshua Smith, [4] Libertarian Socialist Caucus member Matt Kuehnel, [5] former Gary Johnson and John McAfee campaign staffer Christopher Thrasher [6] and Libertarian Party of Carbon County Chair Matt Schutter. [7] Sarwark ended up winning an unprecedented consecutive third-term as LNC chair. [8]
| Poll source | Sample size | Date(s) | Dearn (withdrew) | Sarwark | Smith | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Libertarian Vindicator [14] | 134 | February 2018 | – | 47% | 28% | None of the Above 25% |
| The Libertarian Vindicator [15] | 73 | April 2018 | 22% | 29% | 41% | None of the Above 8% |
| Libertarian National Convention LNC Chairman Vote, 2018 [16] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First Ballot | Percentage |
| Nicholas Sarwark | 517 | 65% |
| Joshua Smith | 175 | 22% |
| Christopher Thrasher | 46 | 6% |
| NOTA | 33 | 4% |
| Matt Kuehnel | 13 | 2% |
| John Keil | 4 | 1% |
| Matthew Schutter | 1 | nil |
| Write-In | 1 | nil |
| Totals | 790 | 100% |
The seat of Vice chair was also up for election, the incumbent being Arvin Vohra. Alex Merced, 2017 candidate for New York comptroller, [17] Libertarian Youth Caucus founder Trent Somes III, [18] 2018 Iowa gubernatorial candidate Jake Porter, [19] Indiana activist Joe Hauptmann, [20] Treasurer of the Libertarian Radical Caucus Steve Scheetz, former Indiana Libertarian Party chair Sam Goldstein [21] and Montana Libertarian Joe Paschal all sought election to the position.
In January 2018 Arvin Vohra drew criticism for condoning sexual relations between adults and minors so long as affirmative consent is given, using the example of a 25-year-old male and a 15-year-old female. [22] Multiple state Libertarian parties demanded Vohra be relieved from his position, as well as the Libertarian Youth Caucus through Trent Somes III, one of Vohra's opponents in the vice chairmanship election. [23]
| Date | Place | Host | Participants | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Participant. A Absent. N Confirmed non-invitee. O Out of race (exploring, suspended, or not yet entered) | Sam Goldstein | Joe Hauptmann | Alex Merced | Joe Paschal | Jake Porter | Steve Scheetz | Trent Somes | Arvin Vohra | James Weeks | |||||||||||
| February 10 [24] | Google Hangouts | 71 Republic | A | P | P | P | A | P | A | P | P | |||||||||
| February 22 [25] | Google Hangouts | The Feldman Foundation | A | P | P | P | A | P | A | P | P | |||||||||
| March 3 [26] | Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania 2018 Convention | Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania | A | P | P | A | A | P | A | P | A | |||||||||
| March 10 [27] | Libertarian Party of Connecticut 2018 Convention | Libertarian Party of Connecticut | A | A | P | A | A | P | A | P | A | |||||||||
| April 21 [28] | Libertarian Party of New York 2018 Convention | Libertarian Party of New York | A | P | P | A | A | A | A | A | A | |||||||||
| Poll source | Sample size | Date(s) | Goldstein | Hauptmann | Merced | Paschal | Porter | Scheetz | Somes | Vohra | Weeks | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Libertarian Vindicator [29] [30] | 248 | January 2018 | – | 6% | 46% | 4% | 8% | 6% | 20% | 10% | – | N/A |
| 99 | February 2018 | 8% | 5% | 59% | 4% | 3% | 5% | – | 5% | 4% | None of the Above 7% |
Notable speakers included: [31]
In late 2017, the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus reached out to the chairman of the 2018 LP Convention Committee, Daniel Hayes, entertaining the thought of former congressman and 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee Ron Paul and Freedom Watch host Judge Napolitano speaking at the convention, offering to pay off speaking fees. Hayes rejected the idea of Paul speaking at the convention, saying "he has no idea what the LP represents", criticizing Napolitano as well. [32] Ron Paul confronted the controversy, stating he has been a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party since 1987 when he paid using a gold coin, and asked, "do I get my gold coin back?" [33]
On February 3, 2018 Nicholas Sarwark confronted the controversy, saying in a tweet: "If Ron Paul decides he wants to attend the Libertarian Party national convention in New Orleans and speak, I'll make sure he gets time on the stage. It's the least we can do for a life member, former Presidential nominee, and Hall of Liberty award winner." [34]
The Libertarian Party (LP) is a libertarian political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The world's first explicitly libertarian party, it was conceived in August 1971 at meetings in the home of David F. Nolan in Westminster, Colorado, and was officially formed on December 11, 1971, in Colorado Springs. The organizers of the party drew inspiration from the works and ideas of the prominent Austrian school economist Murray Rothbard. The founding of the party was prompted in part due to concerns about the Nixon administration's wage and price controls, the Vietnam War, conscription, and the introduction of fiat money.
The Libertarian National Convention is held every two years by the Libertarian Party to choose members of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC), and to conduct other party business. In presidential election years, the convention delegates enact a platform and nominate the Libertarian presidential and vice-presidential candidates who then face the nominees of other parties in the November general election.
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