The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party 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, the Vietnam War, conscription, and the introduction of fiat money.
The Oklahoma Libertarian Party is the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party in Oklahoma. It has been active in state politics since the 1970s, but due to Oklahoma's ballot access requirements the party has been an officially recognized party during only portions of the last twenty-five years. In 2016, The Oklahoma Libertarian Party regained ballot access. The state party has secured ballot access through at least 2024.
The Libertarian Party of New York (LPNY), is the affiliate of the Libertarian Party in the U.S. state of New York. Due to changes in New York State election law in 2020, the Libertarian Party lost its ballot status. It is the recognized affiliate of the national Libertarian Party.
The Libertarian Party of Connecticut is a statewide affiliate of the U.S. Libertarian Party. According to the bylaws posted on its web site, the Connecticut Libertarian Party has the basic aims of furthering individual freedom and opposing the initiation of force against individuals, among other things. It does this by engaging in political, educational, and social activities.
The Libertarian Party of Oregon is a political party representing the national Libertarian Party in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is organized as a minor party for state election law, and recognized by the Oregon as a statewide nominating party.
The Libertarian Party of Texas is the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party in Texas.
The Libertarian Party of Michigan is a Michigan state political party advocating a libertarian ideology and the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party of the United States. The party gained primary ballot access status in 2016 because of the vote total of presidential nominee Gary Johnson. The party lost their status since their 2018 gubernatorial nominee Bill Gelineau failed to reach that threshold in the general election.
The 2004 presidential campaign of Michael Badnarik, software engineer and candidate for the Texas legislature in 2000 and 2002, began on February 17, 2003, three months after starting an exploratory committee on November 17, 2002. He spent over a year traveling the country, totaling over 25,000 miles prior to the 2004 Libertarian National Convention. On the second night of the Convention, he participated in a debate with the other Libertarian candidates, broadcast on C-SPAN.
The Libertarian Party of North Carolina (LPNC) is the North Carolina affiliate of the Libertarian Party.
The 2008 presidential campaign of Brian Patrick Moore, a local activist from Florida, began when he announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 19, 2007. The same month he was declared the nominee of the Socialist Party USA for the 2008 presidential election. The SPUSA national convention elected Stewart Alexis Alexander of California as Moore's vice presidential nominee.
The Libertarian Party of Alaska is the affiliate of the Libertarian Party (LP) in Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage.
The Libertarian Party of Nebraska is the Nebraska affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The party is headed by chairperson Chris Childs.
The 2012 presidential campaign of Gary Johnson, the 29th governor of New Mexico, was announced on April 21, 2011. He declared his candidacy for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. On December 28, 2011, Johnson withdrew his candidacy for the Republican nomination, and declared his candidacy for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. The 2012 Libertarian National Convention was held during the first weekend of May 2012. On May 5, 2012, after promoting his libertarian-oriented political positions to delegates, Johnson received the most votes at the convention and became the official 2012 Libertarian presidential nominee. On November 6, 2012, Johnson received just under 1% of the popular vote in the general election, amounting to more than 1.2 million votes, more than double what the Barr/Root ticket received in 2008. This was the most successful result for a third-party presidential candidacy since 2000, and the best in the Libertarian Party's history by vote number at the time. Johnson ran again in 2016 and received nearly four times his 2012 vote total.
The 2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses allowed electors to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses in that they did not appoint delegates to represent a candidate at the party's convention to select the party's nominee for the United States presidential election. The party's nominee for the 2016 presidential election was chosen directly by registered delegates at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention, which ran from May 26 to 30, 2016. The delegates nominated former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson for President and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld for Vice President.
The 2020 Libertarian National Convention delegates selected the Libertarian Party nominees for president and vice president in the 2020 United States presidential election. Primaries were held, but were preferential in nature and did not determine delegate allocation. The convention was originally scheduled to be held from May 21 to May 25 at the JW Marriott Austin luxury hotel in downtown Austin, Texas. On April 26, all reservations at the JW Marriott Austin were canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the convention oversight committee to seek another venue for a possible July date.
The 2020 Constitution Party presidential primaries were a series of primary elections determining the allocation of delegates in the selection of the Constitution Party's presidential nominee in the 2020 United States presidential election. On May 2, 2020, the Constitution Party nominated Don Blankenship for president and William Mohr for vice-president. Several state parties split from the national Constitution Party to nominate their own candidates.
