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In American politics, a Libertarian Republican is a politician or Republican Party member who has advocated libertarian policies while typically voting for and being involved with the Republican Party.
The Republican Party has historically been divided into factions. In 2012, the libertarian branch of the party was described as smaller than other branches, including Tea Party voters (the "populist, Pro-limited government Tea Party wing" of the party), pragmatic "Main Street" Republicans, and evangelical Christian conservatives. [1] According to a 2012 New York Times analysis, libertarian Republicans have a variety of motivating issues. On economic and domestic policy, they favor deregulation and tax cuts, repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and protecting gun rights. [1] On social issues, they favor privacy and oppose the USA Patriot Act and oppose the War on Drugs. [1] On foreign and defense policy, libertarian Republicans are non-interventionists. [1] Some libertarians favor abortion rights, while other libertarian Republicans oppose abortion. [1] Two-thirds of libertarian Republicans are males. [1]
In a 2014 Pew Research Center survey on political typology and polarization, 12% of Republicans described themselves as libertarian. [2] In a 2023 New York Times poll of the Republican coalition, 14% of Republicans were considered Libertarian conservatives. As of August 2023, 38% support providing additional support to Ukraine, 34% support cutting corporate taxes over raising tariffs, 19% consider themselves very conservative, 45% believe abortion should be mostly or always legal, 51% are against comprehensive immigration reform, 73% say they favor the "protection of individual freedom over traditional values", and 13% want a candidate who would "fight corporations that promote woke left ideology." In the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries, 43% would vote for Donald Trump and 12% would vote for Ron DeSantis. [3]
The Republican Liberty Caucus, which describes itself as "the oldest continuously operating organization in the Liberty Republican movement with state charters nationwide," was founded in 1991. [4] In the 1990s the group's chairs included Chuck Muth, Roger MacBride, and Congressman Ron Paul; in the 2000s, the group's chairs included Dave Nalle. [4] The group's statement of principles affirms "the principle that individual rights and liberties are unlimited" and calls for free trade; the "privatization of all government assets"; the abolition of many federal agencies; the repeal of most current federal taxes in favor of a single flat income tax or national sales tax; and the phase-out of "compulsory government retirement, disability, and health programs." [5]
The House Liberty Caucus is a congressional caucus formed by Libertarian Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, at the time a Republican. In 2014, the group "consisted of about 30 libertarian-inclined Republicans (and occasional Democratic visitors like Jared Polis)." [6] In February 2019, Politico reported that the House Liberty Caucus had eight members. [7] The list of congressional member organizations (CMOs) for the 118th Congress indicates that Warren Davidson is the leader of the Congressional Liberty Caucus. [8]
The Libertarian Party (LP) is a neoclassical liberal 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.
Ronald Ernest Paul is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas's 14th congressional district from 1997 to 2013. On three occasions, he sought the presidency of the United States: as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988 and as a candidate for the Republican Party in 2008 and 2012.
The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party. It also operates a political action committee, the RLC-USA PAC.
The Republican Party in the United States includes several factions, or wings. During the 19th century, Republican factions included the Half-Breeds, who supported civil service reform; the Radical Republicans, who advocated the immediate and total abolition of slavery, and later advocated civil rights for freed slaves during the Reconstruction era; and the Stalwarts, who supported machine politics.
In American politics, a libertarian Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with political views that are relatively libertarian compared to the views of the national party.
The House Liberty Caucus is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative, libertarian, and libertarian conservative members of the United States House of Representatives.
Timothy Alan Huelskamp is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Kansas's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, prior to entering Congress Huelskamp represented the 38th district of the Kansas Senate from 1997 until 2011.
Justin A. Amash is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 3rd congressional district from 2011 to 2021. He was the second Palestinian American and Syrian American member of Congress. Originally a Republican, Amash became an independent in 2019. He joined the Libertarian Party the following year, leaving Congress in January 2021 as the only Libertarian to serve in Congress. Amash returned to the Republican Party in 2024.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the 14 U.S. representatives from the state of Michigan, a decrease of one following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. Primary elections were held on August 7, 2012. The filing deadline for candidates to file to run in the primary was May 15. Except for two seats, all the incumbents sought re-election. The open seats were the 5th and 11th congressional districts. Due to the loss of one seat from the 2010 census, two congressmen ran against each other.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 8, 2016 to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Florida, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primary elections for both the Republicans and Democrats took place on August 30, 2016.
Eric Brakey is the current Executive Director of the Free State Project, and an American politician, serving in his third term as a Maine state senator.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Rand Paul, the junior United States senator from Kentucky, was announced on April 7, 2015, at an event at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky. First elected to the U.S. Senate in the 2010 election, Paul's candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2016 had been widely speculated since early 2013.
The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and furthest-right bloc within the chamber. The caucus was formed in January 2015 by a group of conservatives and Tea Party movement members, with the aim of pushing the Republican leadership to the right. Its first chairman, Jim Jordan, described the caucus as a "smaller, more cohesive, more agile and more active" group of conservative representatives. Its current chairman, Andy Harris is considered to be a far-right politician due to his radical proposals. Members of the Freedom Caucus are typically considered a part of the MAGA movement and loyalists to Donald Trump.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Maine was held on November 6, 2018, alongside a gubernatorial election, U.S. House elections, and other state and local elections. Incumbent independent Senator Angus King won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Zak Ringelstein and Republican nominee Eric Brakey. This was one of two independent-held Senate seats up for election in a state that Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election.
Austin Wade Petersen is an American writer, political activist, commentator, and broadcaster. He is the host of the Wake Up America show daily newscast. He was the runner-up for the Libertarian Party's nomination for President of the United States in 2016, finishing second place to Gary Johnson with 21.9% of the vote.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Virginia took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia, concurrently with other elections to the U.S. Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who had been his party's unsuccessful nominee for vice president two years earlier, was re-elected to a second term in office, winning this seat by the largest margin since 1988. This was the first election since 1994 that anyone had been re-elected to this seat.
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place in many U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories from February 3 to August 11, 2020, to elect most of the 2,550 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention. Delegates to the national convention in other states were elected by the respective state party organizations. The delegates to the national convention voted on the first ballot to select Donald Trump as the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, and selected Mike Pence as the vice-presidential nominee.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Arizona.
On February 15, 2019, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld announced the formation of an exploratory committee to consider running for the Republican nomination in the 2020 United States presidential election. On April 15, 2019, Weld officially announced he would be running for president, challenging incumbent Donald Trump. Weld previously was the 2016 Vice Presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party on the Gary Johnson ticket. Weld suspended his campaign on March 18, 2020. He subsequently endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president.
Gaetz has a strong libertarian streak and (at times) has expressed support for legalized marijuana and LGBTQ rights
The libertarian-leaning Kerry Bentivolio secured his first elected position by running as an outsider...
Libertarians like Republican Sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Rand Paul of Kentucky signaled openness to descheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Thiel ... [is] a prominent supporter of libertarian causes.
