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.
Paleolibertarianism is a libertarian political activism strategy aimed at uniting libertarians and paleoconservatives. It was developed by American anarcho-capitalist theorists Murray Rothbard and Lew Rockwell in the American political context after the end of the Cold War. From 1989 to 1995, they sought to communicate libertarian notions of opposition to government intervention by using messages accessible to the working class and middle class people of the time. They combined libertarian free market views with the cultural conservatism of paleoconservatism, while also opposing protectionism. The strategy also embraced the paleoconservative reverence for tradition and religion. This approach, usually identified as right-wing populism, was intended to radicalize citizens against the state. The name they chose for this style of activism evoked the roots of modern libertarianism, hence the prefix paleo. That founding movement was American classical liberalism, which shared the anti-war and anti-New Deal sentiments of the Old Right in the first half of the 20th century. Paleolibertarianism is generally seen as a right-wing ideology.
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.
The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) controls and manages the affairs, properties, and funds of the United States Libertarian Party. It is composed of the party officers, five at-large representatives elected every two years at the national convention, and a theoretical maximum of 10 regional representatives. The current chair is Angela McArdle, first elected at the 2022 Libertarian National Convention and re-elected at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention. Additional officers will be voted into office at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention in Washington DC between May 24 - 26.
The Utah Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Utah. The party describes itself as a big tent party.
The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH) is the New Hampshire affiliate of the national Libertarian Party (LP). Active since its foundation in 1972, it is the third-largest political party in the state having had multiple members elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives as well as being ballot-qualified multiple times.
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 Association of Massachusetts (LAMA), previously known as the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, is a libertarian political party in Massachusetts. It was affiliated with the national Libertarian Party from its founding until 2022, and is now affiliated with Liberal Party USA.
Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a political and social philosophy that combines conservatism and libertarianism, representing the libertarian wing of conservatism and vice versa.
The Libertarian Party of Maryland is the Maryland affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The state chair is Kyle O'Donnell. The party, also known as "LPMaryland," or "LPMD" is Maryland's third-largest political party, with 17,364 registered voters across the state as of August 31, 2022. According to its website, the party "speaks to the proper relationship between the state and the individual; it does not speak to what individuals ought to do morally. The state exists to protect it's [sic] residents and their property from those that would harm." LPMaryland also forms coalitions with other civic organizations who share at least some common ground with libertarians, including groups that concern themselves primarily with civil liberties, world peace, fiscal restraint, and government reform. The official views of the party on state-level policy issues are set forth in the Libertarian Party of Maryland Platform.
The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA) is the Pennsylvania affiliate of the Libertarian Party. Since March 2023, it has been chaired by Greg Deal.
The Libertarian Party in the United States is composed of various factions, sometimes described as left and right, although many libertarians reject use of these terms to describe the political philosophy.
The 2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses were a series of electoral contests to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate in the 2020 United States presidential election. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses in that they do not appoint delegates to represent a candidate at the party's convention to select the party's presidential nominee.
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.
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 2024 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses were a series of current electoral contests to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party (LP) presidential nominee in the 2024 United States presidential election. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses in that they do not appoint delegates to represent a candidate at the party's convention to select the party's presidential nominee.
The Libertarian Party Mises Caucus (LPMC) is a caucus within the Libertarian Party in the United States that promotes paleolibertarianism, as well as a more radical version of American libertarianism associated with the presidential campaigns of former U.S. congressman Ron Paul. It was founded in 2017 by Michael Heise, mainly in opposition to Nicholas Sarwark's position as party chairman and the pragmatic faction of the party associated with the presidential campaigns of former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. It is named after economist Ludwig von Mises.
Angela Elise McArdle is an American politician from Texas and California who was elected on May 28, 2022 as the 22nd and current chair of the Libertarian National Committee. She was also the Secretary of the Libertarian Party of California from April 2018 to April 2019, and was a board member of the Mises Caucus.
The 2024 Libertarian National Convention was a political event to select the Libertarian Party nominees for president and vice president in the 2024 election. It was held from May 24 to the early morning of May 27, 2024, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.
Liberal Party USA is a liberal political party in the United States that is affiliated with multiple state parties. In 2022, the state libertarian parties from Massachusetts and New Mexico disaffiliated from the national United States Libertarian Party and affiliated with one another. The Libertarian Party of Virginia also split, with some members leaving to form a new party, the Virginia Classical Liberal Party that affiliated with Liberal Party USA. Additionally, the Liberal Party of Pennsylvania is associated with the organization.
