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By Kody Fairfield
After realizing his chances to be President were over, Zoltan Istvan ofthe Transhumanist Party, has decided to take his platform and run for another elected office, and under a different political party.
Istvan didnt have much of a chance at being president, but that didnt stop him from campaigning as the Transhumanist Partys candidateto promote his pro-technology and science positions. Now, hes setting his sights a bit lower, and with a different party. Istvan announced this morning that he plans to run for governor of California in 2018 under the Libertarian Party, explainsEngadet.com.
In aNewsweekarticle Istvan wrote, We need leadership that is willing to use radical science, technology, and innovationwhat California is famous forto benefit us all. We need someone with the nerve to risk the tremendous possibilities to save the environment through bioengineering, to end cancer by seeking a vaccine or a gene-editing solution for it, to embrace startups that will take California from the worlds 7th largest economy to maybe even the largest economybigger than the rest of America altogether.
Engadet mentions that Istvan told the publication that he notonly identifies as libertarian, but that he also saw the benefit of working with a more established political party, instead of starting one from the ground up. The Transhumanist even mentioned to the website that should he run for President again, he would do as a Libertarian.
The most important thing I learned from my presidential campaign is that this is a team sport, Istvan said in an email to Engadet. Without the proper managers, volunteers, spokespeople, and supporters, its really impossible to make a dent in an election. Thats part of the reason I joined the Libertarian Party for my governor run. They have tens of thousands of active supporters in California alone, so my election begins with real resources and infrastructure to draw upon. Thats a large difference from my Presidential campaign, where we essentially were shoe-stringing it the whole time.
According to the article fromEngadet, Istvan has considered running for a lesser office, but has describe the competition for those lower seats a being much more fierce. Explaining that he sees an opening with disgruntled members of the two major parties, especially againstGavin Newsome, the rumored front-runner for the Democrats.
Istvan also toldEngadet that he seems a dire need for a pro-science candidate like himself, citing what he called PresidentTrumpsdisdain forfor science.
This idea that we should drop environmental science, or be cautious on genetic engineering, or focus on the revitalization of nuclear weaponry is something I disagree with, he said. I believe we should bet the farm on various radical technologies: artificial intelligence, gene therapies, 3D printed organs, driverless cars, drones, robots, stem cell tech, exoskeleton tech, virtual reality, brain wave neural prosthetics, to name a few. This is the way to grow an economywith much creative innovation, what California is famous for.
It should be noted that Istvans jump to the Libertarian Party does not guarantee him the Partys nomination for governor. He would have to face off versus any other primary challengers prior to taking that role. At this point, his comments are a mere statement of intent to seek the nomination, rather than his title.
Democratsgavin newsomeGovernor of Californialibertarian partyRepublicansscienceTranshumanist PartyZoltan Istvn
Excerpt from:
Transhumanist Wants to Run for California Governor Under ... - The Libertarian Republic