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The Libertarian Party is the third-largest political party in the United States after the Republican and Democratic parties. The party aims to emphasize a commitment to free-market principles, civil rights, personal freedom, non-interventionism, peace and free trade.[1]

According to the party, "Our vision is for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction."[1]

The Libertarian Party was formed in 1971 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, by David Nolan. The group held its first national convention in 1972. Since its inception, the Libertarian Party has supported and fielded Libertarian candidates in races across the United States. In 2010, 800 Libertarian candidates ran for public office. A total of 38 candidates were elected or re-elected and 154 offices were held by Libertarians by the end of 2010.

According to the organization, the Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States based on the number of Libertarian candidates, Libertarian elected officials, and state affiliates with ballot access. The party has state affiliates in all 50 states and, according to Ballot Access News, approximately 500,000 registered voters across the country, as of November 2016.[1][2][3]

As of November 2017, 154 Libertarians held elected offices in 33 states.[4]

The Libertarian Party platform is a written document that outlines the party's policy priorities and positions on domestic and foreign affairs. The platform also describes the party's core concepts and beliefs.

Click here to view the full text of the 2016 Libertarian Party Platform.

The following tables display the national and regional leadership of the Libertarian Party:[5]

As of June 2017, the following individuals held national leadership positions with the Libertarian Party:[6]

Regional representatives are members of the Libertarian National Committee and are elected according to the rules of their respective regions. As of July 2016, the following individuals hold regional representative positions with the Libertarian Party:[7]

The Libertarian Party is supporting candidates for federal, state, and local-level offices across the country in the 2018 election cycle.

The following is an abbreviated list of the party's 2018 U.S. Senate candidates:

The Libertarian Party supported 89 candidates for federal, state, and local-level offices across the country in the 2017 election cycle. [8] Of these candidates 19 were elected or re-elected to public office.[9]

In 2016, the Libertarian party nominated Gary Johnson as the party's presidential nominee and William Weld as the vice presidential nominee. The party also supported a number of federal, state, and local candidates across the country. The following is an abbreviated list of the party's 2016 U.S. Senate candidates:[10]

The Libertarian Party supported 103 state and local-level candidates in elections across the country in 2015. Of these candidates, 24 Libertarians were elected or re-elected to public office.[11]

The Libertarian Party supported 756 congressional, state, and local-level candidates across the country during the 2014 election cycle. An additional 20 Libertarians ran as fusion candidates and appeared on the ballot under a different or multiple party labels. Of these candidates, 23 Libertarians were elected or re-elected to public office, including seven fusion candidates.[12][13]

The Libertarian Party supported 98 congressional, state, and local-level candidates in elections across the country in 2013. An additional six Libertarians ran as fusion candidates and appeared on the ballot under different or multiple party labels. Of these candidates, 16 Libertarians were elected or re-elected to public office, including two fusion candidates.[14]

In 2012, the Libertarian party nominated Gary Johnson as the party's presidential nominee and Jim Gray as the vice presidential nominee. Johnson and Gray captured 1,275,804 votes in the general election, or nearly 1% of total votes cast. Johnson's 2012 vote total ranked as the highest number of votes for a Libertarian presidential candidate in history and fell just short of 1960 Libertarian presidential candidate Ed Clark's record of 1.1 percent of total votes.[15][16]

Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Roseanne Barr, Rocky Anderson, Thomas Hoefling, Jerry Litzel, Jeff Boss, Merlin Miller, Randall Terry, Jill Reed, Richard Duncan, Andre Barnett, Chuck Baldwin, Barbara Washer, Tom Stevens, Virgil Goode, Will Christensen, Stewart Alexander, James Harris, Jim Carlson, Sheila Tittle, Peta Lindsay, Gloria La Riva, Jerry White, Dean Morstad and Jack Fellure.[17]

The Libertarian Party also supported 567 congressional, state, and local-level candidates across the country. Of these candidates, 30 Libertarians were elected or re-elected to public office.[18][19]

The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) provides national leadership for the Libertarian Party of the United States. It is responsible for promoting the party's Statement of Principles, building support for Libertarian candidates and aiding in the establishment and development of affiliate parties across the nation. It is also responsible for organizing and running the Libertarian National Convention every two years. The current chairman of the LNC is Nicholas Sarwark.[5][7]

The 2018 Liberatarian National Convention will take place from June 30 to July 3, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the convention, delegates will vote on amendments to the party's platform and rules and will elect the party's national leaders.[20]

The Libertarian Party's 2016 National Convention took place in Orlando, Florida, from May 27 to May 30, 2016. The party chose former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson and former Governor of Massachusetts William Weld as its presidential and vice presidential nominees, respectively.[21][10]

Day one of the Libertarian National Convention in Orlando, Florida, featured spirited debates on both party platform planks and between four candidates vying for the vice presidential nomination. There were just under 800 credentialed delegates in attendance with Libertarian National Chair Nick Sarwark presiding over the meetings.

Six candidates garnered enough tokens, another name for secret ballots, to be eligible for nomination by the delegation. Of those, five reached the vote threshold for participating in the debate, moderated by Larry Elder and televised on CSPAN. Gary Johnson, Daryl W. Perry, Austin Petersen, John McAfee, and Marc Allan Feldman took the stage to try to earn supporters for Sunday morning's election. Introduced and brought on stage one at a time, Johnson and Petersen received the most applause, though each had a significant amount of support.

Although it took nearly eight hours from the time the first ballots for president were distributed to state delegation chairs, the Libertarian Party ended up with the odds-on favorites Gary Johnson and William Weld winning the ticket as expected. A total of 997 credentialed delegates and alternates were on hand to cast their vote. The meeting was chaired by Nicholas Sarwark, who won re-election as National Chair later in the afternoon.

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Libertarian Party - Ballotpedia