Dear Libertarian,
We are still collecting election results for our six hundred Libertarian candidates and will have detailed reports to share with you in the coming days. Some highlights follow, but, first, a couple of announcements.
Party at Headquarters! The Libertarian Party will host a party at our headquarters in Alexandria, VA to celebrate 2016 successes. The party is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, December 10 at 1444 Duke Street in Alexandria, VA in conjunction with the quarterly Libertarian National Committee (LNC) meeting. We’ll send another email with details soon, and post updates as they become available. Click here for updates.
I.T. Committee. The LNC is seeking volunteers to fill its I.T. Committee. Click here to apply.
Thank you to all of our Libertarian candidates for running for office.
It takes courage to be a Libertarian and even more courage to be a Libertarian candidate. We have an uphill battle and it is much harder to run as a Libertarian than as an R or D. These candidates deserve our heartfelt appreciation and thanks for giving liberty a voice. Thank you, candidates!
We had some notable successes. Keep in mind that all 2016 numbers are preliminary, and usually the raw vote counts go up for weeks as things like absentee ballots are counted and reported.
Govs. Johnson and Weld received 4,167,740 votes (3.26% of the total for President), more than 3 times the previous record number of votes by a Libertarian candidate for President. In 2012, Jonson/Gray received 1,275,951 votes (0.99%).
The number of votes for Libertarian nominees for U.S. House hit a new record high of 1,671,091. That number will go up as more ballots are counted. The previous high was 1,610,292 in 2000 (source: Ballot Access News).
“In the Alaska U.S. Senate race, Libertarian Party nominee Joe Miller placed second, with 29.6% of the vote. The Democratic nominee, Ray Metcalfe, polled 11.1%. This is the first time any Libertarian nominee for either house of Congress has ever outpolled a major party nominee” (source: Ballot Access News).
In Kentucky, Mitch Rushing won his partisan race for Jefferson County Commissioner and will represent over 750,000 people. No Democrat or Republican filed for the office, and an independent was removed due to a faulty petition.
In California, Aaron Starr likely won his non-partisan race for Oxnard City Council. Starr also led a successful initiative to overturn an 87% sewer fee increase. Mr. Starr is an alternate on the LNC and former Treasurer of the LNC.
The Libertarian Party retained or gained ballot access in 38 states plus D.C., the highest ever after an election in the party’s history. The previous best was 31, after the November 2012 election.
Thank you also to all of you who worked so hard to help these candidates, to get out the vote, and to champion our Libertarian message this Election year. We are grateful for all that you have done.
As our Chair said last week, Election Day is not the “end”, it is the “beginning.” And this Election Day is without a doubt the beginning of a new era for the Libertarian Party.
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
