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 United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

. 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 party's nominee was chosen directly by registered delegates at the

2024 Libertarian National Convention 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 Hi ...

on May 26 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Chase Oliver Chase Russell Oliver (born August 16, 1985) is an American political activist and politician who was the nominee of the Libertarian Party for the 2024 United States presidential election. Oliver finished fifth in the popular vote with 0.4% and 6 ...

was chosen as the party's nominee in the seventh round of voting.

Results

Candidates and ballot options listed on multiple ballots and receiving at least 1% of the national popular vote are listed individually on the table. All remaining votes are detailed under the other column.

Candidates

Major candidates

Prior to the LP 2024 National Convention, 38 candidates filed with the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

to run for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination in 2024.

Nominee

Eliminated at convention

This section includes candidates who filed paperwork with the

with intent to run under the Libertarian Party and who met one or more of the following criteria: a) meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines; b) participated in at least three Libertarian Party-sponsored debates; or c) received non-trivial media coverage as a candidate in this election cycle.

Withdrew before the primaries

Other candidates

The following candidates achieved at least one of the following in the 2024 election cycle: appeared on a primary ballot, received votes in a LP-sanctioned contest that did not require

ballot access Ballot access is rules and procedures regulating the right to candidacy, the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots in elections in the United States. The jurisprudence o ...

, were invited to a party-sanctioned debate or forum, or were included on the Libertarian National Committee's list of candidates. LNC delegates are not bound to votes in primary elections, so while voters are able choose a candidate, it has no direct effect on the nominee selection at the party's nominating Convention. ;On the ballot/received votes in multiple states * Joseph Collins Jr., broadcaster from California (AL, MS, PA, CT) * Joshua "Toad" Anderson (NC, PA)(Nominated on floor of the national convention as "Toad") ;On the ballot/received votes in one state * David "TrimeTaveler" Dunlap (NC) from Florida * Beau Lindsey (NC), "anonymous candidate" from Tennessee * Robert Sansone (IA),

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

veteran and government contractor from Colorado * Mario Perales (IA), alien hunter from Iowa * David Reed DeSilva III of Arizona (MN) ;On the ballot/received votes in no states * Joshua Rodriguez, computer scientist from Colorado * Jody Jones, activist and economist from Florida

Declined to be candidates

The following notable individuals had been the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy but either publicly denied interest in running, or ultimately did not run. * Justin Amash, former

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from (2011–2021), member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

from the 72nd district (2009–2011) ''( ran for U.S. Senate as a Republican, eliminated in primary)'' *

Spike Cohen Jeremy "Spike" Cohen (born June 28, 1982) is an American libertarian political activist, entrepreneur, and podcaster. He is the founder of Muddied Waters Media, a platform for libertarian commentary and discourse, which he has used to advocate f ...

, political activist, entrepreneur, podcaster, and Libertarian vice presidential nominee in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Chris Fronzak Christopher Joseph Fronzak (born November 20, 1989), also known as Fronz or Fronzilla, is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist and founding member of the metalcore/rap metal band Attila. Aside from his work in Attila, he i ...

, lead musician for

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954), also known by his initials RFK Jr., is an American politician, environmental lawyer, author, conspiracy theorist, and anti-vaccine activist serving as the 26th United States secretary of heal ...

, environmental lawyer and founder of

Children's Health Defense Children's Health Defense (CHD) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit activist group mainly known for anti-vaccine advocacy and is one of the main sources of misinformation on vaccines. Founded as World Mercury Project in 2007 by Eric Gladen, it ...

''(previously ran for the Democratic nomination; ran as an independent before withdrawing and endorsing Trump)'' *

Vivek Ramaswamy Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy (born August 9, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and politician. He founded Roivant Sciences, a Biotechnology, biotech Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical company in 2014 and was its Chief executive officer, CEO ...

, executive chairman of Strive Asset Management (2022–2023) and CEO of

Roivant Sciences Roivant Sciences Ltd. is an American multinational healthcare company focused on applying technology to drug development and building subsidiary life sciences and health technology companies. It was founded in 2014 by Vivek Ramaswamy and is cur ...

(2014–2021) ''( ran as a Republican; endorsed Trump)'' * Dave Smith, stand-up comedian, libertarian political commentator, and podcaster ''(endorsed Rectenwald)'' *

Vermin Supreme Vermin Love Supreme (born June 1, 1961) is an American performance artist and activist who has run as a novelty candidate in various local, state, and national elections in the United States. He served as a member of the Libertarian Party (Unit ...

, performance artist, activist, political satirist,

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

, and candidate for the

Libertarian presidential nomination ''(ran for the Democratic and Legal Marijuana Now nominations, now running as the US Pirate Party nominee) ''

Endorsements

Timeline of the race

2021

* March 23: Co-founder of

Friend Finder Networks Friend Finder Networks (formerly Various, Inc.) is an American internet company founded in 1996 by Andrew Conru and Lars Mapstead. Its corporate headquarters are located in Boca Raton, Florida, with additional offices in California, New York, a ...

Lars Mapstead files to run

2022

* April 18:

Mike ter Maat Michael ter Maat (born June 6, 1961) is an American businessman, political candidate, former economist, and retired police officer. A former member of the Libertarian Party, he was the running mate to presidential nominee Chase Oliver in the ...

files to run * December 2: Nominee for Georgia's

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

race,

forms an

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

for the party's nomination.

2023

* February 8:

, a perennial candidate and satirist who had previously vied for party's nomination, announces his departure from the party, citing disagreements with party leadership. * February 20: Jacob Hornberger, the runner-up for the party's 2020 nomination announces on X that he is seeking the nomination once again. * March 10: Being arrested in 2020 for his role in a murder-for-hire plot,

Joe Exotic Joseph Allen Maldonado (''né'' Schreibvogel; born March 5, 1963), known professionally as Joe Exotic and nicknamed "The Tiger King", is an American media personality and businessman who operated the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (also k ...

, from his prison cell, launches his campaign for the nomination via X * April 5: Following a months long

announces his candidacy for the presidential nomination on X. * April 11: Following condemnation from

party chair In politics, a party chair (often party chairperson/-man/-woman or party president) is the presiding officer of a political party. The nature and importance of the position differs from country to country, and also between political parties. Th ...

Angela McArdle Angela Elise McArdle (born June 7, 1983) is an American politician who is the chair of the Mises Caucus political action committee since June 2025. She previously served as the 22nd chair of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) from May 2022 ...

and his own frustrations about party infighting and views on weapon ownership, Exotic suspends his campaign to instead run for the Democratic nomination. * July 24: Former Vice Chair of the

Libertarian National Committee 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 co ...

Joshua Smith formally begins his campaign for the nomination. * August 19: After campaigning extensively in Iowa throughout the summer,

Oliver Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

makes history as the first third-party presidential candidate to speak at the

Iowa State Fair The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa, every August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August ...

. * August 24:

Otolaryngologist Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical an ...

Charles Ballay files to run for the nomination. * August 28: Author and former

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

professor

Michael Rectenwald Michael D. Rectenwald is an American author and former professor. A member of the Mises Caucus of the Libertarian Party, he has written about 19th-century British secularism and is a critic of the contemporary social justice movement. Early li ...

files to seek the Libertarian presidential nomination, announcing his candidacy days later. * December 11:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

vice presidential nominee

Art Olivier Arthur C. Olivier (born August 24, 1957) is an American politician who was the Libertarian candidate for Vice President of the United States in the 2000 U.S. presidential election as the running mate of presidential candidate Harry Browne.Doh ...

files to run for the presidential nomination.

2024

* January 13 Chase Oliver wins the

Arizona Libertarian Party The Arizona Libertarian Party (AZLP) is the Arizona affiliate of the national Libertarian Party (LP) and has been active since its foundation on October 7, 1972. The Arizona Libertarian Party conducted its first ballot access drive in 1975 to ...

straw poll * January 15: The

Libertarian Party of Iowa The Libertarian Party of Iowa is the Iowa affiliate of the Libertarian Party. It gained major party status in 2017, following Gary Johnson's performance in the 2016 presidential election in Iowa. , there are 11,300 registered Libertarians in th ...

held its first ever caucus as a recognized party in the state. * January 16: The next day, Chase Oliver is announced as its winner via a plurality with 42.7% of the vote * February 3 Michael Rectenwald wins the Libertarian Party of Alabama straw poll * February 24 Rectenwald wins the

Libertarian Party of Mississippi The Libertarian Party of Mississippi is the Mississippi affiliate of the U.S. Libertarian Party. The Chair is Jonathan Dantzler, Vice Chair is Brad Thomas, Autumn Fox is Secretary, and Amy Misko is Treasurer. Platform The Libertarian Party of ...

* February 27 Joshua Smith wins the Libertarian Party of Minnesota's internally-held presidential preference caucus. * March 2; ** Oliver wins the

Libertarian Party of Indiana The Libertarian Party of Indiana is the Indiana affiliate of the Libertarian Party. History and operations The founding meeting of the Libertarian Party of Indiana was held on July 14, 1974, at the Holiday Inn at Weir Cook Airport (now called th ...

internally-held presidential preference caucus. ** Oliver wins the

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA) is the Pennsylvania affiliate of the Libertarian Party. Since March 2023, it has been chaired by Greg Deal. Leadership LPPA Platform The party believes that each individual must be free to do as ...

internally-held presidential preference caucus. * March 5; ** "No preference" wins the North Carolina Libertarian primary ** As the only candidate on the ballot, Charles Ballay wins the California Libertarian presidential primary. ** Oliver wins the Oklahoma Libertarian presidential primary. ** "No preference" wins Massachusetts Libertarian presidential primary.

Overview

Debates and forums

Schedule

Debates

The following table lists debates which are sponsored by an affiliate of the Libertarian Party.

Forums

Primary election polling

State polling

Campaign finance

According to campaign finance laws, an individual must begin filing reports once they raise or spend more than $5,000. This fundraising table includes money raised and spent as of June 30, 2023. As Smith had not officially announced his campaign as of that date, he had not reported any fundraising. Fundraising reports for the third quarter had to be filed by October 15, 2023.

Schedule

Ballot access

The following is a table of which candidates have received ballot access in which states. Green check

indicates that the candidate was on the ballot for the primary contest, Check

indicates that the candidate was a recognized

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

, and

indicates that the candidate did not appear on the ballot in that state's contest. Gold check mark

indicates that a candidate withdrew before the election but was still listed on the ballot. States not appearing in the table did not hold Libertarian presidential primaries.

Notes

References

{{2024 United States elections Libertarian Party (United States) presidential primaries

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

Results

Candidates

Major candidates

Nominee

Eliminated at convention

Withdrew before the primaries

Other candidates

Declined to be candidates

Endorsements

Timeline of the race

2021

2022

2023

2024

Overview

Debates and forums

Schedule

Debates

Forums

Primary election polling

State polling

Campaign finance

Schedule

Ballot access

See also

Notes

References