EVANSVILLE Libertarian party candidates acknowledge it’s a battle for them to gain and maintain voter interest in the face of the country’s fierce two-party system. And that point was driven home Tuesday afternoon when an hourlong meet-and-greet session for local and state Libertarian candidates at Evansville’s Central Library attracted fewer than five nonfamily members or campaign workers.

The meet-and-greet is a start of a campaign series the local party hopes to continue through the general election, said Kurt Clement, the party’s county co-chairman.

Clement, a Vanderburgh County Council at-large candidate, is a 23-year-old graduate of the University of Southern Indiana where he majored in biology. Clement said his area of focus at school will bring a different perspective to the office, unlike that of the typical “attorney politician.”

Photo by Erin McCracken

ERIN McCRACKEN / COURIER & PRESS Rupert Boneham, Libertarian candidate for Governor, talks with Connie Whitman, an Evansville resident, about issues concerning the state of Indiana at a Libertarian Candidate meet -and-greet on Tuesday afternoon at Central Library. Whitman came out to show her support for Boneham and other Libertarians because she is not happy with the other two parties and believes that Indiana needs something different.

He says while it is difficult for Libertarian candidates to get their name out to the public, it is a little easier for those running in local races to meet more of the people that will be voting, than a state or national candidate could.

Gubernatorial candidate Rupert Boneham and his running mate, Brad Klopfenstein, who were in attendance, discussed the importance of job creation initiatives and “empowerment programs,” to help people get jobs.

Boneham and Klopfenstein said as Libertarian candidates, it is also a struggle to compete financially with Democratic and Republican candidates because they have interest group backing.

“It’s oftentimes the people who put money into campaigns, they’re buying influence as opposed to actually supporting someone that represents their interests,” Klopfenstein said. “And when you have two candidates like us that are about giving power back as opposed to taking more power for our supporters, it’s a little harder to get people to pony up.”

The last Libertarian candidate for governor, Andrew Horning, received 2.1 percent of the statewide vote in 2008 against Gov. Mitch Daniels and Democrat Jill Long Thompson. Horning is currently running for U.S. Senate seat against Republican Richard Mourdock and Democrat Joe Donnelly.

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