As dawn broke on the final day of voting in election 2020, Libertarian Party (L.P.) presidential nominee Jo Jorgensen was polling nationally at around 1.8 percent, and above the margin between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden in five states: Ohio, Texas, Georgia, Iowa, and (in scant polling) Alaska.
That's a far cry from 2016 Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson's last pre-election polling average of 4.8 percent, or even the former New Mexico governor's disappointing-to-many final tally of 3.28 percent.
"Beating Gary's last numbers would be success," Jorgensen told Reason's Eric Boehm one month ago, while also complaining about not being included in nearly as many polls this cycle. "I'm hoping to beat his second run. But, you know, put it this way: I will consider it not a success if I don't at least his beat his numbers from his first run."
Johnson's 2012 exertions won him 0.99 percent of the national vote, or just a hair under the L.P.'s then-record haul of 1.06 percent in 1980, in a ticket headed by Ed Clark and financed by deep-pocketed vice presidential nominee David Koch (yes, that one). So what Jorgensen is saying that anything below 1 percent would be a disappointment.
Certainly, many Libertarians would consider even a 1.1 percent showingjust one-third of 2016!to be a bummer, while many two-party voters (including not a small number of self-described small-l libertarians) would use it as an opportunity for ridicule, or at least critique of how the party always seems to squander its opportunities. Democrats and Republicans aren't even talking about reducing government and expanding freedom anymore, in a country where those issues have resonated historically, and all you got was this lousy one percent?
But as the clock ticks toward the first poll-closings at 7 p.m. eastern, I would suggest at least entertaining another interpretation. Maybe 1.1 percent in this third-party-unfriendly environment would be an accomplishment, cementing the L.P.'s transformation over the past decade from a mostly non-podium performer that couldn't win over even half of a percent of the electorate from 19842008, to the third party in the United States. (Yes, yes, insert "tallest dwarf" joke here.)
Consider: As of late October (per the indispensable Richard Winger), in the 32 states that register voters by party, there were 47.1 million Democrats, 35 million Republicans, and 33.7 independents. Libertarians, while a distant third at 652,000, towered above Greens (240,000), the Constitution Party (130,000), the New Yorkbased Working Families (50,000), and the desiccated husk of Ross Perot's Reform Party (9,000).
Jorgensen, with a fraction of the name recognition of 2008 Libertarian nominee Bob Barr (then an ex-GOP congressman who made his name in the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton), is polling ahead of all third-party and independent presidential candidates in every state except New York (where, after just two polls, she trailed independent Brock Pierce and Green Party nominee Howie Hawkins). This on the heels of Gary Johnson beating all third-party comers in all 50 states.
Barr, on the other hand, finished with just 0.4 percent of the vote, behind the 0.56 percent of four-time independent candidate Ralph Nader, who Barr beat in just six states.
When Jorgensen, the party's vice presidential nominee in 1996 (Harry Browne won just 0.5 percent of the vote that year, behind both Nader and Perot), finishes in third place tonight, that will mark the third consecutive presidential bronze medal for the L.P.something no political party has pulled off since the Socialists between 19161932.
Put another way, of all voters who selected neither a Democrat nor a Republican for president, 57 percent of them chose a Libertarian in both 2012 and 2016, the party's highest-ever such share, topping Ron Paul's 48 percent in 1988. Polling suggests that Jorgensen is likely to repeat that performance, even with such luminaries as Kanye West on some ballots. The dominant alternative to the political status quo is called "Libertarian."
And contrary to a common critique, it's not just about presidential elections. The party has more than 200 elected officials, mostly in state and local positions, though since April their ranks have included for the first time a sitting (if lame-duck) member of Congress, Rep. Justin Amash (LMich.). Elected Libertarians do useful stuff, like pass occupational licensing reform, remove ancient prohibitions from the books, and reform public-sector pensions.
That sound you hear is aggressive eye rolling from Democratic and Republican voters, who are busy battling the most important election in the history of mankind, and have no patience left for political LARPers. And fair enoughmarginal blocs will always be treated marginally, at least until we're needed to help push through the types of libertarian reforms that major-party politicians talk about but rarely accomplish: ending the drug war, bringing the troops home, reducing the size of government, protecting free speech, even helping improve infrastructure.
But the more that libertarians retain their own discrete political identity, rather than latching on like barnacles to the rusty tankers of the two major parties, the more likely that their affections will be solicited, rather than taken for granted. President Donald Trump is out there stressing anti-war themes to 2016 Johnson voters, and that's not a bad outcome at all (if inferior to actually ending our Forever Wars).
The past week has featured many semi-prominent libertarian media personalities ripping each other's faces off (rhetorically) in advance of the election. It will ever be thushave you met libertarians? There is a powerful lure to be part of something that could be, if you squint at it just right, characterized as winning. It would be pretty to think that this Republican or that Democrat is gonna really do the libertarian things just as soon as he/she wins the next election.
In the face of those temptations, and the motivating negative polarization of seeing awful politicians and ideologies in or near power, it's a wonder there's much of any third-party juice left four years after a bitterly divided election. If in this context, a relative no-name candidate produces the party's second-best-ever result, while beating all other third partiers in all 50 states, I'd call that an accomplishment.
Who knows if and when our 19th century political groupings will transmogrify into something new, or even perhaps stumble off into the sunset. When that day nears, people will be looking anew toward the next available alternative. Right now, for better and for worse, wartsso many warts!and all, that alternative is called "Libertarian." And will be on Wednesday, too.
Read the original:
Maybe Jo Jorgensen Finishing With 1% Would Actually Be Pretty Good? - Reason
- Opinion | 100 Days of Javier Milei - The New York Times - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. flirts with the Libertarian nomination - POLITICO - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. in talks to run on the Libertarian Party ticket to ease ballot challenges - Washington Examiner - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- One Hundred Days of Libertarian Populism in Argentina - The American Conservative - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- Bylaws and Rules Committee and Platform Committee Survey (Part One) - Libertarian Party - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- When Will the Libertarian Party Have Its Moment? - Econlib - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. in talks to run on the Libertarian Party ticket to ease ballot challenges - Colorado Springs Gazette - March 27th, 2024 [March 27th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. aligned with the Libertarian Party on capitalism stance - NewsNation Now - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. fuels talk of switching to the Libertarian Party - Fox News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- RFK JR still flirting with Libertarian Party run? Third parties seek ballot access - The Hill - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. sparks speculation of switch to Libertarian Party for greater ballot access - Washington Examiner - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Nate Silver: Libertarians Are the Real Liberals - Reason - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Even immigration is no free lunch - Washington Examiner - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Interview with NC Libertarian governor candidate Shannon Bray - Fox Carolina - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Libertarians Call for 'Food Freedom' in Response to Amos Miller Farm Search - Lancaster Farming - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Where Does the Term Libertarian Come From Anyway? | Jeffrey A. Tucker - Foundation for Economic Education - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Here are the 10 Libertarian candidates in the 2024 NC Presidential Primary - Fox Carolina - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- 2024 Presidential Primary Information: Ballots Have Other Races, See Where to Vote - Watertown News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Argentina's libertarian President Milei warns parliament that he will govern 'with or without' political support - Le Monde - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Madison County Introduces First-Ever Libertarian Primary on Super Tuesday - BNN Breaking - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- Musician and libertarian writer who works for 'The Blaze' arrested on Jan. 6 charges - NBC News - March 6th, 2024 [March 6th, 2024]
- RFK Jr. says he didn't read Alabama IVF ruling, won't say when life begins - The Washington Post - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Argentina touts libertarian social justice to Blinken before Javier Milei visits CPAC - Washington Examiner - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Delicate Dance: Navigating Reproductive Rights and Libertarian Principles - BNN Breaking - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Javier Milei and the Spanish Tradition of Liberty - Quillette - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- The Weekly Wrap: Poilievre proves hes more than a live-and-let-live libertarian - The Hub - February 26th, 2024 [February 26th, 2024]
- Why have authoritarianism and libertarianism merged? A political psychologist on 'the vulnerability of the modern self' - The Conversation - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Argentina's Javier Milei what are his plans and will they work? - MoneyWeek - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Tucker Carlson Issues Scathing Indictment of 'Libertarian Economics' - Reason - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- Tucker Carlson: "Libertarian Economics Was A Scam Perpetrated By The Beneficiaries Of The Economic System" - RealClearPolitics - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- A Legacy of Resistance to Unjust Taxation - Libertarian Party - December 20th, 2023 [December 20th, 2023]
- The Croatian Invasion of the Micronation of Liberland - Reason - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- As RFK Jr. Readies an Announcement Monday, Speculation Is ... - The New York Sun - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- The libertarian think tank that helped build the 'No' case - The Saturday Paper - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Fox Chapel Area voters will choose among two candidates for District 3 school board seat - Yahoo News - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Far-right party may hold keys to next Polish government, sets tone in talks with Ukraine - Yahoo News - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Aella: Is Porn Too Pervasive? - Reason - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Massie: McCarthy Speakership Showdown a 'Referendum' on ... - Reason - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- ESPN's Pablo Torre explains how Harvard classmate Vivek Ramaswamy was 'That Guy' in school - Yahoo News - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- DeFi has not followed through on its privacy promises yet - Blockworks - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- At 50, 'The Machinery of Freedom' Remains an Anarcho-Capitalist ... - Reason - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Building the World's First Private Libertarian City - Reason - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Libertarian candidates say they were not asked for money to run - Buenos Aires Herald - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- David Schmidtz and My Dad on Asking the Right Questions - Econlib - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Indiana governor's race grows more crowded with addition of ... - The Statehouse File - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Revealed: The EU lobbying of the so-called 'Consumer Choice Center' - EUobserver - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Why do voters have to pick a Republican or a Democrat in the US? - kinyradio.com - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Review: Choose Your Own Adventure in 'American Futures' Book - Reason - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Twitter users slam Kamala Harris for airplane bathroom demand amid the ongoing border crisis: 'Really?' - Yahoo News - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Fundraisers revel in gutted N.J. pay-to-play law - POLITICO - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wants to spare kids from their phones - Salt Lake Tribune - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Kari Lake in Tucson: "I'm actually eyeing the Senate race" - KGUN 9 Tucson News - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Q&A with Gary Swing | Veteran minor party candidate advocates for ... - coloradopolitics.com - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Jonah Goldberg: A NeverTrumper's Take on the 2024 Election - Reason - July 13th, 2023 [July 13th, 2023]
- Gov. Lombardo one of few republicans to sign abortion protections ... - KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Review: 'Land and Liberty' Charts Henry George's Influence - Reason - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Polish ref cleared of wrongdoing, will take charge of Champions ... - TVP World - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- The Taliban 20's McCarthy Red Line - Puck - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Morris: Property: Imagine it anew - Greenfield Daily Reporter - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Weekend Reading on Women's Representation: Stereotypes Can ... - Ms. Magazine - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Fox Business Shuts Down Kennedy, Will Replace With Kudlow Reruns - Yahoo Entertainment - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- The 11th commandment | News | vcreporter.com - Ventura County Reporter - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- The Long Afterlife of Libertarianism - The New Yorker - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Can McCarthy Pass the Debt Deal and Keep His Job? - The New York Times - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- McCarthy-Biden Debt Limit Deal Clears First Hurdle in Key House ... - The New York Sun - May 31st, 2023 [May 31st, 2023]
- Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: Libertarians to voters: Let's go ... - WisPolitics.com - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- How the pandemic challenged libertarianism | Canada's National ... - Canada's National Observer - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Colorado falls to 43rd in national highway ranking - The Durango Herald - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Are We Stuck In a Plutocratic Formal Organization? An Analysis of ... - Trincoll.edu - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Why Is Tucker Carlson Leaving Fox News? - Reason - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Despite SCOTUS Ruling Limiting Its Authority, EPA Tries To ... - Reason - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Biden's "freedom" pitch and the coming political realignment - The.Ink - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Informal dollar reaches AR$497, Fernndez and Massa blame ... - Buenos Aires Herald - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- Crack-Up Capitalism by Quinn Slobodian review the economic anarchy of Liz Trusss dreams - The Guardian - April 25th, 2023 [April 25th, 2023]
- 2024 Libertarian Presidential Candidates - Who's Running in 2024? - March 2nd, 2023 [March 2nd, 2023]
- 5 things the Libertarian Party stands for | The Hill - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Most Libertarian States 2022 - worldpopulationreview.com - December 25th, 2022 [December 25th, 2022]
- Gun Ownership | Libertarian Party - December 25th, 2022 [December 25th, 2022]
- Libertarian Party | History, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- The Education of a Libertarian | Cato Unbound - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]