OPINION
On May 27, Chase Oliver secured the Libertarian Party’s nomination as its presidential candidate for 2024, defeating Michael Rectenwald, a conservative author and academic, on the seventh ballot. Oliver, a Democrat until 2009, caused a split in an already divided party with his nomination. Although he has been a member of the Libertarian Party for 14 years, he is not the choice many state chapters prefer.
In Colorado, some Libertarians favored Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the nominee, even though Kennedy was defeated in the Libertarian primary in May. Although there was no legal way to unseat Oliver and install Kennedy as the presidential candidate, there were plans in the state to make that happen. State party chairwoman Hannah Goodman publicly supported Donald Trump and hoped Oliver would be kept off the ballot.
The plot to replace Oliver in Colorado was led by Angela McArdle, chair of the Libertarian National Committee, who disagreed with Oliver’s appointment.
Due in part to local activism on Oliver’s behalf, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold made an unusual announcement: Chase Oliver would appear on the state’s ballot as a presidential candidate. The announcement was unusual because political parties, large and small, don’t usually have internal disputes about who will be the nominee after their convention.
The party’s Montana state chapter tweeted on June 4, 2024, that they had “rejected Chase Oliver as our presidential candidate.”
On July 23, Josiah Baker, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Tennessee, posted a press release on Twitter announcing that the state party would instead select Clint Russell as its nominee.
The problem is that the Libertarian Party, which traditionally defines itself as a nonpartisan organization, has recently moved to the right. The dominant group in the party, the Mises Caucus (named after economic theorist Ludvig von Mises), has become more identified with the goals and objectives of the Republicans.
Chase Oliver is perhaps best described as a left-libertarian. He opposes the current system of government, but holds on to many of the views he held as a Democrat. These left-wing positions are anathema to many state associations.
A similar, albeit smaller, backlash occurred against 2020 Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen when she expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Prior to 2020, Jorgensen received a doctorate in industrial and organizational psychology. She is a full-time lecturer at Clemson University in South Carolina.
About three and a half months before the presidential election on November 5thIt is unclear whether the national party and state affiliates will find enough common ground to support a single candidate. At this point, it seems unlikely that a Libertarian candidate will win the presidential election; state affiliates may be lucky if they reach a certain vote threshold to secure access to the ballot, rather than collecting signatures to secure a place on the ballot – a common practice for third-party candidates.
Winter Trabex is a freelance writer and contributor to Ink Link.
