Libertarian Party (The More Things Changed)

The Libertarian Party (LP) is a libertarian political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, and laissez-faire capitalism. With over one million registered members and nine members of the House of Representatives, it is the third largest political party in the United States.

The party generally promotes a classical liberal platform, in contrast to modern liberalism, progressivism or modern conservatism. Gary Johnson, the party's presidential nominee in 2012 and 2016, has stated that the party is more culturally liberal than Democrats, but more fiscally conservative than Republicans.

The party made significant gains in the 2016 elections, with several officeholders leaving the Republican Party to protest the nomination of Donald Trump. As of March 2018, the Libertarian Party holds nine seats in the United States House of Representatives, fifty-eight members of state legislatures, and hundreds of other local officeholders.

Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona, Representative Danny Jones of West Virginia, and Senator Joe Miller of Alaska became the party's first elected officials in the House and Senate to be elected as a member of the Libertarian Party, respectively, without first being an incumbent. Until 2018, Miller served as the party's sole member of the Senate, until he switched affiliation to the Republican Party for a gubernatorial bid. Representative Kerry Bentvolio of Michigan, since 2014, has been the longest-serving Libertarian member of Congress and is Dean of their congressional delegation.

History
The first Libertarian National Convention was held in June 1972. In 1978, Dick Randolph of Alaska became the first elected Libertarian state legislator. Following the 1980 federal elections, the Libertarian Party assumed the title of being the third-largest party for the first time after the American Independent Party and the Conservative Party of New York, which were the other largest minor parties at the time, continued to decline.

The party continued growing throughout the 1990's and early 2000's, securing its place as the third-largest party in the country.

Tonie Nathan, running as the Libertarian Party's vice-presidential candidate in the 1972 presidential election with John Hospers as the presidential candidate, was the first female candidate in the United States to receive an electoral vote.

The 2012 election Libertarian Party presidential candidate, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, received the highest number of votes — more than 1.2 million — of any Libertarian presidential candidate at the time. He was renominated for president in 2016, this time choosing former Massachusetts Governor William Weld as his running mate. Johnson/Weld shattered the Libertarian record for a presidential ticket, earning over eight million votes. Johnson received significantly more news coverage in 2016 than third-party candidates usually get, with polls showing increasing support for his candidacy over the previous election, especially among younger voters.

Platform
The preamble outlines the party's goals:

"'As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others' and 'Our goal is nothing more nor less than a world set free in our lifetime, and it is to this end that we take these stands.'"

The Statement of Principles, foundational to the ideology of the party, states:

"'Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval.'"

Current policy positions include: lowering taxes, abolishing the IRS, decreasing the national debt, allowing people to opt out of Social Security, eliminating the welfare state, ending the prohibition of illegal drugs, supporting same-sex marriage, ending capital punishment, and supporting gun ownership rights.

2016 Elections
In the 2016 Presidential election the Libertarian ticket of Gary Johnson and William Weld received 8,004,811 votes, or 5.86% of the vote, earning the best third-party showing since Ross Perot's 1996 campaign.

Additionally, the Libertarian Party succeeded in electing the first Representatives from a national third party to the House since 1953, when American Labor Party Congressman Vito Marcantonio's final term ended. Senator Joe Miller of Alaska likewise became the first Senator elected from a national third party since Robert M. La Follette, Progressive of Wisconsin, held office.

2017 Elections
In the wake of U.S. Representative Peter Welch's resignation to accept the role of Secretary of Agriculture in President Hillary Clinton's administration, a special election to fill the state's at-large congressional district was held on April 16th, 2017. Libertarian Martha Rainville, former state Adjutant General, defeated the Democratic nominee, state senator Michael Sirotkin, and was sworn in by House Speaker Charlie Dent (R-PA) the following week.

On November 7th, 2017, 12 new Libertarian state legislators were elected; seven from New Jersey, three from Virginia and one each from Michigan and Washington.

2018 Elections
The 2018 elections will mostly be held on Tuesday, November 6th, 2018. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate, and 39 state and territorial governorships will be contested, alongside numerous other state and local elections.

The Libertarian Party is contesting most of the Senate races, most gubernatorial elections, and 219 of the 435 House districts.

Leadership
At the 2016 Libertarian National Convention, held in Orlando, Professor Deirdre McCloskey of Illinois was elected to be the Chairwoman of the National Committee. She is the first transgender woman to hold such a position in the party's history, or in any political party that has held Congressional seats. She is widely credited as being instrumental to expanding the party's membership and visibility beyond the 2016 Presidential election. Former 2016 Presidential candidate Austin Petersen, of Missouri, was chosen as the Vice-Chair.

Representative Justin Amash of Michigan's 3rd District leads the nine-member Libertarian Caucus in the House of Representatives, while Utah State Senator serves as the Chair of the Libertarian Legislative Leadership Committee (LLLC or 3LC), which serves to raise funds for and promote downballot races across the country, with an emphasis on state legislative seats. In the LLLC's first major electoral test since 2016, 12 LP state legislators were successfully elected across the country.

House of Representatives

 * Representative Jim Kolbe - AZ, 2nd District
 * Representative Dana Rohrbacher - CA, 48th District
 * Representative Justin Amash - MI, 3rd District
 * Representative Kerry Bentivolio - MI, 11th District
 * Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. - NC - 3rd District
 * Representative Mark Sanford - SC, 1st District
 * Representative Scott Rigell - VA, 2nd District
 * Representative Martha Rainville - VT, At-Large
 * Representative Danny Jones - WV, 2nd District

United States Ambassadors

 * William Weld - Ambassador to Mexico

Executive Branch Officials

 * Karen Kwiatkowski - Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public Affairs (2017-2018)
 * Patrick Chovanec - Member, Council of Economic Advisors

Statewide Elected Officials

 * Aubrey Dunn Jr. - New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands
 * Mike Fellows - Clerk of the Montana Supreme Court

Mayors of Cities with over 100,000 Residents

 * Kevin Faulconer - Mayor of San Diego, CA
 * John Giles - Mayor of Mesa, AZ
 * Doug Burlison - Mayor of Springfield, MO