The Campaign Trail 2016: The Libertarian Party National Convention

The Libertarian Party is the first out of all the political parties to hold their National Convention to officially select their nominee for president for the general election on November 8, 2016. The Libertarian National Convention started on May 27^th and will run until May 30^th at the Rosen Centre Hotel and Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who was the 2012 Libertarian presidential nominee, is the 2016 Libertarian Party presidential nominee. Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld is the 2016 Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee.

The next challenge for Johnson is to be included in the general election debates. The debates require that a candidate needs to have 15 percent support in five national polls to be included. Johnson is entering the general election in a good place. Prior to him receiving the nomination he was included in two national polls, the Monmouth University poll where he received 11 percent support and the FOX News poll where he received ten percent support.

Unlike the Republicans and Democrats who rely on a series of primaries and caucuses to award delegates to the candidates prior to the National Convention, the Libertarian party essentially has what the Republicans and Democrats would call a contested convention where the delegates vote at the convention for their candidate and a series of rounds determine the eventual winner. Only six states held Libertarian primaries or caucuses, all of which were non-binding.

The two big days of the convention are the 28^th and 29^th, as over those two days the presidential nominee and vice presidential nominee are selected. The field of candidates vying for the presidential nominee was almost as big as the Republican field was when the race first started with 17 candidates. Prior to the convention three candidates suspended their campaign bringing their field down to 14 at the beginning of the convention.

Saturday the 28^th, the first round of presidential nominee voting was held and a candidate must have 30 votes from delegates to continue into the next round. Six of the candidates received enough votes to continue. Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson came in first with 30.5 percent of the votes. Founder and owner of The Libertarian Republic Austin Petersen came in second with 14.3 percent of the votes. Owner and Managing Editor of Free Press Publications Darryl Perry came in third with 14.2 percent of the votes. Founder of McAfee, Inc. John McAfee came in fourth with 13.1 percent of the votes. Anesthesiologist Marc Allen Feldman came in fifth with 12 percent of the votes and technology industry employee Kevin McCormick came in sixth with 6.1 percent of the votes.

The top five finishers competed in a debate at the convention Saturday night that was also broadcast on C-SPAN. Sunday morning in the second round of voting no candidate received the required majority vote and Kevin McCormick was eliminated leaving five candidates left for the third round. In the third round, the second round of Sunday, Gary Johnson won the 2016 Libertarian party nomination for president.

The Libertarian vice presidential contest was the most hotly contested competition at the convention. Three of the nine vice presidential candidates are attached to presidential candidates, which doesn't mean that if their presidential candidate gets the nomination that they will too. Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld is running with Governor Gary Johnson. Blogger and self described hustler Judd Weiss is running with John McAfee. The Call to Freedom radio host William Coley is running with Darryl Perry. The candidates running for vice president with no attachment are Alicia Dearn, Daniel Hogan, Kerry Douglas McKennon, Jeff Mortenson, Larry Sharpe, Derrick Grayson, and Mark Stewart.

Saturday night, the vice presidential candidates that received at least ten percent support participated in a debate. William Weld received 25.5 percent support, executive business consultant Larry Sharpe received 25.3 percent support, trial lawyer Alicia Dearn received 18 percent support and William Coley received 10.3 percent support. To qualify for the vice presidential elections on Sunday, candidates must get a minimum of 30 delegates to vote for them prior to Sundays voting. On Sunday, William Weld, Larry Sharpe, Alicia Dearn, William Coley, Judd Weiss, and Derrick Grayson all qualified. The first round of voting on Sunday resulted with no winner. On the second round, Weld won with 50.5 percent of the vote.

The Republican party will be the next to hold their National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 18^th through the 21^st. Billionaire Donald Trump has secured the required delegates for the nomination from the Republican party. The Democratic party will follow the Republicans holding their National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25^th through the 28^th. As of the time of writing, former New York Senator Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee. The Green Party will be having their National Convention at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, from August 4^th through the 7^th. As of the time of writing Jill Stein is the presumptive Green Party nominee.

An open letter to the Libertarian Delegates at the National Convention

I am not the kind of Libertarian that you generally like. I am a Republican-Libertarian and my politics fall into both the Republican and Libertarian spheres so I am not a pure Libertarian. In past general elections I have voted for George W. Bush and John McCain. I have also in past general elections voted for Gary Johnson and Harry Browne. While I may not be the kind of Libertarian that you generally like, I am the kind of Libertarian you should consider while casting your votes tomorrow. You will need to appeal to other voters like me, who fall across platforms and are not pure Libertarians to win the general election.

This election year, voters are screaming for a real candidate. A candidate that they can feel good about voting for. A candidate that won't ruin America. Donald Trump, the now nominee for the Republican party, is the most hated Republican candidate. Hillary Clinton, the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party, is the most hated Democratic candidate.

This means that 2016 is the year for a Libertarian president. This also means that how you vote your delegates is extremely important and requires consideration. Former New Mexico Governor and the 2012 Libertarian presidential nominee is a strong candidate. In 2012, he collected the most votes for president, including mine, of any Libertarian presidential candidate. He is a strong candidate to carry the party to The White House. He is the only presidential candidate left that would bring gubernatorial experience to the race – this even includes the Republican and Democratic candidate and presumptive candidate – and has a platform that both discouraged Republicans and Democrats can get behind. Both Trump and Clinton alienate subsets of American citizens with their platforms while Johnson has a platform that can unite all Americans. Johnson has also received 11 percent and 10 percent support in two national polls, putting him close to being in the general debates, something that the Libertarian candidate will have to be a part of if they want to win this year. We have all seen Trump debate. We have all seen Clinton debate. We have all seen Johnson debate. Out of the three there is one clear winner, who doesn't look like a raving lunatic screaming on the stage. The clear winner is Johnson. Give him the chance to win over America.

John McAfee has some great ideas, but would be hard to get elected due to his background. Austin Petersen also has some great ideas but has the same issue that Barack Obama had when he took office, too little experience. This isn't meant as an insult to either McAfee or Petersen. In my mind, either one would be far better than Trump or Clinton. However, Johnson is the one that can bring in the most votes to the party.

For vice president, William Weld has let down the Libertarian party before. I know this. However, he is also the former Governor of Massachusetts. A ticket with two former Governors on it would make the Libertarian ticket the most qualified ticket out of the three parties. Weld may not be as pure a Libertarian as you would like, but he is the kind of Libertarian that will help bring in Republican and Democratic voters, which are necessary to win The White House. Only a ticket that can bring in voters from all three platforms will win The White House. Allow Johnson to have the vice presidential candidate that he needs to bring in the big win.

In short, when casting your votes tomorrow, consider all the candidates for president and vice president and vote for the candidates that can make 2016 the year of the first Libertarian president.

Thank you for your time,

Ken Johnson