Four primaries and one caucus were held.Missouri andNorth Carolina held primaries on March 15, as an alternative ballot to other primaries such as those of theRepublicans andDemocrats.Gary Johnson, who hadwon the party's nomination in the2012 presidential election, won North Carolina with 42%. In Missouri a plurality of voters chose the "Uncommitted" option over local candidate Austin Petersen, 40% to 29%, with Johnson not appearing on the Missouri ballot due to announcing his candidacy after the filing deadline. AnOregon primary was run on May 27 during the national convention, while the California primary was held on June 7 after the party's convention. The only caucus was in Minnesota on March 1, where 75% of the electors selected Gary Johnson. Jurisdictions in the 2016 primaries that did not participate in conventional roll call included: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Puerto Rico, and the U.S Virgin Islands.
24 candidates were recognized by the Libertarian Party and 16 were ultimately eligible for the presidential nomination at the2016 Libertarian National Convention.[2][3][4][5] For a candidate to have been recognized by the Libertarian Party, they must have:
not have simultaneously been a candidate for another political party.[6]
Of the recognized candidates, eight did not run in any primary or caucus: Joey Berry, Brian Briggs, Thomas Clements, Malisia Garcia, Kevin McCormick, Robert Milnes, Mike Shannon and Heidi Zeman. The other ten recognized candidates as well as three unrecognized candidates – John David Hale (who was disrecognized because he was under 35 and so ineligible to serve as President), Nathan Norman and Merry Susan Nehls – stood in at least one primary or caucus, and appear in the table below. Five recognized candidates withdrew: Cecil Ince, Steve Kerbel, Joy Waymire, Bart Lower and Donald Eugene Lowe.[2][6][7][8][9]
The2016 United States presidential election was the twelfth contested election for the Libertarian Party of the United States. The2004 presidential election saw Libertarian nomineeMichael Badnarik appear on ballots in 48 states plus theDistrict of Columbia. He received 0.3% of the popular vote, and came fourth behind the two major parties' nominees as well as third-placed independentRalph Nader.[20] In the2008 election,Bob Barr was nominated as the Libertarian Parties's candidate for the presidency and had ballot access to 45. However, Barr insignificantly improved upon Badnarik's performance, capturing only 0.4% of the popular vote in an election that also saw Nader finish a strong third behind the Democratic and Republican parties.[21]
Having received minimal publicity in previous elections, which contributed to the low voting share that the party received, the Libertarian Party gained significant exposure and media attention in the lead-up to the2012 Libertarian National Convention and the2012 presidential election, starting with former two termNew Mexico governorGary Johnson's announcement of his presidential run with the Party.[22][23] Using the publicity gained from the announcement, Johnson praised the Libertarian Party and championed their beliefs through interviews and public statements, which were often profane and harshly critical of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Johnson won the nomination at the2012 Libertarian National Convention running on a platform of being more fiscally conservative than Republican nomineeMitt Romney and more socially liberal than Democratic PresidentBarack Obama.Johnsons's campaign for the presidency focused mostly on upholding the continued publicity gained by the Libertarian Party due to his campaign and gaining support from independents and dissenting Democratic and Republican voters, often through echoing resentment towards the two parties. This included a court challenge against theCommission on Presidential Debates by Johnson that sought to include him in the officialpresidential election debates.[24][25]
On election day, Johnson oversaw a relatively sharp rise in the Libertarian Party's vote total, earning 1% of the popular vote, which equated to 1,275,821 votes, in the 48 states plus D.C. where the Libertarian Party had ballot access.[26] The result was double the number Bob Barr received in 2008, and made the Libertarian's the most popular third party in the election.[27] In the election Johnson received the most votes ever for the Libertarian Party nominee, passingEd Clark's candidacy in1980. His campaign received a largest vote total for a third-party presidential candidacy sinceRalph Nader's2000 campaign.[28][29]
On January 7, physician Marc Allen Feldman became one of the first candidates to enter the race for the 2016 nomination. Over the following months, candidacies were announced by Joy Waymire, Cecil Ince, Steve Kerbel, Shawna Joy Sterling, Derrick Michael Reid, and Rhett Smith. In early September, candidates entering the race included John David Hale, Jack Robinson Jr, andAustin Petersen.
On December 24, 2015, antivirus software pioneerJohn McAfee abandoned his previous effort to run as the candidate of a newly created Cyber Party, and announced he would instead seek the Libertarian nomination.[30] He had previously announced that his Cyber Party running mate would beKen Rutkowski, but Rutkowski did not join him in seeking the Libertarian nomination.[31][32]
Though the Libertarian Party has little to no scientific polling and does not conduct binding primaries and caucuses, thefirst nationally televised pre-nominating convention Libertarian Party debate featured three candidates widely regarded as the leading contenders for the nomination: formerNew Mexico governorGary Johnson, founder and CEO ofMcAfee Inc.John McAfee and owner and founder ofThe Libertarian RepublicAustin Petersen.[34] A later debate hosted byRT America featured Marc Allan Feldman, Kevin McCormick, and Darryl Perry, however this did not receive as much media attention as the one featuring the three candidates in the top tier.[35]
In several late 2015 interviews including those onThe Alan Colmes Show andIn Depth withGraham Bensinger,Jesse Ventura publicly flirted with the idea of running for president in 2016 as a Libertarian.[36] Beginning on February 29, 2016, Ventura again made headlines following an announcement that ifBernie Sanders were to lose the Democratic Party nomination toHillary Clinton, he would launch a presidential campaign under theLibertarian Party. Ventura subsequently appeared onRT,CNN,Alex Jones and various local radio outlets the following several days reiterating interest in a presidential campaign. He likewise revealed that he was formally invited to the2016 Libertarian National Convention inOrlando, Florida by party leaders and that he would announce by the end of March if he were to go that route.[37]
On March 3, 2016 Ventura released ashortlist of preliminary campaign platforms if he were to run for president. Included were rebuilding infrastructure, focusing on alternative energy, ending all foreign wars and following the teachings of Major GeneralSmedley Butler, ending thewar on drugs and reformingcampaign financing.[38] Ventura ultimately decided not to seek the presidency, allowing his self determined deadline of May 1 to pass without an announcement. In mid-July, Ventura wrote an article declaring his support for Gary Johnson.[39]
AfterDonald Trump won theIndiana primary on May 3,Texas SenatorTed Cruz andOhio GovernorJohn Kasich suspended their campaigns, Donald Trump became thepresumptive nominee for theRepublican Party.[40][41] This sparked theStop Trump movement, also referred to as #NeverTrump to consider running an independent candidate of their own such as formerTexas governorRick Perry, former Republican nomineeMitt Romney orNebraska senatorBen Sasse, all of whom declined to run.[42] As the filing deadline for Texas and other states quickly passed, the Libertarian Party gained national recognition whenGary Johnson was included in a national poll conducted byMonmouth University and received 11 percent.[43] Johnson was quickly deemed the front-runner for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination and was featured in subsequent polls.[44][45] Johnson's name was alsoGoogled more times than the Libertarian Party itself, and he was featured in many interviews by mainstream media publications, something that none of the other Libertarian candidates had been able to do at that point in the campaign.[46] During the2016 Libertarian National Convention various news networks flocked to the convention, andC-SPAN covered the results.[1][47] Johnson won nomination on the second ballot of the convention.[48]
The Minnesota caucus was run on March 1, 2016, usingranked choice voting. Gary Johnson took over 75% of the 226 first-preference votes cast, with John McAfee second on 12% and Austin Petersen third on 8%.[51]
Minnesota Libertarian presidential caucus, March 1, 2016[51]
TheMissouri primary ran on March 15, 2016, alongside those of the Republican, Democratic, andConstitution parties. 40% of the electorate voted to stand uncommitted to any candidate. Austin Petersen, running in his home state, finished second with 29% of the statewide vote, which was double that of Steve Kerbel from Colorado, who finished third with 14%. Petersen comfortably won the support of voters in the state's capital,Jefferson City, and its surrounding counties, but fell heavily behind the uncommitted vote in the state's two largest cities,Kansas City andSt. Louis. Kerbel won three counties aroundSpringfield, while Marc Allan Feldman, Cecil Ince, and Rhett Smith all won a sprawl of counties across the state; in most of these counties, however, only a single vote was cast. No votes were cast for Libertarian Party candidates in the northwestern counties ofHarrison,Holt,Mercer, andWorth.[52]
Missouri Libertarian presidential primary, March 15, 2016[52]
The North Carolina primary was also run on March 15, 2016, and also alongside the primaries of the Republican, Democratic, and Constitution parties. Gary Johnson won against competing candidates with 42% of the primary vote, overcoming 35% of the electorate who remained uncommitted to any candidate, and far ahead of third-place finisher John David Hale with 6%. Most urban counties showed majority support for Johnson, particularly in the state's largest city,Charlotte, and its capital,Raleigh, while uncommitted votes mostly came from rural counties across the state. Many counties were tied between Johnson and the uncommitted vote, but a number of counties in the east recorded ties between Johnson and other candidates such as John David Hale and Joy Waymire, albeit with a small number of votes. InGates County, a four-way tie was recorded when Gary Johnson, Cecil Ince, and Derrick Michael Reid recorded one vote each, with an additional uncommitted voter accounted for.Tyrrell was the only county in the entire state where Johnson did not win or tie; instead Hale tied with an uncommitted voter, with one vote each.[53]
North Carolina Libertarian presidential primary, March 15, 2016[53]
The Nebraska primary was held on May 10, 2016. Independents and registered Libertarians were allowed to vote in the state's Libertarian primary. The Nebraska Primary marked the third largest victory for the Johnson campaign, despite the most recent poll having shown him only 1% above Petersen nationally.
Nebraska Libertarian presidential primary, May 10, 2016[54]
No candidate achieved the majority on the first ballot, so there was a second ballot vote. After finishing last of the six nominated candidates, McCormick was excluded from the second ballot.
Libertarian National Convention Presidential vote, 2016 – 2nd ballot[60]
Judd Weiss from California (endorsed by John McAfee)
Bill Weld from Massachusetts (endorsed by Gary Johnson)
The Libertarian Party's vice presidential candidate is elected by the delegates at the LNC after the presidential nominee is announced. Vice presidential candidates are often endorsed or preferred by presidential candidates, but some have entered without a specific presidential nominee in mind, or a preference from any of them.
Bill Weld, former governor of Massachusetts, was nominated for vice president after having previously been announced as Johnson's intended running mate. The selection proved controversial within the party, but also resulted in a spike in media coverage of the prospective ticket. Two governors running as a ticket attracted attention, in part because it had not happened for any party since the1948 United States presidential election.[citation needed]
As with Johnson in the presidential nomination, Weld narrowly failed to secure a majority on the first ballot. He was nominated on the second ballot, defeating runner-up Larry Sharpe.
^Candidate Marc A. Feldman, former anesthesiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, fifth-place finisher at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention, and former member of the Libertarian National Committee, died from unknown causes on June 22, 2016.Welch, Matt (June 23, 2016)."5th Place Libertarian Presidential Finisher Marc Allan Feldman Dead At 56".Reason. RetrievedJune 24, 2016.
2016 U.S. presidential election
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