Angela McArdle | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) McArdle in 2024 | |
| Chair of theMises Caucus | |
| Assumed office June 2, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Aaron Harris |
| 22nd Chair of theLibertarian National Committee | |
| In office May 28, 2022 – February 2, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Whitney Bilyeu |
| Succeeded by | Steven Nekhaila |
| Secretary of theLibertarian Party of California | |
| In office April 29, 2018 – April 6, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Honor Robson[1] |
| Succeeded by | Paul Vallandigham[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Angela Elise McArdle (1983-06-07)June 7, 1983 (age 42) |
| Political party | Libertarian |
| Other political affiliations | Mises Caucus[3][4] |
| Children | 1[5] |
| Residences |
|
| Education | Biola University (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (CP) |
Angela Elise McArdle (born June 7, 1983) is an American politician who is the chair of theMises Caucuspolitical action committee since June 2025. She previously served as the 22nd chair of theLibertarian National Committee (LNC) from May 2022 to February 2025, secretary of theLibertarian Party of California from April 2018 to April 2019[1][2] and a former board member and organizer of the Mises Caucus before May 2022.[3] McArdle would be investigated forself-dealing by the LNC the day before she resigned, with the LNC reporting that not only had she committed gross fiduciary violations, but that she is “unfit to serve on the Libertarian National Committee, as an affiliate leader or as a candidate representing the Libertarian Party.”[6]
Under her tenure as LNC Chair, McArdle was claimed to have played a key role in leveraging theLibertarian Party'sspoiler effect into securing apardon forRoss Ulbricht byDonald Trump, something McArdle herself denies, instead arguing that Trump had a signed pardon ready to go from 2020 that he was foiled from delivering by disloyal underlings.[7]
 | Thisbiography of a living personrelies too much onreferences toprimary sources. Please help by addingsecondary or tertiary sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately, especially if potentiallylibelous or harmful. Find sources: "Angela McArdle" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
McArdle has worked as a paralegal and legal aide for over eleven years. She currently works in litigation and also has a private practice where she provides self-help legal services to low-income clients. The bulk of McArdle's practices focus on real estate and constitutional law.[8][self-published source?]
McArdle received her Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Leadership fromBiola University in 2009 and a Paralegal Certificate from UCLA Extension in 2013. She is also trained as acraniosacral therapist through the Upledger Institute.[8][self-published source?]
McArdle was the Libertarian nominee in the2017 California's 34th congressional district special election.[9] She finished the primary in 17th place out of a field of 22 candidates with 0.8%.[10] McArdle ran again for the seat in2018 and finished in 3rd place in a field of 3 candidates with 8.4%.[11]
In 2021 and 2022, McArdle was a candidate for Chair of theLibertarian National Committee.[12] She was endorsed by theMises Caucus, of which she was also a board member.[13][3] She was elected to the position at the2022 Libertarian National Convention on May 28.[14][15]
AtPorcfest 2021, an annual libertarian festival held in New Hampshire, Executive Director of theFree State Project,Jeremy Kauffman and McArdle debated which strategy is more effective, the libertarian party strategy or the free state movement strategy.[16] Kauffman argued that, "There are more people in this room that are elected members to the NH House of Representatives and former members of the Libertarian Party than there are Libertarian Party members nationwide."[16] McArdle then counter-argued that while she wants to see the Free State Project succeed, it is her contention that the Free State Project could not have existed without the political infrastructure provided by the LP developed over the course of five decades.[16]
.jpg)
On December 3, 2022, McArdle became the first known National Chair in the United States who has given birth during her tenure.[17]
McArdle was openly critical ofJoe Exotic's short-lived campaign in the2024 Libertarian Party presidential primaries.[18]
In February 2023, McArdle spoke at the Rage Against the War Machine Rally, co-hosted with thePeople's Party, where she called on a cut to all aid to Ukraine, and for Ukraine to surrender all ofits Russian-occupied territories.[19] In June, McArdle also wrote anop-ed forNewsweek arguing that Russian forces were notcommitting a genocide in Ukraine.[20]
McArdle notably endorsed Libertarian nomineeChase Oliver in the2024 United States presidential election as a vehicle forDonald Trump's victory.[21][22] She said that Oliver would take more votes from the Democratic nominee, and that it would be challenging to get libertarians and right of center independents to vote for him, so it would make the most sense to make Oliver aspoiler candidate for the Democrats.[23]
 | This sectionmay lendundue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. Please helpimprove it by rewriting it in abalanced fashion that contextualises different points of view.(September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | Some of this section'slisted sourcesmay not bereliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed.(September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In mid-July 2024, McArdle entered a heated dispute with Caryn Ann Harlos, the National Secretary of the Libertarian Party, due to McArdle approving a "joint fundraiser" withRobert F. Kennedy Jr.'scampaign.[24] Harlos argued that the vote to approve the joint fundraiser did not pass the threshold specified in LP bylaws, and that by forcing it through regardless McArdle violated even more bylaws and exceeded her power as chairwoman.[24] Harlos then petitioned the Libertarian Party's judicial committee, with the signatures of 188 of the 2024 delegates, arguing that McArdle violated bylaws Articles 2,[a] 3.1,[b] 14.1,[c] 14.3,[d] and 14.4.[e][24] Harlos additionally argued that efforts by theColorado Libertarian Party to name Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as their nominee instead of the nominated Libertarian candidate,Chase Oliver, as proof McArdle is working with the Kennedy campaign against the libertarian party's own candidate.[24]Todd Hagopian, the former party treasurer, also filed anamicus brief in support of Harlos arguing that McArdle's cooperation with the Kennedy campaign is sabotaging Chase Oliver's campaign.[26] Hagopian also argued that McArdle illegally made the meeting to approve the Kennedy fundraiser as an "emergency" meeting to bypass receiving the required number of votes of libertarian delegates.[26]
Harlos would then move to put the fundraiser on hold until the Judicial Committee reaches a verdict, with McArdle quickly blocking the motion, stating that Harlos was "dilatory and out of order."[27] Harlos responded saying that her motion wasn't dilatory, since it would only hold the fundraiser's approval if the vote passes, to which McArdle again called Harlos as "dilatory and unprofessional" and asked her to rescind her judicial case and her motion to delay.[27] On July 20 the LNC executive met for a vote on blocking the fundraiser with the executive committee voted 6 in favor and 11 against, meaning that the joint fundraiser would go through, although, due to the speedy nature of the called vote, many of the voting members did not read the contents of the proposed fundraiser.[28][29] Later that day, Kennedy announced onTwitter that his campaign has signed the joint fundraiser, and that it was now in effect.[30] On July 27, Harlos sued the Colorado affiliate, and their chairwoman Hannah Goodman, for their support of Kennedy in response McArdle called an emergency session of the executive committee on July 30.[31] This meeting opened with McArdle attempting to transition the meeting to an executive session, so that McArdle would have more power over votes, in a 3–3 tie this motion failed.[32] McArdle began by arguing that the LNC cannotindemnify Harlos due to her lawsuit and for acting outside "your bylaws-mandated duties" due to being in conflict with the LNC as such she should be removed from her position.[32] In response Harlos stated she was not in conflict with the LNC, only the Colorado affiliate, and as such the executive committee had no means to remove her and as such no motion to remove was put forward.[32]
On July 31 Harlos' appeal to the judicial committee took place reviewing if McArdle violated the aforementioned by-laws.[28] During which committee chairman,Blay Tarnoff, ruled that article 2 was "a preparation, not a strict bylaw", however, also stated that the joint fundraiser was improper and asked why the LNC rushed to vote through a motion they had never seen, to which McArdle responded "We were in a hurry."[28] Tarnoff closed the meeting by stating that the LNC should withdraw from the agreement.[28]
On October 1 Harlos filed a lawsuit seeking to remove McArdle from office for alleged misconduct in her duties as chair, including inviting another political party's presidential candidate to hold a rally at the Libertarian Party's own presidential nominating convention, supporting candidates of a competing party, using party resources for non-party events without internal accounting, andself-dealing.[33]
On January 23, 2025, four LNC members moved to form a committee "to investigate allegations of misconduct by our Chair".[34] The following day, McArdle announced her intention to resign as LNC Chair, citing new opportunities in thesecond Trump administration, likely under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in theDepartment of Health and Human Services.[35][36][37] She continued as chair until her successor was elected in aspecial election on February 2.[35][37][38] On June 9, the Investigatory Committee submitted its final report to the LNC.[39] The report found gross fiduciary violations on McArdle's part, including paying her partner ~$49,600 through a shell PAC (Freedom Calls LLC) without board approval, and for personally receiving ~$32,000 from the “Kennedy Victory Fund" without disclosing it, and for using party resources to promote the “Rescue the Republic” rally which was hosted by another non-profit she founded, effectively pocketing that money too.[6] The report concluded that McArdle is “unfit to serve on the Libertarian National Committee, as an affiliate leader or as a candidate representing the Libertarian Party.”[6]
On June 2, 2025, McArdle announced that she had stepped in as the new Chair of theMises Caucus.[40][41]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jimmy Gomez | 10,728 | 25.5 | |
| Democratic | Robert Lee Ahn | 9,415 | 22.2 | |
| Democratic | Maria Cabildo | 4,259 | 10.1 | |
| Democratic | Sara Hernandez | 2,358 | 5.6 | |
| Democratic | Arturo Carmona | 2,205 | 5.2 | |
| Democratic | Wendy Carrillo | 2,195 | 5.2 | |
| Green | Kenneth Mejia | 1,964 | 4.6 | |
| Democratic | Yolie Flores | 1,368 | 3.2 | |
| Republican | William Morrison | 1,360 | 3.2 | |
| Democratic | Tracy Van Houten | 1,042 | 2.5 | |
| Democratic | Alejandra Campoverdi | 1,001 | 2.4 | |
| Democratic | Vanessa Aramayo | 853 | 2.0 | |
| Democratic | Sandra Mendoza | 674 | 1.6 | |
| Democratic | Steven Mac | 663 | 1.6 | |
| Democratic | Raymond Meza | 509 | 1.2 | |
| No party preference | Mark Edward Padilla | 427 | 1.0 | |
| Democratic | Ricardo De La Fuente | 331 | 0.8 | |
| Libertarian | Angela McArdle | 319 | 0.7 | |
| Democratic | Adrienne Nicole Edwards | 182 | 0.4 | |
| Democratic | Richard Joseph Sullivan | 155 | 0.4 | |
| Democratic | Armando Sotomayor | 118 | 0.3 | |
| Democratic | Tenaya Wallace | 103 | 0.2 | |
| Democratic | Melissa "Sharkie" Garza | 79 | 0.2 | |
| Democratic | Michelle Walker (write-in) | 0 | nil | |
| Total votes | 42,308 | 100 | ||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Gomez (incumbent) | 54,661 | 78.7 | |
| Green | Kenneth Mejia | 8,987 | 12.9 | |
| Libertarian | Angela Elise McArdle | 5,804 | 8.4 | |
| 2022 Libertarian National Committee chair election[14] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First Ballot | % |
| Angela McArdle | 692 | 69.6 |
| Steve Dasbach | 151 | 15.2 |
| Tony D'Orazio | 103 | 10.4 |
| NOTA | 47 | 4.7 |
| Adam Kokesh (write-in) | 1 | nil |
| Tiffany Deleon (write-in) | 1 | nil |
| Totals | 995 | 100% |
That includes Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle, who has said explicitly she endorses Chase Oliver as a vehicle for Trump's victory.
