2024 Libertarian National Convention
 | This article documents a current election. Information may change rapidly as the election progresses until official results have been published. Initial news reports may be unreliable, and the last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
| 2024 presidential election | |
 The Hilton hotel in Washington, where the convention is being held | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | May 24–26, 2024 |
| City | Washington, D.C. |
| Venue | Washington Hilton |
| Chair | Angela McArdle |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | TBD |
| Vice presidential nominee | TBD |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 1,051 |
| Votes needed for nomination | 526 |
 2024 U.S. presidential election | |
|---|---|
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| Democratic Party | |
| Republican Party | |
| Third parties | |
| Related races | |
| |
The 2024 Libertarian National Convention is a political event to select the Libertarian Party nominees for president and vice president in the 2024 election. It is being held from May 24 to 26, 2024, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.[1]
Background[edit]
Elections will be held for the chairmanship of the Libertarian National Committee, currently held by Angela McArdle, as well as the position of vice chair, currently held by Andrew Watkins.[2] McArdle was elected at the 2022 convention in Reno, Nevada, by acquiring the votes of 69% of delegates. She was elected with the support of the controversial Mises Caucus, a faction of the party that supports paleolibertarianism, which was created in opposition to Nicholas Sarwark's tenure as chairman.[3] Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was viewed as a possible contender for the party's nomination,[4] but subsequently appeared to rule out the possibility.
Presidential nomination[edit]
Candidates needed to submit papers with the signatures of at least 30 delegates to be nominated. The following candidates met the threshold: [5]
- Lars Mapstead
- Art Olivier
- Mike ter Maat
- Joshua "Toad" Anderson
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Joshua Smith
- Charles Ballay
- Chase Oliver
- NOTA
- Michael Rectenwald
- Jacob Hornberger
A delegate also attempted to nominate Donald Trump, but the nomination was considered invalid due to Trump not submitting nomination papers.[6]
Balloting[edit]
Ten candidates were nominated for the first round. Delegates can also write-in a candidate or vote for NOTA in any round.[7] If no candidate reaches 50%, the candidate with the lowest vote total and all candidates below 5% are eliminated and the convention votes again.[8]
Ballay, Kennedy Jr., Anderson, and Olivier were eliminated after the first round, Hornberger was eliminated after the second round, Smith was eliminated after the third round, Mapstead was eliminated after the fourth round, ter Maat was eliminated after the fifth round.
Following his elimination in the fifth round, ter Maat announced he would run as Oliver's running mate. Michael Heise, founder of the Mises Caucus, which endorsed Rectenwald, noted that he also offered ter Maat the vice presidential position.[9]
The 6th round was a head-to-head between Oliver and Rectenwald. No candidate received 50% of the vote due to votes for NOTA and write-ins. As the lowest placed nominated candidate, Rectenwald was eliminated. This set up a seventh round between Oliver and NOTA. Chair Angela McArdle noted that should NOTA receive a majority, the party would not nominate a candidate for President.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | 3rd ballot | 4th ballot | 5th ballot | 6th ballot | 7th ballot | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ± | Votes | % | ± | Votes | % | ± | Votes | % | ± | Votes | % | ± | Votes | % | ± | |
| Chase Oliver | 181 | 19.7% | 219 | 24.0% | +4.3% | 230 | 25.4% | +1.4% | 231 | 25.9% | +0.5% | 286 | 32.9% | +7.0% | 423 | 49.5% | +16.6% | |||
| None of the above | 11 | 1.2% | 7 | 0.8% | −0.4% | 9 | 1.0% | +0.2% | 10 | 1.1% | +0.1% | 22 | 2.5% | +1.4% | 44 | 5.2% | +2.7% | |||
| Michael Rectenwald | 259 | 28.2% | 293 | 32.2% | +4.0% | 319 | 35.2% | +3.0% | 335 | 37.6% | +2.4% | 334 | 38.4% | +0.8% | 382 | 44.7% | +6.3% | Eliminated | ||
| Mike ter Maat | 141 | 15.3% | 162 | 17.8% | +2.5% | 165 | 18.2% | +0.4% | 175 | 19.6% | +1.4% | 225 | 25.9% | +6.3% | Eliminated | |||||
| Lars Mapstead | 122 | 13.3% | 123 | 13.5% | +0.2% | 137 | 15.1% | +1.6% | 159 | 15.6% | +0.5% | Eliminated | ||||||||
| Joshua Smith | 73 | 7.9% | 62 | 6.8% | −1.1% | 45 | 5.0% | −1.8% | Eliminated | |||||||||||
| Jacob Hornberger | 59 | 6.4% | 37 | 4.1% | −2.3% | Eliminated | ||||||||||||||
| Charles Ballay | 21 | 2.3% | Eliminated | |||||||||||||||||
| Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | 19 | 2.1% | Eliminated | |||||||||||||||||
| Joshua "Toad" Anderson | 16 | 1.7% | Eliminated | |||||||||||||||||
| Art Olivier | 4 | 0.4% | Eliminated | |||||||||||||||||
| Write-ins | 13[a] | 1.4% | 8 | 0.9% | −0.5% | 2 | 0.2% | −0.7% | 1[b] | 0.1% | −0.1% | 3[c] | 0.3% | +0.2% | 5[d] | 0.6% | +0.3% | |||
| Votes cast | 919 | 87.4% | 911 | 86.7% | −0.7% | 907 | 86.3% | −0.4% | 891 | 84.8% | −1.5% | 870 | 82.8% | −2.0% | 854 | 81.3% | -1.5% | |||
Convention speakers[edit]
According to the convention website, the following people are scheduled to appear as convention speakers:[10]
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmental lawyer and independent presidential candidate[11]
- Peter A. McCullough, cardiologist and epidemiologist[10]
- Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate[12]
- Gabriel Shipton, brother of Julian Assange[10]
- Ron Paul, former U.S. Representative (1976–1977, 1979–1985, 1997–2013), 1988 Libertarian presidential nominee, 2008 and 2012 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination[13]
- Mark Skousen, economist and writer[10]
- Dave Smith, comedian and commentator[10]
- Donald Trump, former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee[14][15]
After the May 1 announcement that Trump would be addressing the convention, Kennedy proposed a formal debate between the two at the convention, as he would also be making an appearance.[11] According to Kennedy, Trump declined.
Inviting Trump to speak has been highly controversial within the party, and a motion has been introduced on the Libertarian National Committee to rescind the invitation issued by party chair McArdle.[16] During his speech, Trump made a play for the Libertarian nomination and vowed to appoint a Libertarian to his cabinet.[17]
Ramaswamy, in addition to speaking, engaged in a debate with the winner of the libertarian vice-presidential debate, which is to be determined by a straw poll at the convention.[12]
Delegate allocation[edit]
Delegates to the convention are allocated to state party affiliates based on the number of sustaining members of the national Libertarian Party per state, as well as the percentage of the vote cast by state in the 2020 presidential election for Libertarian nominee Jo Jorgensen. A total of 1,051 delegates are currently selected to vote at the convention.[18]
See also[edit]
- 2024 Libertarian Party presidential primaries
- 2024 Democratic National Convention
- 2024 Republican National Convention
Notes[edit]
- ^ 6 votes, 0.7% for Donald Trump
2 votes, 0.2% for Christian Winston Chandler
1 vote, 0.1% for Stormy Daniels
1 vote, 0.1% for Denali the Cat
1 vote, 0.1% for Sean Ono Lennon
1 vote, 0.1% for Afroman
1 vote, 0.1% for Ben Dover - ^ for Mike Shipley
- ^ 1 vote, 0.1% for Donald Trump
1 vote, 0.1% for Joe Montana
1 vote, 0.1% for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - ^ 1 vote, 0.1% for Donald Trump
1 vote, 0.1% for Dan Marino
1 vote, 0.1% for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
1 vote, 0.1% for Courtney Love
1 vote, 0.1% for Mike ter Maat
References[edit]
- ^ "Become Ungovernable". 2024 Libertarian National Convention.
- ^ "Libertarian National Committee". Libertarian Party. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Doherty, Brian (May 29, 2022). "Mises Caucus Takes Control of Libertarian Party". Reason. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Schaffer, Peder (February 15, 2024). "RFK Jr.'s Libertarian play". Politico. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "Libertarian Party".
- ^ Pellish, Aaron (26 May 2024). "RFK Jr. will be considered for Libertarian Party's presidential nomination. Trump didn't file paperwork to qualify | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ "Libertarian Party".
- ^ "Libertarian Party Bylaws and Convention Rules" (PDF).
- ^ "2024 Libertarian National Convention Live-stream and Open Thread".
- ^ a b c d e "Home". 2024 Libertarian National Convention. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Trudo, Hanna (May 7, 2024). "RFK Jr. challenges Trump to debate at Libertarian Party convention". The Hill. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Hudson, Matt (May 1, 2024). "Don't Miss a Historic Debate Vs. Vivek Ramaswamay at the Convention May 24th". Libertarian Party. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ "x.com". X (formerly Twitter).
- ^ Colvin, Jill (May 1, 2024). "Trump will speak at the Libertarian National Convention as he woos independent voters". Associated Press. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
- ^ "President Trump to Speak at Libertarian National Convention". 2024 Libertarian National Convention. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Tomco, Brigham (May 1, 2024). "'I think it's ridiculous': Donald Trump to headline Libertarian Party national convention". Deseret News. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
- ^ "Trump furiously jeered as he taunts Libertarians for winning '3%' in elections at their convention". Yahoo News. May 26, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Libertarian National Convention Delegate Allocation Manual" (PDF). Libertarian National Committee Secretary. December 6, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
