January 1998
Election '97: What We Learned
'97 election ended candidate "debate"
By Ron Crickenberger
Libertarian Party National Director
There's no doubt about it: 1997 was a banner year for LP campaigns. We ran a record number of candidates for an off-year election. We have gone from 171 Libertarians in 33 states holding public office to 235 in 38 states -- a 37% increase. We elected 34 Libertarians on November 4th alone.
Our highest-level statewide race this year, Murray Sabrin for Governor of New Jersey, set new records for fundraising and media exposure, and appeared in nationally televised debates. He also got 10 times the votes of the previous best performing LP candidate for governor in that state.
Wealth of experience
1997 also produced a wealth of experience for Libertarian campaign managers, who will go on to help elect the next round of elected Libertarians in '98.Our 1997 candidates have set new standards for our candidates to aspire to in the next elections.
I hope they have also laid to rest the argument that we should focus only on either local or upper-level races. 1997 showed how valuable all of our candidates at all levels are in moving America in a Libertarian direction. Running candidates at all levels produces a synergistic increase in all of our candidates' vote totals.
Our candidates are the true heroes of the Libertarian Party. And our standard bearers for 1997 deserve the heartiest thanks we can give them.
