Author Archive | Bob Johnston

Five Libertarian Party state affiliates have at least 1 percent of the active registered voters in their respective states. Less than 10 years ago, only one affiliate, Alaska, had at least 1 percent of the state’s registered voters. The affiliates with at least 1 percent are: Alaska — 3.04% Nebraska — 1.25% Colorado — 1.14% […]

South Dakota Libertarian Lance Lehmann was elected to the Rapid City Council Ward 4 seat on June 25 with more than two thirds of the vote, defeating incumbent City Council President Amanda Scott. Rapid City has a population of around 68,000 people, and is the second largest city in South Dakota. From the Rapid City […]

The Libertarian Party has fought for gay rights since its founding in 1971, and annual pride festivals are well attended by Libertarians throughout the country. Whitney Bilyeu, Libertarian National Committee representative for Region 7, reports on how Libertarians in Houston, Texas, brought their messages of freedom an equality to their local pride event: Houston Libertarians […]

Dani Cronce, an elected Democrat on the Binghamton, New York city council, changed her affiliation to the Libertarian Party on June 12. Binghamtom has a population of about 47,000. Cronce announced her party switch the same day on Binghamton Now With Bob Joseph, a radio show on WNBF-AM. From the WNBF website: Binghamton city councilwoman […]

When government officials charge exorbitant fees for petty violations, they wind up using their own poor citizens as revenue cash cows and keep people trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and jail time. The mayor and councy commission of Athens–Clarke in Georgia has taken a significant step to end that, thanks in large part […]

Libertarian Marco Battaglia’s race for Des Moines City Council received coverage in the Des Moines Register on June 10: A former Libertarian candidate for Iowa attorney general will now challenge for a seat on the Des Moines City Council this fall. Marco Battaglia, who lost his bid last fall to unseat longtime Attorney General Tom […]

Some people discover libertarian ideas when they’re young, but others may take decades to realize the value of individual liberty for all. Lincoln Chafee, a former governor and U.S. senator for Rhode Island, recently announced that he has switched his political affiliation to the Libertarian Party. From the Boston Globe on June 4: Lincoln D. […]

Republicans and Democrats are scared of political competition, and they rig the electoral process to make it as difficult as possible for anybody to mount a challenge at the ballot box. A recent article from the Arizona Daily Star explains how Republican legislators conspired to keep Libertarian Party candidates out of elections, and the courts […]

Tired of all the old-party bickering between Democrats and Republicans, Libertarian Party candidate Erika Klie Kolenich recently announced she would run for governor of West Virginia in the 2020 election. From My Buckhannon on May 27: A Buckhannon native is throwing her hat into the ring of the 2020 West Virginia Governor’s race. But that […]

Wallace Dunn, a Texas Libertarian Party candiate for the Ector County Medical Center Hospital Board of Directors defeated Mary Thompson for place 6 in the May 4 election. From the Texas Scorecard: Wallace Dunn was declared the winner Saturday night in his first bid for public office, successfully unseating 30-year incumbent Mary Thompson for Place […]

A pledge to uphold the Second Amendment right to bear arms has been part of the Libertarian Party platform since 1972, and a recent set of gun rights apparel and accessories added to LPstore.org reflects this longstanding commitment. The Libertarian Party’s new “Guns Save Lives” line was featured in the Washington Times on May 20: […]

The recent highly publicized criticism of President Donald Trump by Rep. Justin Amash received support from Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark in a May 19 interview with Salon. Sarwark also weighed in on the possibility that Rep. Amash could seek the Libertarian Party nomination for the 2020 presidential race. Nicholas Sarwark, the chairman of […]