The 2024 Libertarian National Convention was a political event to select the Libertarian Party nominees for president and vice president in the 2024 election. It was held from May 24 to the early morning of May 27, 2024, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.[1]
2024 presidential election | |
  Nominees Oliver and ter Maat | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | May 24–27, 2024 |
| City | Washington, D.C. |
| Venue | Washington Hilton |
| Chair | Angela McArdle |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Chase Oliver of Georgia |
| Vice presidential nominee | Mike ter Maat of Virginia |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 1,051 |
| Votes needed for nomination | 526 |
Background
Elections wereheld 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. originally ruled out a nomination, then accepted a nomination the day of the convention, but was eliminated in the first round with 19 delegate votes.[4][failed verification] Donald J. Trump asked for the party nomination but was disqualified for not having submitted the appropriate paperwork.[5]
Presidential nomination
Candidates needed to submit papers with the signatures of at least 30 delegates to be nominated. The following candidates met the threshold:[6]
- Lars Mapstead
- Art Olivier
- Mike ter Maat
- Joshua "Toad" Anderson
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Joshua Smith
- Charles Ballay
- Chase Oliver
- 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.[7]
Balloting
Ten candidates were nominated for the first round. Delegates could also cast a write-in vote or vote for none of the above (NOTA).[8] If no candidate reaches 50%, the candidate with the lowest vote total and all candidates below 5% are eliminated and the convention votes again.[9]
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 the caucus also offered ter Maat the vice presidential position.[10]
The sixth 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.[11]
Oliver won the nomination on the seventh ballot with 60.6% of the vote.
| 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% | 497 | 60.6% | +11.1% |
| 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% | 300 | 36.6% | +21.4% |
| 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% | 23 | 2.8% | +1.2% |
| 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% | 139 | 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 | |||||||||||||||||
| 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% | 820 | 78.0% | −3.3% |
Vice presidential nomination
Candidates needed to submit papers with the signatures of at least 30 delegates to be nominated. The following candidates met the threshold: [12]
- Clint Russell
- Kendal Ludden
- Mark Stewart Greenstein
- Mike ter Maat
- Freddie Clegg
Balloting
Five candidates were nominated for the first round. Delegates could also write-in a candidate or vote for NOTA in any round. If no candidate reaches 50%, the candidate with the lowest vote total and all candidates below 5% are eliminated and the convention votes again. Delegates voted to suspend the rules and additionally suspend all candidates with below 15% in the first round.[13]
Clegg, Greenstein, and Ludden were eliminated after the first round.
Mike ter Maat, who was endorsed by presidential nominee Chase Oliver, was nominated on the second ballot with 51.3% of the vote.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ± | |
| Mike ter Maat | 367 | 49.7% | 371 | 51.3% | +1.6% |
| Clint Russell | 339 | 45.9% | 340 | 47.0% | +1.1% |
| None of the above | 8 | 1.1% | 8 | 1.1% | +0.0% |
| Write-ins | 10[e] | 1.4% | 4[f] | 0.6% | −0.8% |
| Freddie Clegg | 9 | 1.2% | Eliminated | ||
| Kendal Ludden | 3 | 0.4% | Eliminated | ||
| Mark Stewart Greenstein | 3 | 0.4% | Eliminated | ||
| Votes cast | 739 | 70.3% | 723 | 68.8% | −1.5% |
Convention speakers
According to the convention website, the following people are scheduled to appear as convention speakers:[14]
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmental lawyer and independent presidential candidate[15]
- Peter A. McCullough, cardiologist and epidemiologist[14]
- Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate[16]
- Gabriel Shipton, brother of Julian Assange[14]
- 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[17]
- Mark Skousen, economist and writer[14]
- Dave Smith, comedian and commentator[14]
- Donald Trump, former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee[18][19]
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.[15] According to Kennedy, Trump declined.[citation needed]
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.[20] During his speech, Trump made a play for the Libertarian nomination and vowed to appoint a Libertarian to his cabinet.[21]
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.[16]
Nicole Shanahan, the running mate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was anticipated to speak on May 26. However, she backed out after Kennedy was eliminated from contention for the Libertarian nomination in the first round of balloting.[22]
Delegate allocation
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.[23]