In 2016, the Libertarian Party presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, received more votes than any of the party’s other candidates in history and the most of any third-party candidate since Ross Perot — and arguably, the Libertarian Party has never recovered.
Much like the conservative movement, the libertarian movement has been divided between more “normie” libertarians who have embraced criminal justice reform and social freedoms (like immigration and the rights of L.G.B.T.Q.
And in 2024, the Libertarian Party Convention featured appearances from people like former President Donald Trump.
But in a major surprise, the winner of the party’s presidential nominating process was not the Mises Caucus’s favorite but Chase Oliver, a 38-year-old, gay antiwar activist who had left the Democratic Party.
I spoke with Mr. Oliver about what libertarianism means to him today, how he plans to fight for independent votes this year and why the Libertarian Party failed 2020’s “libertarian moment.”
Persons:
Gary Johnson, Ross Perot —, Donald Trump, Mises, Chase Oliver, Oliver
Organizations:
Libertarian Party, Mises, Democratic Party