Libertarian Party
November 9, 2016

Victory!

Nicholas Sarwark, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, made the following remarks in New Mexico at the Election Night celebration for the Libertarian presidential ticket.

Hello Libertarians!

It is an honor to stand here on this stage tonight after the two greatest candidates that the Libertarian Party has ever had!

…the candidates that have had more success than the Libertarian Party has ever had in 45 years!

…the only candidates willing to go out there and stand up for the people that are not heard in this country!

…the only candidates to stand up for the independent voters that outnumber Republicans or Democrats, to stand up for the young voters that are the future of this country, to stand up for the military voters who sacrifice their lives in other countries’ civil wars for the profit of corporate cronies supported by the Democrats and the Republicans!

When the Commission on Presidential Debates cheats with both hands to silence Gary Johnson they are silencing those voices.

And that is why they will not survive.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of Gary Johnson and Bill Weld.

There are not words to express how thankful I am for their commitment to hold the Libertarian Party banner high, to show America that there is another option, to show people that you can vote for something you believe in, not against something you hate.

I’m so proud that in easily quadrupling the highest vote totals that the Libertarian Party has ever gotten in a Presidential election, Gary Johnson has shown the old party politicians that there is a group of Americans that are brave. There is a group of Americans that are strong. There is a group of Americans that have the courage that made this country, who will speak out, rebel, defy, and stand for those who don’t have a voice.

We have many victories to celebrate. Here are just a couple. We’ll update you more in the days ahead as the election results are finalized. In New Mexico, the Libertarian Party became a major party tonight. In Oklahoma, the vote total there was over the threshold to maintain party recognition, something that was bought with thousands of hours and over a hundred thousand dollars. We also received the vote percentages to retain ballot access in a number of other states including Texas and Arkansas.

As we come out of this election, stronger than ever before, the work continues. This is not the end. This is the just beginning.

Ladies and gentleman, we are winning and we have won tonight.

And you should all be proud of what we have done here.

Thank you for your support of Gary Johnson.

Thank you for your support of the Libertarian Party.

Viva Gary! Viva Libertarios!

Nicholas Sarwark

Libertarian Johnson gets highest third party presidential vote total since billionaire Ross Perot in 1996

Yesterday Libertarian for president Gov. Gary Johnson won 4,013,780 votes, the highest vote total for an alternative party presidential candidate since Ross Perot in 1996.

Perot, whose net worth was over $3 billion in 1992 dollars, became a household name that year after he bought 30-minute prime time infomercials to boost his first presidential campaign. He was subsequently included in the presidential debates. 
 
Perot received 8,085,402 votes in his 1996 bid.

Big ballot access wins for LP!

Last night the Libertarian Party achieved a number of critically-important ballot access victories, making the LP a recognized party in 39 states, the highest ever after an election in the party’s history.

  • The Texas LP retained ballot access with Railroad Commission candidate Mark Miller receiving over 5 percent. The party would have had to collect over 80,000 signatures to get back on the ballot if no statewide candidate received 5 percent. This will save the party approximately $220,000 in petitioning cost.
  • The LP retained ballot access in North Carolina for four years with Gary Johnson and the gubernatorial candidate, Lon Cecil, each getting over 2 percent. The party would have had to collect over 100,000 signatures to get back on the ballot if neither the presidential nor gubernatorial candidate got 2 percent, saving the party approximately $250,000 in petitioning cost.
  • Iowa and Kentucky are recognized parties for the first time, with Gary Johnson getting over 2 percent in both states.
  • New Hampshire is a recognized party for the first time in two decades due to governor candidate Max Abramson getting over 4 percent.
  • The DC party is recognized for the second time ever, with candidate for Delegate to the US House of Representatives Martin Moulton getting over 17,000 votes.
  • The LP retained ballot access in North Dakota, with Gary Johnson getting over 6 percent.
  • In Connecticut, Libertarian Dan Reale for US House in the second congressional district, Richard Lion for US Senate, and Gary Johnson for President all received over one percent of the vote. As a result, the party will not have to petition in these races in the next election.
  • Massachusetts is a recognized party again, with Gary Johnson getting over 3 percent.
  • West Virginia retained ballot access for four years due to David Moran receiving over 2 percent in his race for governor.