November 16, 2014
This is a summary of results by our Libertarian candidates in the November election. Two candidates won, others came close, but all candidates were successful in introducing the libertarian message to the public. Notable results and other issues of importance from around the country are also discussed.
Local races
In the metro suburb of Crystal, Libertarian candidates Olga Parsons and Elizabeth Dahl won seats on the City Council, both handily unseating incumbents. Results for Ms Parsons were 2133 votes (64%) vs incumbent John Budziszewski 1169 votes (35%). Ms Parsons credits her ability to doorknock every registered voter in her district twice. Similarly, Ms Dahl pulled in 1074 votes (61%) vs incumbent Mark Hoffmann 677 votes (38%).
With two at-large City Council seats up for election in Burnsville, Libertarian candidate Cara Schulz came a close third after heavy campaigning by the top three contenders. The results show that Ms Schulz gained 7189 votes (26%) vs Dan Kealey 8269 votes (30%), Bill Coughlin 8022 votes (29%), and fourth-place contender Jake Nelson 3689 votes (13%).
In Chanhassen, Libertarian Brad Karels threw his hat into the ring in a late bid for City Council, attracting 482 votes (3%) among eight candidates vying for two available at-large seats. Two central Minnesota communities saw Libertarians seeking local office as well. In Foley, City Council candidate David Nick had 101 votes (7%) in a nine-way race for two available seats. In Paynesville, five candidates sought two City Council Seats, and Libertarian Bill Fuchs attracted 305 votes (19%).
These results reaffirm that local races are indeed winnable for Libertarian candidates. Active boots-on-the-ground campaigns have the best likelihood of success, although sometimes the luck of the draw can also be a factor based on the size of the district and the number of candidates running.
Statewide races
Despite running a full slate of Libertarian candidates in all five statewide races, no candidate reached the 5% threshold needed to gain major party status. The highest vote-getter was Bob Odden for Secretary of State, who gained 40,729 votes (2.1%). Mr Odden received the most media coverage of all the statewide candidates due to his participation in several debates featuring all four contenders in his race.
In the other races, US Senate candidate Heather Johnson pulled 29,682 votes (1.5%), the Governor & Lt Governor team of Chris Holbrook & Chris Dock attracted 18,082 votes (0.9%), Auditor candidate Keegan Iversen earned 30,297 votes (1.6%), and Attorney General candidate Mary O’Connor had 30,008 votes (1.5%).
In part, these results can be attributed to multiple candidates splitting the “alternative vote”, with two, three, even four alternative candidates running in each statewide race. Adding their results gives a combined vote very close to 5%.
Libertarians weren’t the only ones to face an uphill battle in this cycle. The Independence Party lost their major party status, failing to achieve 5% in any statewide race. In the Attorney General race, the Green Party’s only candidate finished last among all six candidates. The Constitution Party, which had sought to field one statewide candidate, did not obtain enough petition signatures to get onto the ballot.
Nonetheless, there was a subtle increase in support for Libertarians compared to the previous major election cycle. In 2012, a higher turnout presidential election year, approximately 2,936,000 Minnesotans voted, with over 35,000 casting votes for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson. In 2014, a lower turnout mid-term election, approximately 1,975,000 Minnesotans voted, with a median of 30,000 casting votes for Libertarian statewide candidates. Accounting for that difference in turnout, this amounts to a 25% increase in those choosing to vote Libertarian.
Elsewhere in our region, Libertarians experienced stronger results when the “alternative vote” was not split. Like the LPMN, the Libertarian Party of North Dakota pushed hard for major-party status this year. They achieved it for the first time, with Roland Riemers for Secretary of State winning 5.3%, guaranteeing automatic ballot access in the next election without need for petitioning. The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin also regained major-party status, with its candidates for Treasurer, Secretary of State, and Attorney General all surpassing 1% of the vote, the lower threshold required in that state. The Libertarian Party of Illinois nearly achieved major-party status as well, with longtime activist Julie Fox obtaining 4.8% in the Comptroller (auditor) race, close to the 5% needed.
In addition to the 33 states where the Libertarian Party already held major-party status, this year saw Libertarians gain this status in Maryland and Hawaii in addition to North Dakota and Wisconsin. In 2014, there were a total of 791 Libertarian candidates nationwide. Here are links to the results for all Libertarian candidates for Governor and US Senate.
The war on political dissent
Apparently it is not enough that the Democrats and Republicans already hold monopoly control over the political process, obtaining vast taxpayer subsidies for themselves, setting the rules for other parties’ candidates, and dominating the media coverage. The Two Big Old parties have moved beyond simply making it difficult for others to compete, and are now attempting to consolidate their control by keeping alternative candidates away from the public or off the ballot altogether.
This shift in tactics was seen in Minnesota during the gubernatorial campaign, when the two parties colluded with Hamline University and Fox9 News to exclude all other candidates from their debate, even excluding the candidate of another major party. In a bid to make political competition more difficult in DFL-controlled Minneapolis, the City Council called for the $20 filing fee for mayoral candidates to be increased to $500, plus similar large increases for other city offices, a proposal which was unfortunately approved by voters as Question 1 despite LPMN opposition.
The situation has become more serious in other states. In Illinois, GOP operatives used criminal intimidation of Libertarian petition-signers in an attempt to remove Libertarian candidates from the ballot. The attempt failed. On the west coast, another tactic known as “top two” had been gaining traction. In the states of Washington and California, only the top two vote-getters in an open primary are allowed to appear on the final ballot in the general election. The intent is to totally exclude alternative party candidates from the general election, with the top two candidates naturally being the Democrat and Republican, although in some cases when combined with their gerrymandering of districts, voters’ choices have been limited to two candidates of the same party. The new law has led to historically low voter turnout in California as well as numerous blank ballots being cast. When “top two” was later proposed in Arizona, the Libertarian and Green parties were ready, joining forces to defeat it. This November, “top two” was again proposed in Oregon, where it faced stiff resistance by the Libertarian Party of Oregon and was crushed by voters.
In this video, Nick Sarwark, newly-elected Chair of the National Libertarian Party, offered a stern warning to the old parties that Libertarians will not be intimidated, signalling that the party is gearing up for a more aggressive stance in asserting itself in upcoming elections.
Moving forward
We thank and congratulate all of our candidates who stepped forward to carry the Libertarian banner in 2014! This was the first election since 1998 where the LPMN made a very strong push to break into the political debate, and many Minnesotans were introduced to the libertarian message for the first time. Next year and beyond, we will seek to capitalize on the seeds planted this year.
With Minnesota returning to a two-major-party state, the LPMN leadership will be developing plans on how to proceed to fill the void by offering a third, solidly pro-liberty alternative. We are already seeking local candidates for the 2015 municipal elections, as well as candidates for state and federal offices in 2016. Those interested in stepping forward as Libertarian candidates may contact us at info@lpmn.org.
Concerned about the expansion of government control and the erosion of individual liberty? Please consider consider joining and becoming active with the Libertarian Party of Minnesota. Libertarians support liberty on all issues, all the time! Libertarianism is a philosophical and political movement to promote personal freedom, strong civil liberties, a genuinely free marketplace, and peace.
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