Libertarian Party presidential primaries, 2016

Libertarian Party presidential primaries, 2016

March 1 – June 7, 2016
Preferential poll
160x160px 160x160px Candidate Gary Johnson John McAfee Home state New Mexico Tennessee Contests won 5 0 Popular vote 22,642 3,391 Percentage 59.6% 8.9%   Candidate Uncommitted Austin Petersen Home state n/a Missouri Contests won 1 0 Popular vote 3,209 3,066 Percentage 8.4% 8.1%
First place by first-instance vote   Gary Johnson (5)   Uncommitted (1)   No contest (45)
350px First place finishes by convention roll call   Gary Johnson (36)   Austin Petersen (8)   No vote (1)   John McAfee (3)   Tie (4)

The 2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses allowed electors to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses in that they did not appoint delegates to represent a candidate at the party's convention to select the party's nominee for the United States presidential election. The party's nominee for the 2016 presidential election was chosen directly by registered delegates at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention, which ran from May 26 to 30, 2016. The delegates nominated former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld.

Four primaries and one caucus were held. Missouri and North Carolina held primaries on March 15, as an alternative ballot to other primaries such as those of the Republicans and Democrats. Gary Johnson, who had won the party's nomination in the 2012 presidential election, won North Carolina with 42%, while in Missouri a plurality of uncommitted voters led local candidate Austin Petersen 40% to 29%. An Oregon primary was run on May 27 during the national convention, while the California primary was held on June 7 after the party's convention. The only caucus was in Minnesota on March 1, where 75% of the electors selected Gary Johnson.

Candidates

See also: United States third party and independent presidential candidates, 2016 § Libertarian Party

24 candidates were recognized by the Libertarian Party and 16 were ultimately eligible for the presidential nomination at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention. For a candidate to have been recognized by the Libertarian Party, they must have:

1. had a campaign website;
2. been a dues-paying member of the party;
3. met all U.S. Constitutional requirements to serve as President; and
4. not have simultaneously been a candidate for another political party.

Of the recognized candidates, eight did not run in any primary or caucus: Joey Berry, Brian Briggs, Thomas Clements, Malisia Garcia, Kevin McCormick, Robert Milnes, Mike Shannon and Heidi Zeman. The other ten recognized candidates as well as three unrecognized candidates – John David Hale (who was disrecognized because he was under 35 and so ineligible to serve as President), Nathan Norman and Merry Susan Nehls – stood in at least one primary or caucus, and appear in the table below. Five recognized candidates withdrew: Cecil Ince, Steve Kerbel, Joy Waymire, Bart Lower and Donald Eugene Lowe.

Candidate		Profession	Campaign	On primary or caucus ballot						Popular vote
				MN	NC	MO	NE	OR	CA
100x100px Gary Johnson		29th Governor of New Mexico (1995–2003)	(Campaign • Positions • Website) Running mate: William Weld							22,642
100x100px John McAfee		Founder and CEO of McAfee, Inc. (1987–1994)	(Website) Running mate: Judd Weiss							3,391
Austin Petersen		Owner and founder of The Libertarian Republic (2012–present)	(Website)							3,066
Rhett Smith		Private security officer	(website)							1,678
Marc Allan Feldman		Anesthesiologist at the Cleveland Clinic (1998–2016)	(website)							1,219
John David Hale		Student								1,199
Joy Waymire		Ranch foreman	(website) Withdrew: April 13, 2016 (endorsed John McAfee)							1,189
Steve Kerbel		Businessman and entrepreneur	(website) Withdrew: March 16, 2016 (endorsed Gary Johnson)							1,098
Jack Robinson, Jr.		Businessman and inventor	(website)							808
Darryl Perry		Owner and Managing Editor of Free Press Publications	(website) Running mate: Will Coley							662
Cecil Ince		Owner of Ince Films	(website) Withdrew: March 17, 2016							625
Derrick Michael Reid		Political analyst and retired engineer	(website)							543
Merry Susan Nehls										34
Keenan Dunham			(Website)							18
100x100px Nathan Norman		Entertainer	(Website)							8
Shawna Joy Sterling		Non-fee Pastoral Counselor	(Website)							1
Alternate ballot options:
No preference/ None of the above/ Uncommitted		N/A								3,209

Timeline of the race

Background

The 2016 United States presidential election will be the twelfth to be contested by the Libertarian Party of the United States. The 2004 presidential election saw Libertarian nominee Michael Badnarik appear on ballots in 48 states plus the District of Columbia. He received 0.3% of the popular vote, and came fourth behind the two major parties' nominees as well as third-placed independent Ralph Nader. In the 2008 election, Bob Barr was nominated as the Libertarian Parties's candidate for the presidency and had ballot access to 45. However, Barr insignificantly improved upon Badnarik's performance, capturing only 0.4% of the popular vote in an election that also saw Nader finish a strong third behind the Democratic and Republican parties.

Having received minimal publicity in the previous elections, which contributed to the low voting share that the party received, the Libertarian Party gained significant exposure and media attention in the lead-up to the 2012 Libertarian National Convention and the 2012 presidential election, starting with former two term New Mexico governor Gary Johnson's announcement of his presidential run with the Libertarian Party. Using the publicity gained from the announcement, Johnson praised the Libertarian Party and championed their beliefs through interviews and public statements, which were often profane and harshly critical of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Johnson won the nomination at the 2012 Libertarian National Convention running to be more fiscally Conservative than Republican nominee Mitt Romney and more socially liberal than Democratic President Barack Obama. Johnsons's campaign for the presidency focused mostly on keeping the publicity gained by the Libertarian Party and gaining support from independents and dissenting Democratic and Republican voters, often echoing resentment towards the two parties. This included a court challenge against the Commission on Presidential Debates by Johnson that sought to include him in the official presidential election debates.

On election day, Johnson oversaw a relatively sharp rise in the Libertarian Party's popularity, earning 1% of the popular vote (1,275,821 votes), across the Libertarian Party's ballot access in 48 states plus DC. The result was double the amount Bob Barr received in 2008, pushing the Libertarian Party from a lower-tier third party to the most popular third party. In this election Johnson received the most votes ever in the Libertarian Party passing Ed Clark's candidacy in 1980. This was the most successful result for a third-party presidential candidacy since 2000.

January 2015 to January 2016: Early candidates

On January 7, the nomination paperwork for physician Marc Allen Feldman was filed. Over the following months, nominations were filed for Joy Waymire, Cecil Ince, Steve Kerbel, Shawna Joy Stirling, Derrick Michael Reid, and Rhett Smith. In early September, nominations were filed for John David Hale, Jack Robinson Jr, and Austin Petersen. On December 24, 2015, John McAfee was nominated. He had previously announced that he would run as the candidate of a newly created Cyber Party with Ken Rutkowski as his running mate.

Gary Johnson formally announced his candidacy for the 2016 Libertarian presidential nomination, in an interview with Neil Cavuto on the Fox Business Network program Coast to Coast, on January 6, 2016.

April 2016: Top tier emerges

Despite the fact that the Libertarian Party has little to no scientific polling and does not conduct binding primaries and caucuses, the first nationally televised pre-nominating convention Libertarian Party debate featured only three candidates, establishing a top tier of former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, founder and CEO of McAfee Inc. John McAfee and owner and founder of The Libertarian Republic Austin Petersen. A later debate hosted by RT America featured Marc Allan Feldman and Darryl Perry, however neither received as much media attention as the three candidates in the top tier.

Early May 2016: Ventura declines to run

Jesse Ventura speaking in Minnesota in 2016.

In several late 2015 interviews including those on The Alan Colmes Show and In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Jesse Ventura publicly flirted with the idea of running for president in 2016 as a Libertarian. Beginning on February 29, 2016, Ventura again made headlines following an announcement that if Bernie Sanders were to lose the Democratic Party nomination to Hillary Clinton, he would launch a presidential campaign under the Libertarian Party. Ventura subsequently appeared on RT, CNN, Alex Jones and various local radio outlets the following several days reiterating interest in a presidential campaign. He likewise revealed that he was formally invited to the 2016 Libertarian National Convention in Orlando, Florida by party leaders and that he would announce by the end of March if he were to go that route. On March 3, 2016 Ventura released a shortlist of preliminary campaign platforms if he were to run for president. Included were rebuilding infrastructure, focusing on alternative energy, ending all foreign wars and following the teachings of Major General Smedley Butler, ending the war on drugs and reforming campaign financing. Ventura ultimately decided not to seek the presidency, allowing his self determined deadline of May 1 to pass without an announcement. In mid-July, Ventura wrote an article declaring his support for Gary Johnson.

Late May 2016: Johnson emerges as the front-runner

Gary Johnson speaking at the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C.

After Donald Trump won the Indiana Primary on May 3, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich suspended their campaigns, Donald Trump became the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party. This sparked the Stop Trump movement, also referred to as #NeverTrump to consider running an independent candidate of their own such as former Texas governor Rick Perry, former Republican nominee Mitt Romney or Nebraska senator Ben Sasse, all of whom declined to run. As the filing deadline for Texas and other states quickly passed, the Libertarian Party gained national recognition when Gary Johnson was included in a national poll conducted by Monmouth University and received 11 percent. Johnson was quickly deemed the front-runner for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination and was featured in subsequent polls. Johnson's name was also Googled more times than the Libertarian Party itself, and was featured in many interviews by the mainstream media, something that none of the Libertarian candidates had been able to do thus far in the campaign. During the 2016 Libertarian National Convention various news networks flocked to the convention, and CSPAN covered the results.

Polling

National polling

Poll source	Sample size	Date(s)	Margin of Error	Feldman	Johnson	McAfee	Perry	Petersen	Others
Hammer of Truth	156 Libertarian Convention delegates/alternates	May 17–20, 2016	± 4.5%	2%	61%	10%	8%	17%	Not sure 2% Other 1%

2016 Online polling

Poll source	Sample size	Date(s)	Feldman	Garcia	Ince	Johnson	Kerbel	McAfee	McCormick	Perry	Petersen	Reid	Robinson	Smith	Sterling	Waymire	Zeman	Others
Liberty Hangout	617	May 10–24	—	—	O	14%	O	23%	—	—	63%	—	—	—	—	O	—	N/A
Conservatarian Report	919	May 13–23	—	—	O	29%	O	19%	—	—	52%	—	—	—	—	O	—	N/A
A Libertarian Future	7,315	May 1–15	—	—	O	36.8%	O	13.8%	—	—	49.4%	—	—	—	—	O	—	N/A
A Libertarian Future	2,622	Apr 16–30	—	—	O	37.9%	O	24.6%	—	—	37.5%	—	—	—	—	O	—	N/A
A Libertarian Future	3,867	Apr 1–15	—	—	O	40.8%	O	21.4%	4.2%	3.7%	29.9%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 3%
Libertarian Party website	9,102	Mar 17–31	1%	0%	0%	58%	O	7%	9%	5%	13%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	None of the Above 1%/ Other 4%
A Libertarian Future	3,483	Mar 15–31	0.6%	—	—	50.5%	O	10.0%	—	4.4%	34.4%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 1%
Libertarian Party website	8,609	Feb 20– Mar 17	1%	—	0%	54%	4%	14%	—	2%	18%	0%	1%	0%	1%	0%	—	None of the Above 2%/ Other 4%
A Libertarian Future	3,247	Mar 1–15	—	—	—	44.1%	7.3%	14.0%	—	10.7%*	23.7%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 0%
A Libertarian Future	3,341	Feb 12–29	2.3%	—	—	46.5%	11.0%	9.2%	—	—	31.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 1%
iSideWith.com	31,154	Mar 16–25	0%	0%	0%	88%	0%	4%	0%	0%	8%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	N/A

*Darryl W. Perry was caught buying votes of Fiverr, after which extra security measures were implemented. Therefore, this result of 10.7% is not authentic.

Primaries and caucuses

Minnesota caucuses

Type: Open

The Minnesota caucus was run on March 1, 2016, using ranked choice voting. Gary Johnson took over 75% of the 226 first-preference votes cast, with John McAfee second on 12% and Austin Petersen third on 8%.

Minnesota Libertarian presidential caucus, March 1, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Gary Johnson	171	76%
John McAfee	26	12%
Austin Petersen	17	8%
Darryl Perry	4	2%
Cecil Ince	2	1%
Steve Kerbel	2	1%
None of the above	2	1%
Marc Allan Feldman	1	0%
Shawna Joy Sterling	1	0%
Total	226	100%

File:Minnesota Libertarian presidential caucus election results, 2016.svg

County results —Minnesota.

---

  Gary Johnson

  No Votes

Missouri primary

Type: Open

The Missouri primary ran on March 15, 2016, alongside those of the Republican, Democratic, and Constitution parties. 40% of the electorate voted to stand uncommitted to any candidate. Austin Petersen, running in his home state, finished second with 29% of the statewide vote, which was double that of Steve Kerbel from Colorado, who finished third with 14%. Petersen comfortably won the support of voters in the state's capital, Jefferson City, and its surrounding counties, but fell heavily behind the uncommitted vote in the state's two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis. Kerbel won three counties around Springfield, while Marc Allan Feldman, Cecil Ince, and Rhett Smith all won a sprawl of counties across the state; in most of these counties, however, only a single vote was cast. No votes were cast for Libertarian Party candidates in the northwestern counties of Harrison, Holt, Mercer, and Worth.

Missouri Libertarian presidential primary, March 15, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Uncommitted	1,170	40%
Austin Petersen	851	29%
Steve Kerbel	401	14%
Marc Allan Feldman	239	8%
Cecil Ince	134	5%
Rhett Smith	99	3%
Total	2,894	100%

File:Missouri Libertarian presidential primary, 2016.svg

County results — Missouri.

---

  Uncommitted

  Austin Petersen

  Steve Kerbel

  Marc Allan Feldman

  Cecil Ince

  Rhett Smith

  Tie

  No Votes

North Carolina primary

Type: Semi-closed

The North Carolina primary was also run on March 15, 2016, and also alongside the primaries of the Republican, Democratic, and Constitution parties. Gary Johnson won against competing candidates with 42% of the primary vote, overcoming 35% of the electorate who remained uncommitted to any candidate, and far ahead of third-place finisher John David Hale with 6%. Most urban counties showed majority support for Johnson, particularly in the state's largest city, Charlotte, and its capital, Raleigh, while uncommitted votes mostly came from rural counties across the state. Many counties were tied between Johnson and the uncommitted vote, but a number of counties in the east recorded ties between Johnson and other candidates such as John David Hale and Joy Waymire, albeit with a small amount of votes. In Gates County, a four-way tie was recorded when Gary Johnson, Cecil Ince, and Derrick Michael Reid recorded one vote each, with an additional uncommitted voter accounted for. Tyrrell was the only county in the entire state where Johnson did not win or tie; instead Hale tied with an uncommitted voter, with one vote each.

North Carolina Libertarian presidential primary, March 15, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Gary Johnson	2,414	41.48%
No Preference	2,067	35.52%
John David Hale	329	5.65%
Joy Waymire	268	4.61%
Austin Petersen	189	3.25%
Darryl Perry	118	2.03%
Steve Kerbel	109	1.87%
Derrick Michael Reid	74	1.27%
Cecil Ince	72	1%
Jack Robinson, Jr.	70	1.20%
Marc Allan Feldman	66	1.13%
Rhett Smith	43	0.74%
Total	5,739	100%

File:North Carolina Libertarian presidential primary results, 2016.svg

County results — North Carolina.

---

  Gary Johnson

  Uncommitted

  Tie

Nebraska primary

Type: Semi-closed

The Nebraska primary was held on May 10, 2016. Independents and registered Libertarians were allowed to vote in the state's Libertarian primary. The Nebraska Primary marked the third large victory for the Johnson campaign, despite the most recent poll having shown him only 1% above Petersen nationally.

Nebraska Libertarian presidential primary, May 10, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Gary Johnson	366	52%
Austin Petersen	135	19%
John McAfee	121	17%
Marc Allan Feldman	48	7%
Steve Kerbel	35	5%
Total	705	100%

File:Nebraska Libertarian presidential primary by county, 2016.svg

County results — Nebraska

---

  Gary Johnson

  Austin Petersen

  John McAfee

  Marc Allan Feldman

  Tie

  No Votes

Oregon primary

The Oregon primary completed on May 27, 2016, the last day to receive mail-in ballots.

Oregon Libertarian presidential primary, May 27, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Gary Johnson	422	57%
John McAfee	105	14%
Merry Susan Nehls	34	5%
Austin Petersen (write-in)	25	3%
Darryl Perry	21	3%
Keenan Dunham	18	2%
Derrick Michael Reid	10	1%
Nathan Norman	8	1%
Rhett Smith	6	1%
NOTA (write-in)	2	0%
Other write-ins	91	12%
Total	742	100%

California primary

Type: Semi-closed

In the California primary on June 7, the Libertarian Party appeared alongside the Republicans, Democrats, the Green Party (as part of their own series of primaries), the American Independent Party and the Peace and Freedom Party.

This non-binding primary took place after the 2016 Libertarian National Convention.

California Libertarian presidential primary, June 7, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Gary Johnson	19,294	62%
John McAfee	3,139	10%
Austin Petersen	1,853	6%
Rhett Smith	1,531	5%
Joy Waymire	923	3%
John David Hale	873	3%
Marc Allan Feldman	867	3%
Jack Robinson, Jr.	739	2%
Steve Kerbel	556	2%
Darryl Perry	521	2%
Derrick Michael Reid	462	2%
Cecil Ince	417	1%
Total	31,175	100%

File:California Libertarian presidential primary results, 2016.svg

Results by county.

  Gary Johnson

  Tie

2016 National Convention

See also: 2016 Libertarian National Convention

Libertarian National Convention Presidential vote, 2016 – 1st Round
Candidate	first ballot	Percentage
Gary Johnson	458	49.51%
Austin Petersen	197	21.30%
John McAfee	131	14.16%
Darryl Perry	63	6.81%
Marc Allen Feldman	58	6.27%
Kevin McCormick	9	0.97%
None of the above	5	0.54%
Ron Paul (Write-in)	1	0.11%
Vermin Supreme (Write-in)	1	0.11%
Heidi Zemen (Write-in)	1	0.11%
Derrick Grayson (Write-in)	1	0.11%
Totals	925	100%

No candidate achieved the majority on the first ballot, so there was a second ballot vote. After finishing last of the six nominated candidates, McCormick was excluded from the second ballot.

Libertarian National Convention Presidential vote, 2016 – 2nd Ballot
Candidate	Second Ballot	Percentage
Gary Johnson	518	55.82%
Austin Petersen	203	21.88%
John McAfee	131	14.12%
Darryl Perry	52	5.60%
Marc Allen Feldman	18	1.94%
None of the above	2	0.22%
Derrick Grayson (Write-in)	1	0.11%
Michael Shannon (Write-in)	1	0.11%
Kevin McCormick (Write-in)	1	0.11%
Rhett Smith (Write-in)	1	0.11%
Totals	928	100%

Endorsements

Gary Johnson campaign

Main article: List of Gary Johnson presidential campaign endorsements, 2016

Political figures

Mayors and other municipal or county leaders

• Jeff Krauss, former mayor of Bozeman, Montana

International political figures

• Daniel Hannan, Conservative Party member of the European Parliament, Secretary-General of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists

Other politicians

• Ed Clark, 1980 Libertarian presidential nominee
• Judge Jim Gray, former judge, prosecutor, 2012 vice-presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party
• Mark Hinkle, former National Chairman of The Libertarian Party
• Geoff Neale, former National Chairman of The Libertarian Party
• Bill Redpath, former National Chairman of The Libertarian Party

Businesspeople

• Steve Kerbel, businessman, entrepreneur and former 2016 Libertarian presidential candidate
• Robert Sarvis, attorney, businessman, politician and software developer

Media personalities

Actors and comedians

• Drew Carey, comedian
• Doug Stanhope, comedian, actor, 2008 presidential candidate
• Randy Wayne, actor
• Josh Wolf, comedian, television host
• Teller, of Penn & Teller

Athletes and sports figures

• Rudy Carpenter, football quarterback
• Hal Gill, retired professional ice hockey player
• Sean Waltman, professional wrestler

Musicians and artists

• Krist Novoselić, musician, bassist and co-founder of Nirvana

Commentators, writers and columnists

• Jay Cost, writer for The Weekly Standard
• Matt Welch, editor-in-chief of Reason magazine
• Kmele Foster, co-host of The Independents, political pundit
• Todd Seavey, writer for Splice Today and author

Radio hosts

• Adrian Wyllie, activist, radio show host, 2014 Libertarian candidate for Governor of Florida and former chairman of Libertarian Party of Florida
• Keith Larson, radio host and political commentator

Social and political activists

• Ed Lopez, Republican activist and Former National Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus
• Richard Winger, publisher and editor of Ballot Access News, political activist and analyst
• Alan Gura, litigator, constitutional lawyer
• Michael Munger, economist

John McAfee campaign

Main article: John McAfee § 2016 presidential campaign

• Adam Kokesh, talk show host and activist
• John Moore, Nevada assemblyman
• L. Neil Smith, science fiction author and activist
• Joy Waymire, Libertarian presidential candidate

Austin Petersen campaign

Commentators, writers, and columnists

Mary Matalin speaking at a Bipartisan Policy event at Tulane University in 2009

• Erick Erickson, radio host and author
• Nicholas J. Fuentes, talk show host
• Mary Matalin, political consultant

Others

• Sean Haugh, 2002, 2014 and 2016 Libertarian candidate for United States Senate in North Carolina.
• Dave Smith, comedian

Campaign finance

As of March 31, 2016 three candidates have reported their fundraising amounts to the Federal Election Commission; Gary Johnson, John McAfee and Austin Petersen.

	Campaign committee (as of March 31)				Total spent	Suspended campaign
	Money raised	Money spent	Cash on hand	Debt
Gary Johnson	$278,976	$243,924	$35,031	$0	$243,924	Election
John McAfee	$8,057	$7,858	$149	$0	$7,858	May 29, 2016
Austin Petersen	$112,812	$95,441	$17,371	$0	$95,441	May 29, 2016

Vice presidential primary

As of May 21, 2016, there were nine vice presidential candidates running.

• Alicia Dearn from Missouri (endorsed by Austin Petersen at Convention)
• William Coley from Tennessee (endorsed by Darryl W. Perry)
• Daniel Hogan from Missouri
• Kerry Douglas McKennon from Texas
• Jeff Mortenson from Mississippi
• Larry Sharpe from New York
• Mark Stewart from Connecticut
• Judd Weiss from California (endorsed by John McAfee)
• William Weld from Massachusetts (endorsed by Gary Johnson)

The Libertarian Party's vice presidential candidate is elected by the delegates at the LNC after the presidential nominee is announced. Vice presidential candidates are often endorsed or preferred by presidential candidates, but some have entered without a specific presidential nominee in mind, or a preference from any of them.

William Weld was nominated for vice-president.

See also

• Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016

Debates

• Libertarian Party presidential debates and forums, 2016

Primaries

• Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
• Green Party presidential primaries, 2016
• Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016

National Conventions

• 2016 Constitution Party National Convention
• 2016 Libertarian National Convention
• 2016 Green National Convention
• 2016 Democratic National Convention
• 2016 Republican National Convention