2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries

2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries

January 11 to June 16, 2020
Non-binding preferential vote
125px 125px 125px Candidate Jacob Hornberger Jo Jorgensen Vermin Supreme Home state Virginia South Carolina Massachusetts Contests won 7 1 2 Popular vote 8,986 4,578 4,288 Percentage 20.55% 10.47% 9.81%   125px 125px 125px Candidate Ken Armstrong Uncommitted Kim Ruff Home state Oregon N/A Arizona Contests won 0 1 0 Popular vote 3,531 3,420 3,045 Percentage 8.42% 8.03% 6.96%   125px 125px Candidate Adam Kokesh Dan Behrman Home state Arizona Texas Contests won 0 0 Popular vote 2,728 2,357 Percentage 6.24% 5.34%
x200px   Jo Jorgensen   Jacob Hornberger   Vermin Supreme   Uncommitted
Previous Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson Libertarian nominee Jo Jorgensen

The 2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses were a series of electoral contests to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate in the 2020 United States presidential election. These differ from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses in that they do not appoint delegates to represent a candidate at the party's convention to select the party's presidential nominee. The party's nominee was chosen directly by registered delegates at the 2020 Libertarian National Convention, held through an online convention from May 22 to May 24.

Jo Jorgensen was chosen as the party's presidential nominee, becoming the first woman to receive the Libertarian nomination, after four rounds of voting. Spike Cohen was nominated for vice-president.

Background

The 2020 United States presidential election will be the thirteenth contested presidential election in which the Libertarian Party will participate. The 2016 election saw the highest vote total and percentage of votes for a Libertarian presidential ticket ever, with former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson and his running mate, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, receiving over four million votes and 3.28% of the total vote. During his presidential campaign in 2016, Johnson often stated that it would be his last run for the presidency.

Candidates

The following is a list of declared candidates who meet at least one of the following criteria: a) meet Wikipedia's notability guidelines; b) have participated (or have been invited to participate) in at least two Libertarian Party-sponsored debates or c) have received substantial media coverage.

Nominee

Candidate		Born	Experience	Home state	Campaign	Popular vote	Contests won	First round delegates	Final round delegates	Ref
155px Jo Jorgensen		May 1, 1957 (age ) Libertyville, Illinois	Psychology senior lecturer at Clemson University Nominee for Vice President in 1996 Nominee for U.S. representative from SC-04 in 1992	South Carolina	Campaign November 2, 2019 FEC Filing Nominated: May 23, 2020 Running mate: Spike Cohen	4,578 (10.47%)	1 (NE)	248	524

Eliminated in balloting rounds

Candidate		Born	Experience	Home state	Campaign announced	Campaign suspended	Popular vote	Contests won	First round delegates	Final round delegates	Ref
120px Jacob Hornberger		January 1, 1950 (age ) Laredo, Texas	Founder and President of the Future of Freedom Foundation Independent candidate for U.S. Senate from Virginia in 2002 Candidate for President in 2000	Virginia	100px October 29, 2019 FEC Filing Running mate: Spike Cohen	May 23, 2020 (endorsed Jorgensen after nomination)	8,986 (20.55%)	7 (IA, MN, MO, NY, CA, OH, CT)	236	285
120px Vermin Supreme		June 3, 1961 (age 58) Rockport, Massachusetts	Performance artist, activist, and political satirist Candidate for president in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016	Massachusetts	100px Campaign June 26, 2019 FEC Filing Running mate: Spike Cohen	May 23, 2020 (endorsed Jorgensen after nomination)	4,288 (9.81%)	2 (MA, NH)	171	206
120px John Monds		September 17, 1965 (age )	Former President of the Grady County, Georgia NAACP Nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2010	Georgia	January 27, 2020 FEC Filing	May 23, 2020 (endorsed Jorgensen) (ran for vice-president)	1 (<0.01%)	0	147	Eliminated (1 write-in)
120px Jim Gray		February 14, 1945 (age ) Washington, D.C.	Former presiding judge for the Superior Court of Orange County, California Nominee for Vice President in 2012	California	April 13, 2020 Running mate: Larry Sharpe	May 23, 2020 (endorsed Jorgensen)	42 (0.10%)	0	98	Eliminated
x160px Adam Kokesh		February 1, 1982 (age ) San Francisco, California	Libertarian and anti-war political activist Nominee for U.S. Senate from Arizona in 2018 Republican candidate for U.S. representative from NM-03 in 2010	Arizona	January 18, 2018 FEC Filing Running mate: Larry Sharpe (formerly John McAfee)	May 23, 2020 (endorsed Jorgensen) (ran for vice-president)	2,728 (6.24%)	0	77	Eliminated (1 write-in)

Eliminated in nomination round

Candidate		Born	Experience	Home state	Campaign announced	Campaign suspended	Popular vote	Contests won	Ref
120px Dan Behrman		April 24, 1981 (age ) Los Angeles, California	Software engineer, internet personality and podcaster Nominee for Texas state representative from TX-125 in 2014	Texas	link=File:Dan_%22Taxation_is_Theft%22_Behrman_2020.png January 30, 2019 FEC Filing	May 23, 2020 (Endorsed Supreme) (Running as an Independent)	2,337 (5.34%)	0
120px Sam Robb		January 2, 1969 (age ) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Software engineer and author Former naval officer	Pennsylvania	100px April 1, 2019 FEC Filing	May 23, 2020 (Endorsed Jorgensen)	1,864 (4.26%)	0
120px Souraya Faas			Former member of the Miami-Dade County Republican Executive Committee Independent candidate for president in 2016	Florida	May 3, 2019 FEC Filing	May 23, 2020 (Endorsed Supreme)	1,170 (2.68%)	0
120px Erik Gerhardt			Entrepreneur	Pennsylvania	May 23, 2019 FEC Filing	May 23, 2020	847 (1.94%)	0
120px Keenan Dunham		July 16, 1981 (age ) Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	Chair of the Horry County, South Carolina Libertarian Party Candidate for President in 2016	South Carolina	August 26, 2018 FEC Filing	May 23, 2020	722 (1.65%)	0
120px John McAfee		September 18, 1945 (age ) Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom	Founder and CEO of McAfee, Inc. (1987–1994) Candidate for President in 2016	Tennessee	100px Campaign June 3, 2018 Running mate: Adam Kokesh	March 4, 2020 Resumed: March 5, 2020 May 23, 2020	560 (1.28%)	0
120px Arvin Vohra		May 9, 1979 (age ) Silver Spring, Maryland	Vice Chair of the LNC (2014–2018) Nominee for U.S. Senate from Maryland in 2016 and 2018 Nominee for U.S. representative from MD-05 in 2012 and MD-04 in 2014	Maryland	100px July 3, 2018 FEC Filing	May 23, 2020 (Endorsed Kokesh)	237 (0.54%)	0
120px Kenneth Blevins			Pipe welder	Oklahoma	June 6, 2019 FEC Filing	May 23, 2020	122 (0.28%)	0

Withdrew during the primaries

Candidate		Born	Experience	State	Campaign announced	Campaign suspended	Popular vote	Contests won	Campaign	Ref
120px Ken Armstrong		April 25, 1957 (age ) Pasadena, California	U.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer (1977–1994) Former nonprofit executive Former member of the Honolulu County, Hawaii Neighborhood Board	Oregon	May 10, 2019	April 29, 2020 (Ran for Vice President) (Endorsed Amash)	3,509 (8.03%)	0	90px FEC Filing
120px Mark Whitney			Podcaster and political satirist Founder and CEO of TheLaw.net Nominee for Vermont State Senate in 1996	California	December 20, 2019	April 24, 2020 (Endorsed Gray)	10 (0.02%)	0	Campaign FEC Filing
120px Lincoln Chafee		March 26, 1953 (age ) Providence, Rhode Island	Governor of Rhode Island (2011–2015) U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (1999–2007) Mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island (1993–1999) Democratic candidate for President in 2016	Wyoming	January 5, 2020	April 5, 2020	294 (0.67%)	0	Campaign
120px Max Abramson		April 29, 1976 (age ) Kent, Washington	New Hampshire State Representative (2014–2016; 2018–present) Nominee for Governor of New Hampshire in 2016	New Hampshire	June 30, 2019	March 3, 2020 (Running for Veterans' and Reform nominations)	2,052 (4.69%)	0	90px FEC Filing
120px Kim Ruff		Peoria, Arizona	Vice chair of the LPRadical Caucus Write-in candidate for Arizona State Mine Inspector in 2018	Arizona	March 25, 2019	January 11, 2020 (Endorsed Supreme)	3,045 (6.96%)	0	90px FEC Filing Running mate: John Phillips Jr.

Withdrew before the primaries

Candidate	Born	Experience	State	Campaign announced	Campaign suspended	Popular vote	Ref.
120px Christopher Marks	Columbia City, Indiana	Lawyer and technician	Indiana	February 7, 2017	August 8, 2019	0
120px Zoltan Istvan	March 30, 1973 (aged 45) Los Angeles, California	Transhumanist activist and futurist Candidate for Governor of California in 2018 Transhumanist nominee for President in 2016	California	November 25, 2017	January 11, 2019 (ran for Vice President)	0

Formed exploratory committee but did not run

Candidate		Born	Experience	State	Exploratory committee announced	Exploratory committee disbanded	Popular vote	Contests won	Ref
120px Justin Amash		April 18, 1980 (age ) Grand Rapids, Michigan	U.S. representative from MI-03 (2011–present) Michigan State Representative from MI-72 (2009–2011)	Michigan	April 28, 2020	May 16, 2020	3 (0.01%)	0

Declined to be candidates

These individuals have been the subject of presidential speculation, but have publicly denied or recanted interest in running for president.

• Patrick Byrne, CEO and founder of Overstock.com from Indiana
• Tom Campbell, former U.S. Representative from California (1989–1993, 1995–2001) (endorsed Jim Gray)
• Kmele Foster, telecommunications entrepreneur and TV host from New York (endorsed Justin Amash)
• Gary Johnson, Republican Governor of New Mexico (1995–2003), nominee for president in 2012 and 2016, nominee for U.S. senator from New Mexico in 2018
• Thomas Massie, Republican U.S. representative from Kentucky (2012–present)
• Darryl W. Perry, radio host and candidate for President in 2016 (endorsed Kim Ruff)
• Austin Petersen, candidate for President in 2016, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Missouri in 2018
• Mary Ruwart, candidate for president in 1984 and 2008, candidate for vice president in 1992, nominee for U.S. Senate from Texas in 2000
• Mark Sanford, Republican U.S. representative from South Carolina (2013–2019) (ran for the Republican Party nomination)
• Nicholas Sarwark, attorney and chair of the Libertarian National Committee (2014–present), candidate for Mayor of Phoenix in 2018
• Larry Sharpe, businessman, motivational speaker, and nominee for Governor of New York in 2018 (ran for Vice President)
• Jesse Ventura, Reform Governor of Minnesota (1999–2003) (considered running for Green Party nomination)
• Bill Weld, Republican Governor of Massachusetts (1991–1997) and nominee for Vice President in 2016 (ran for the Republican Party nomination)

Timeline of the race

2017

• November 25: Zoltan Istvan announces his intention to run.

2018

• January 18: Adam Kokesh officially launches his campaign at an event in Texas, having already announced his intention to run for president during a jailhouse interview in 2013. On the day of his announcement, Kokesh was stopped twice by Texas state troopers, and placed under arrest and charged with possession of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence.
• May 28: Perennial candidate and performance artist Vermin Supreme files to run.
• June 3: Contrary to an assertion he made at the 2016 convention, John McAfee announces via Twitter that he would run for president again in 2020, either with the Libertarian Party or under the banner of a party of his own creation.
• July 3: Former Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, Arvin Vohra announces his candidacy, after an unsuccessful bid for re-election to his position as vice chair.
• August 26: Chair of the Horry County Libertarian party and 2016 presidential candidate Keenan Dunham files to run.
• October 19: After having been asked during a Q&A session a few days prior if he would be interested in running for president as a Libertarian, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne indicates that he "almost definitely" was not going to run for president in 2020.
• December 12: Vice chair of the L.P. Radical Caucus Kim Ruff expresses interest in a run.

2019

• January 3: Biomedical researcher and candidate for the party's 2008 presidential nomination Mary Ruwart confirmed on Twitter that she was not planning on seeking the nomination on 2020 in order to focus on writing.
• January 11: Zoltan Istvan announced via his website that he had left the Libertarian Party some time before this date, and was no longer seeking its nomination for president in 2020.
• January 20: At-the-time Republican representative Justin Amash warns the Libertarian Party against nominating a "squishy Republican" at LibertyCon, a comment widely seen as directed at 2016 vice-presidential nominee and presumptive frontrunner Bill Weld.
• January 21: Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who had been suggested as a Libertarian candidate, makes clear that any presidential run by him would be as an independent.
• January 22: McAfee announces via Twitter that he would be continuing his campaign "in exile", following reports that he, his wife, and four of his campaign staff were being indicted for tax-related felonies by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). McAfee indicated that he was in "international waters", and had previously tweeted that he was on his way to Venezuela. The IRS has not commented on the alleged indictments.
• January 23: McAfee confirmed on Twitter that he had docked in the Bahamas, where he would remain for the foreseeable future.
• January 30: Podcaster and software engineer Dan Behrman files to run.
• February 5: Weld, who had served as Gary Johnson's running mate in 2016, is the subject of rumours that he had left the Libertarian Party and rejoined the Republican Party to challenge Donald Trump in the Republican primary.
• February 15:
  • Weld confirmed the rumors that he had left the Libertarian Party on February 15 by announcing the formation of an exploratory committee for the Republican nomination. Weld officially launched his campaign for the Republican nomination on April 15.
  • Justin Amash declines to rule out running for the Libertarian nomination.
• April 1: Software engineer and former naval officer Sam Robb files to run.
• April 22: Larry Sharpe, who had been a candidate for vice president in 2016 and the nominee for Governor of New York in 2018, told The Niagara Gazette that he was unlikely to run for office in 2020, and was instead looking at running for Governor again in 2022.
• May 3: Souraya Faas files to run.
• May 10: Former U.S. Coast Guard officer Ken Armstrong announces his candidacy.
• May 18: Congressman Justin Amash broke ranks with the Republican Party and became the first Republican in all of Congress to call for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. In an interview with Salon, Libertarian National Committee chairman Nicholas Sarwark concurred with Amash's conclusions, saying, "of all the members of Congress, his [Amash] positions seem to most closely match those of the Libertarian Party.", fuelling speculations about a possible bid by Amash for the Libertarian nomination On May 22, Sharpe reported receiving two calls from "people close to Amash" inquiring about the Libertarian Party.
• May 23: Entrepreneur Erik Gerhardt files to run.
• June 30: New Hampshire state representative Max Abramson announces his candidacy for the Libertarian nomination.
• July 4: Amash announces via an op-ed in The Washington Post that he had left the Republican Party, becoming an independent.
• August 22: Former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, who announced he had joined the Libertarian Party in a Boston Globe op-ed published in July, expressed interest in making another bid for the presidency, this time as a Libertarian.
• October 29: Founder and president of the Future of Freedom Foundation Jacob Hornberger filed to seek the Libertarian nomination for president, announcing his candidacy days later.
• November 2: At the South Carolina Libertarian Party convention, 1996 vice presidential nominee Jo Jorgensen announces her candidacy seeking the nomination for president. Jorgensen participated in the subsequent presidential debate held off the convention site.
• December 20: Podcaster and satirist Mark Whitney announces his campaign.

2020

• January 5: Former Governor and Senator Lincoln Chafee files to run.
• January 11:
  • Vermin Supreme wins the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire's internally-held and funded presidential preference primary.
  • Kim Ruff suspends her campaign.
• January 27: 2010 Georgia gubernatorial nominee John Monds files to run.
• February 8: Jacob Hornberger wins the Libertarian Party of Iowa's internally-held and funded presidential preference caucus.
• February 25: Jacob Hornberger wins the Libertarian Party of Minnesota's internally-held presidential preference caucus.
• March 3;
  • None of the above wins the North Carolina Libertarian presidential primary.
  • Jacob Hornberger wins the California Libertarian presidential primary.
  • Vermin Supreme wins the Massachusetts Libertarian presidential primary.
  • Max Abramson announces his departure from the Libertarian Party, ending his bid for the party's presidential nomination.
• March 4: John McAfee suspends his presidential campaign and announces his candidacy for the Libertarian vice-presidential nomination, endorsing Vermin Supreme for president.
• March 5: McAfee resumes his presidential campaign.
• March 10: Jacob Hornberger wins the unopposed Missouri primary.
• April 5: Lincoln Chafee suspends his campaign.
• April 11: Hornberger wins the Ohio caucus.
• April 13: Judge Jim Gray announces his candidacy, with Larry Sharpe as his running mate.
• April 24: Mark Whitney suspends his campaign and endorses Gray.
• April 26: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the JW Marriott Downtown Austin cancels all reservations for the 2020 Libertarian National Convention.
• April 28;
  • Hornberger wins the Connecticut primary.
  • Justin Amash opens a presidential exploratory committee for the Libertarian nomination.
• April 29: Ken Armstrong announces that he will withdraw from the presidential race and instead seek the nomination for vice president, following Amash's declaration for the Presidential nomination.
• May 9: The Libertarian Party of Kentucky sponsors the 5th in a series of televised debates held by the state party, featuring the top four vote-getting candidates from previous debates, Hornberger, Supreme, Jorgensen, and Jim Gray, plus Justin Amash.
• May 11: Ken Armstrong endorses Amash.
• May 12: Jo Jorgensen wins the Nebraska primary with 28% of the vote.
• May 16: Despite forming an exploratory committee, Justin Amash announces that he will not seek the 2020 presidential nomination.
• May 22: The 2020 Libertarian National Convention begins online, set to run digitally from May 22–24.
• May 23;
  • In the nominating round, Blevins, Vohra, McAfee, Dunham, Gerhardt, Faas, Robb, and Behrman are eliminated. Vohra endorses Kokesh, Robb endorses Jorgensen, and Faas and Behrman endorse Supreme. (Behrman nevertheless announces he will continue his presidential run as an independent.)
  • In subsequent rounds, Kokesh, Gray, Monds, Supreme, and Hornberger are eliminated. All of them subsequently endorse Jorgensen.
  • The Libertarian Party officially nominates Jo Jorgensen as its presidential candidate, making her the party's first female presidential nominee.
• May 24: The Libertarian Party nominates Spike Cohen as its vice presidential nominee.

Overview

	Active campaign
	Exploratory committee
	Withdrawn candidate
	Midterm elections
	New Hampshire primary
	Super Tuesday
	COVID-19 pandemic national emergency declaration
	Libertarian convention
	Final primaries

Endorsements

Main article: List of Jo Jorgensen 2020 presidential campaign endorsements

Jim Gray

Federal legislators Tom Campbell, former U.S. Representative from California (1989–1993, 1995–2001) Statewide officials Gary Johnson, Republican Governor of New Mexico (1995–2003), nominee for president in 2012 and 2016, nominee for U.S. senator from New Mexico in 2018 Municipal officials Jeff Hewitt, member of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors (Previously endorsed Whitney) Individuals Jim Doti, president emeritus of Chapman University Mark Whitney, podcaster and political satirist; 2020 presidential candidate

Jacob Hornberger

Party officials John A. Buttrick, attorney and former chairman of the Libertarian Party of Arizona Todd Hagopian, businessman and Chair of the Tulsa, OK chapter of the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma Individuals Scott Horton, radio host and anti-war activist Jake Porter, nominee for Governor of Iowa in 2018 Tom Woods, historian and author Dave Smith, comedian and podcaster Organizations Libertarian Party Mises Caucus Newspapers and other media The Liberty Herald, news media website (Later endorsed Amash)

Adam Kokesh
Federal legislators Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. Representative from Georgia (1997–2003, 2005–2007), Green nominee for President in 2008 Party officials Kenneth Brent Olsen, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of California Arvin Vohra, Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee (2014-2018)

Vermin Supreme

State legislators Caleb Q. Dyer, former New Hampshire State Representative from Hillsborough District 37 (2017–2019) Brandon Phinney, former New Hampshire State Representative from Strafford District 24 (2017–2019) (Previously endorsed Ruff) Municipal officials Spencer Dias, member of the Goffstown, New Hampshire budget committee and Vice Chair of Southern New Hampshire Libertarian Party Richard Manzo, member of the Goffstown, New Hampshire budget committee, trustee of the Goffstown Public Library, and Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Party officials Brent DeRidder, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina Andy Evans, Chair of the Straits Area (Michigan) Libertarian Party Matt Hicks, 2nd Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of South Carolina Peyton Kunselman, Secretary of the Cattaraugus County, NY Libertarian Party Eric Mulder, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Colorado Matthew Peterson-Volz, Vice Chair of the Cattaraugus County, NY Libertarian Party Kim Ruff, Vice Chair of the LPRadicals caucus; 2020 presidential candidate Brian Shields, Chair of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Tyler Smith, Chair of the Pickens County, SC Libertarian Party Starchild, former At-Large Representative to the Libertarian National Committee, Chair of the Libertarian Party of San Francisco Individuals Rob Potylo, musician and comedian Lord Buckethead, satirical parliamentary candidate from the United Kingdom Philip Labonte, lead singer of the metalcore band All That Remains Christian Ehmling, political activist and Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives District 16 in 2018. Organisations Libertarian Socialist Caucus of the Libertarian Party Liberty Republicans (later endorsed Amash)

Justin Amash

State legislators Laura Ebke, former Nebraska state senator (2015–2019) Municipal officials Ken Armstrong, Former member of the Honolulu County Neighborhood Board, former U.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer (1977-1994); 2020 presidential candidate Party officials Wyatt Ford, chair of the Waldo County Libertarian Party (later endorsed Jorgensen) Tyler Rowe, secretary of the Libertarian Party of Maine Individuals Kmele Foster, telecommunications entrepreneur and TV host Nick Gillespie, political writer and editor-at-large for Reason Oscar Herrera, candidate for Ohio’s 96th State House district (previously endorsed Armstrong) Jack Hunter, political commentator and editor for Rare.us Jeff Jacoby, political columnist for The Boston Globe Matt K. Lewis, political writer and columnist for The Daily Beast and The Week Mark Pellegrino, actor Organizations Constitution Party of Virginia Liberty Republicans (previously endorsed Supreme) Newspapers and other media The Liberty Herald, news media website (previously endorsed Hornberger)

Ken Armstrong
Party officials Adam Reinhardt, Chair of the Monroe County Libertarian Party. Duane Whitmer, Chair of the Erie County Libertarian Party, Candidate for U.S. representative from NY-24. Individuals Tonya Millis, Candidate for U.S. representative from IN-09. Oscar Herrera, Candidate for Ohio’s 96th State House district. (Later endorsed Amash)

Lincoln Chafee
Individuals Steve Kerbel, businessman, author, and candidate for President in 2016 James P. Gray, Former presiding judge for the Superior Court of Orange County, California, Nominee for Vice-President in 2012 (Later ran for President)

Kim Ruff
State legislators Brandon Phinney, former New Hampshire State Representative from Strafford District 24 (2017–2019) (Later endorsed Supreme) Party officials Darryl W. Perry, chair of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, candidate for president in 2016 (Later endorsed Jorgensen)

Mark Whitney
Municipal officials Jeff Hewitt, member of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors

Primaries and caucuses

The Libertarian Party will be eligible to participate in presidential primaries in numerous states.

• January 11: The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire announced the results of its party-funded presidential preference primary, conducted by mail and in-person at the state convention through January 10.
• February 8: The Libertarian Party of Iowa conducted its own caucus.
• February 25: The Libertarian Party of Minnesota conducted its own caucus a week before that of the Democratic and Republican primaries in Minnesota.
• March 3: California, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Oklahoma primaries
• March 10: Missouri primary
• March 16–April 11: The Libertarian Party of Ohio conducted its own online caucus.
• April 18-May 1: The Libertarian Party of Maine conducted its own online convention.
• April 25–28: The Libertarian Party of Connecticut conducted its own online primary.
• April 28: New York primary
• May 12: Nebraska primary
• May 22: 2020 Libertarian National Convention
• June 2: Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota primaries
• June 16: District of Columbia primary

Other primaries and caucuses

• Cancellations: Arizona

Ballot access

Primaries and Caucuses

State/ Territory	Date	Behrman	Dunham	Hornberger	Jorgensen	Kokesh	McAfee	Robb	Supreme	Vohra	Armstrong	Whitney	Chafee	Abramson	Ruff	Other	Reference
NH	January 11
IA	February 8	No official candidate list
MN	February 25
CA	March 3
MA	March 3
NC	March 3
OK	March 3
MO	March 10
OH	March 16
CT	April 28
NY	April 28
NE	May 12
MT	June 2
NM	June 2
SD	June 2
DC	June 16

Candidates listed in italics have suspended their campaigns.

Results

Main article: Results of the 2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries

Debates and forums

Schedule

L1
Issaquah

L2
Bay City

L3
Colorado Springs

L4
Tampa

L5
Toledo

L6
Somerville

L7
Florence

L8
Olean

L9
Concord

L10
Douglasville

L11
Culver City

L12
Orlando

L13
Birmingham

L14
Philadelphia

L15
East Peoria

L18
McAllen

L19
Austin

Sites of the Libertarian Party presidential debates.

No.	Date	Time (ET)	Place	Sponsor(s)	Moderators	Ref
1	March 31, 2019		Holiday Inn Seattle–Issaquah, Issaquah, Washington	Libertarian Party of Washington	Randy McGlenn II
2	April 13, 2019		Courtyard by Marriott Bay City, Bay City, Michigan	Libertarian Party of Michigan	Jeff Wood
3	April 27, 2019		Hotel Eleganté Conference & Event Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado	Libertarian Party of Colorado	--
4	May 5, 2019	1–2 pm	Hotel Alba Tampa-Westshore, Tampa, Florida	Libertarian Party of Florida	C. Michael Pickens
5	June 1, 2019		Radisson Hotel at The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio	Libertarian Party of Ohio	Larry Sharpe
6	July 13, 2019		VFW Post 529 – George Dilboy Post, Somerville, Massachusetts	Libertarian Party of Massachusetts	Matt Welch
7	November 2, 2019	7–9 pm	Francis Marion University, Florence, South Carolina	Libertarian Party of South Carolina
8	November 9, 2019	7–9 pm	Olean High School, Olean, New York	Cattaraugus County Libertarian Party	James Weeks II, Daniel Donnelly, and Luke Wenke
9	January 11, 2020		Holiday Inn, Concord, New Hampshire	Libertarian Party of New Hampshire	Daniel Fishman
10	January 18, 2020		Douglasville Convention Center, Douglasville, Georgia	Libertarian Party of Georgia	Jessica Szilagyi
11	February 16, 2020	10 pm–12 am	DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles, Culver City, California	Libertarian Party of California	Matt Welch
12	February 22, 2020		Holiday Inn & Suites, Orlando, Florida	Libertarian Party of Florida
13	February 28, 2020	6:30–9 pm	Birmingham Marriott, Birmingham, Alabama	Libertarian Party of Alabama	TBD
14	March 7, 2020		Renaissance Philadelphia Airport Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania	Larry Sharpe
15	March 13, 2020	9:15–11:30 pm	Embassy Suites East Peoria, East Peoria, Illinois	Libertarian Party of Illinois	TBD
16	April 17, 2020		McAllen Convention Center, McAllen, Texas	Libertarian Party of Texas	TBD
17	April 23, 2020		Online	Libertarian Party of Kentucky	Chris Wiest
18	May 2, 2020		Online	Libertarian Party of Kentucky	Chris Wiest
19	May 9, 2020		Online	Libertarian Party of Kentucky	Chris Wiest
20	May 16, 2020		Online	Libertarian Party of Kentucky Libertarian Party of Missouri	Matt Welch
21	May 18, 2020		Online	Libertarian Party of Texas	Timothy Martinez
22	May 21, 2020		Online	Libertarian Party National Convention	John Stossel

Debates

Libertarian Party-sponsored debates among candidates for the 2020 Libertarian Party U.S. presidential nomination

Date	Place	Host	Participants
P  Participant.  I  Invitee.  A  Absent.  N  Confirmed non-invitee.  O  Out of race (exploring, suspended, or not yet entered)			Abramson	Amash	Armstrong	Behrman	Chafee	Gray	Hornberger	Jorgensen	Kokesh	Monds	Robb	Ruff	Supreme	Vohra	Whitney	others
March 31, 2019	Issaquah, Washington	Libertarian Party of Washington	O	O	O	A	O	O	O	O	P	O	O	A	A	P	O	none
April 13, 2019	Bay City, Michigan	Libertarian Party of Michigan	O	O	O	A	O	O	O	O	A	O	A	A	P	P	O	Marks
April 27, 2019	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Libertarian Party of Colorado	O	O	O	A	O	O	O	O	P	O	A	A	P	P	O	none
May 5, 2019	Tampa, Florida	Libertarian Party of Florida	O	O	O	P	O	O	O	O	P	O	A	A	A	P	O	Faas
June 1, 2019	Toledo, Ohio	Libertarian Party of Ohio	O	O	O	A	O	O	O	O	P	O	A	P	P	P	O	Marks
July 13, 2019	Somerville, Massachusetts	Libertarian Party of Massachusetts	P	O	O	P	O	O	O	O	P	O	A	P	A	P	O	none
November 2, 2019	Florence, South Carolina	Libertarian Party of South Carolina	N	O	P	P	O	O	N	P	P	O	N	P	P	N	O	none
November 9, 2019	Olean, New York	Cattaraugus County Libertarian Party	P	O	P	P	O	O	A	A	A	O	P	A	P	P	O	Christmann Hill
January 11, 2020	Concord, New Hampshire	Libertarian Party of New Hampshire	P	O	A	P	A	O	A	P	A	O	P	A	P	P	P	Ashby Dunham Gerhardt
January 18, 2020	Douglasville, Georgia	Libertarian Party of Georgia	A	O	A	P	P	O	A	P	P	O	P	O	P	A	P	Blevins Gerhardt
February 16, 2020	Culver City, California	Libertarian Party of California	N	O	N	N	P	O	P	P	P	N	N	O	P	N	P	none
February 22, 2020	Orlando, Florida	Libertarian Party of Florida	A	O	A	P	P	O	P	P	P	P	A	O	P	P	P	none
February 28, 2020	Birmingham, Alabama	Libertarian Party of Alabama	A	O	A	P	P	O	P	P	P	P	A	O	A	P	P	none
March 7, 2020	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania	O	O	P	A	A	O	P	P	P	A	A	O	P	A	A	none
March 13, 2020	East Peoria, Illinois	Libertarian Party of Illinois	O	O	P	P	A	O	P	P	P	P	P	O	P	A	A	Blevins Williams
April 17, 2020	McAllen, Texas	Libertarian Party of Texas	O	O	N	I	O	N	I	I	I	I	N	O	I	N	I	none
April 22, 2020	Online	Libertarian Party of Kentucky	O	O	A	A	O	P	P	P	P	A	A	O	A	A	P	none
May 2, 2020	Online	Libertarian Party of Kentucky	O	A	O	A	O	P	P	P	N	P	N	O	P	N	O	none
May 9, 2020	Online	Libertarian Party of Kentucky	O	P	O	N	O	P	P	P	N	N	N	O	P	N	O	none
May 16, 2020	Online	Libertarian Party of Kentucky Libertarian Party of Missouri	O	A	O	N	O	P	P	P	P	P	N	O	N	N	O	none
May 18, 2020	Online	Libertarian Party of Texas	O	O	O	P	O	P	P	P	P	P	A	O	P	A	O	none
May 21, 2020	Online	Libertarian Party National Convention	O	O	O	N	O	P	P	P	N	P	N	O	P	N	O	none

Forums

Forums among candidates for the 2020 Libertarian Party U.S. presidential nomination

Date	Place	Host	Participants
P  Participant.  A  Absent.  O  Out of race (exploring, suspended, or not yet entered)			Armstrong	Behrman	Chafee	Hornberger	Jorgensen	Kokesh	Robb	Supreme	Whitney	others
September 23, 2019	Dayton, Ohio	Libertarian Party of Ohio	P	A	O	O	O	A	A	P	O	Faas
January 25, 2020	Tucson, Arizona	Libertarian Party of Arizona	P	P	A	P	P	P	A	P	P	none
February 29, 2020	Des Moines, Iowa	Libertarian Party of Iowa	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	A	P	none

Primary election polling

National polling

Poll source	Sample size	Date(s)	Abramson	Armstrong	Behrman	Blevins	Chafee	Faas	Hornberger	Jorgensen	Kokesh	McAfee	Monds	Robb	Ruff	Seder	Supreme	Vohra	Whitney	Others
The Torch of Liberty	511	Mar 1–21, 2020	–	<1%	9%	1%	5%	<1%	39%	<1%	5%	2%	4%	12%	–	–	15%	–	3%	3%
The Torch of Liberty	567	Jan 31–Feb 24, 2020	1%	5%	17%	2%	4%	1%	31%	1%	5%	1%	–	13%	–	–	8%	–	10%	1%
The Torch of Liberty	634	Jan 1–25, 2020	3%	1%	14%	–	2%	1%	26%	3%	6%	1%	–	7%	9%	–	17%	–	–	10%
The Torch of Liberty	319	Dec 1–26, 2019	4%	1%	18%	–	–	8%	22%	2%	8%	1%	–	7%	20%	–	3%	1%	–	7%
The Torch of Liberty	475	Nov 1–25, 2019	6%	1%	23%	–	–	2%	5%	2%	11%	1%	–	7%	21%	–	9%	–	–	12%
The Torch of Liberty	251	Oct 2019	2%	3%	34%	–	–	1%	–	1%	8%	9%	–	8%	11%	–	6%	0.5%	–	17%
Third Party Watch	730 RV	Mar 10–14, 2019	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	33.97%	20.82%	–	–	–	42.74%	2.05%	0.41%	–	N/A

National polling of delegates to the Convention

Both of these polls were conducted using ranked choice voting, progression down the table indicates later rounds of voting as the candidate with the lowest total is eliminated.

Poll source	Sample size	Date(s)	Amash	Gray	Hornberger	Jorgensen	Kokesh	Monds	Supreme	Others
OpaVote	Released May 19, 2020	350 (V)	–	17.4%	22.9%	22%	7.7%	9.1%	12.6%	8.3
				17.4%	22.9%	22%	7.7%	9.1%	12.6%	8.3
				17.7%	23.1%	22.3%	7.7%	9.1%	12.6%	7.4%
				17.7%	23.4%	22.3%	7.7%	9.7%	12.9%	6.3%
				17.7%	24.0%	22.3%	8.6%	10%	13.7%	3.7%
				19.2%	24.4%	23%	8.8%	10.5%	14.2%	–
				20.4%	25.7%	26%	–	11.5%	16.3%	–
				22%	27.6%	31.8%	–	–	18.7%	–
				26.5%	32.4%	41.1%	–	–	–	–
				–	39.5%	60.5%	–	–	–	–
			36.2%	6.1%	17.1%	12.8%	7%	5.5%	9.9%	5.4%
			36.2%	6.1%	17.1%	12.8%	7%	5.5%	9.9%	5.4%
			36.2%	6.1%	17.4%	12.8%	7%	5.5%	10.1%	4.9%
			36.2%	6.4%	18%	13%	7%	5.5%	10.1%	3.7%
			36.8%	6.7%	18.1%	13.2%	7%	5.6%	10.2%	2.3%
			37.1%	6.7%	18.7%	13.2%	7.6%	5.8%	10.8%	–
			37.7%	7%	19.9%	15.2%	7.9%	–	12.3%	–
			39.4%	–	20.6%	19.1%	8.2%	–	12.6%	–
			41.1%	–	21.9%	22.2%	–	–	14.7%	–
			44.9%	–	25.6%	29.4%	–	–	–	–
			52.8%	–	–	47.2%	–	–	–	–

Online straw polls

The following are early unofficial online polls that have included various speculative and potential candidates, including some that are not members of the Libertarian Party.

Poll source	Date(s)	Amash	Campbell	Ince	Istvan	Johnson	Kerbel	Kokesh	McAfee	Miron	Paul	Perry	Petersen	Ruwart	Sanford	Supreme	Sarwark	Schiff	Sharpe	Ventura	Weld	Others
The Libertarian Vindicator	Jan 2–4, 2018	—	2%	3%	6%	—	0%	9%	—	1%	—	—	—	4%	—	-	8%	-	55%	-	6%	None of the Above 6%
TheJackNews	Aug 13–19, 2017	29.1%	2.9%	—	—	—	0.9%	3.9%	—	1.1%	—	—	—	2.8%	—	8.2%	-	-	28.5%	—	-	N/A
TheJackNews	July 9–15, 2017	—	6%	—	—	—	6%	10.2%	—	10.2%	—	—	—	—	-	—	-	-	16%	-	43%	Undecided 8%
A Libertarian Future	Mar 2017	8%	—	—	—	4%	—	2%	3%	—	26%	1%	18%	-	1%	—	-	-	25%	3%	8%	None of the Above 1%
A Libertarian Future	Nov 2016	5%	—	—	—	10%	—	1%	3%	—	33%	1%	27%	—	—	—	6%	4%	9%	-	-	None of the Above 1%

Campaign finance

This is an overview of the money used by each campaign as it is reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and released on October 15, 2019. Totals raised include loans from the candidate and transfers from other campaign committees. Some of the Libertarian candidates have not filed with the FEC, and financial data for those candidates are therefore not available.

  Withdrawn candidate

Candidate	Total raised	Individual contributions			Debt	Spent	COH
		Total	Unitemized	Pct
Jorgensen	$32,148	$22,365	$7,615	34.05%	$9,874	$30,257	$1,891
Abramson	filed statement of candidacy
Armstrong	$20,360	$16,608	$4,909	29.56%	$1,867	$17,054	$734
Behrman	$42,064	$7,767	$1,500	17.23%	$18,660	$42,064	$0
Chafee	$62,546	$2,496	$1,996	79.97%	$0	$50,119	$12,427
Dunham	filed statement of candidacy
Gerhardt	filed statement of candidacy
Hornberger	$65,420	$42,079	$23,140	54.99%	$44,770	$3,797	$20,650
Kokesh	$218,770	$112,070	$14,929	13.32%	$13,742	$218,694	$76
Marks	filed statement of candidacy
McAfee	did not file
Robb	filed statement of candidacy
Ruff	$18,958	$9,812	$2,363	37.5%	$6,117	$9,264	$9,695
Supreme	$32,049	$28,794	$18,535	64.37%	$700	$29,407	$2,642
Vohra	filed statement of candidacy
Whitney	$67,001	$5,600	$575	9.31%	$60,726	$2,998	$64,028

See also

• 2020 Libertarian National Convention
• 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries
• 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 2020 Green Party presidential primaries
• 2020 Constitution Party presidential primaries
• 2020 United States presidential election

External links

Official campaign websites

• Max Abramson for President
• Sorinne Ardeleanu for President
• Ken Armstrong for President
• Dan "Taxation is Theft" Behrman for President
• Lincoln Chafee for President
• Keenan Wallace Dunham for President
• Erik Gerhardt for President
• Jacob Hornberger for President
• Jo Jorgensen for President
• Adam Kokesh for President
• John McAfee for President
• John Monds for President
• Sam Robb for President
• Vermin Supreme for President
• Mark Whitney for President
• Arvin Vohra for President