State Libertarian Candidates Perform Poorly At The Polls

The Libertarian candidates for Senate and governor this year failed to meet the performance expectations at the polls they set for themselves.

Libertarian Senate candidate Lucy Brenton did no better this election than her 2012 counterpart; gubernatorial candidate Rex Bell fared worse than his predecessor.

Yet the Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson did better in Indiana than any national candidate from his party’s done in at least 12 years – he garnered nearly 100,000 more votes than previous candidates.

Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at IPFW Director Andrew Downs says Libertarians need to build a bench of candidates in the state.

“Focus on some county council or city council races and it’s conceivable that Libertarians could win – and then build from there,” Downs says.

Bowen Center for Public Affairs Director Joseph Losco says that will require building a base of financial support.

“And building up an infrastructure where you’ve got contacts in every county and you can call on individuals to get out the vote for you on Election Day,” Losco says.

Both Downs and Losco say all that work will take time and patience.