The 2012 Libertarian National Convention, in which

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

s of the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

(LP) chose the party's nominees for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

in the 2012 general election, was held May 2–6, 2012, in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, at the

Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino Red Rock Resort is a hotel and casino in Summerlin South, Nevada, located in the Las Vegas Valley. It is owned and operated by Station Casinos on located in the Downtown Summerlin neighborhood. It is Station Casinos' flagship property, and the co ...

.Myers, Laura (November 30, 2010
"Las Vegas will host Libertarian convention"
'' Las Vegas Review-Journal''. Retrieved November 30, 2010.Malcolm, Andrew (November 30, 2010
"Las Vegas gets its first national political convention"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. Retrieved November 30, 2010. Former

Governor of New Mexico , insignia = Seal of the Governor of New Mexico.svg , insigniasize = 110px , insigniacaption = Seal of the Governor , image = File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg , imagesize = 200px , alt = , incumbent = Michelle Lujan Grisham , inc ...

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

won the presidential nomination on the first ballot. Retired California state court judge Jim Gray won the vice presidential nomination, also on the first ballot. The convention also chose to replace most of the

Libertarian National Committee The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) controls and manages the affairs, properties, and funds of the United States Libertarian Party. It is composed of the party officers, five at-large representatives elected every two years at the national ...

party officers and members-at-large. The theme of this convention was ''Liberty Will Win''. Several non-binding advisory primaries were held ahead of the convention as part of the

2012 Libertarian Party presidential primaries The 2012 Libertarian Party presidential primaries allowed voters to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses i ...

Host selection

This was the first presidential nominating convention ever held in the Las Vegas Valley. Winger, Richard (November 21, 2010
"Libertarian Presidential Convention Will be May 4–6, 2012, in Las Vegas"
'' Ballot Access News''. Retrieved December 1, 2010. Other cities that bid to host the convention included

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, and

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Candidates debate

In February 2012,

, Lee Wrights, Bill Still,

Carl Person Carl E. Person (pronounced /ˈpir sən/) (born July 20, 1936) is an American attorney and politician. He founded the Paralegal Institute in the early 1970s and played a pivotal role in creating the paralegal field. He has also run unsuccessfull ...

, and Leroy Saunders participated in a debate held by the

Libertarian Party of Florida The Libertarian Party of Florida, or LPF, is the state of Florida's official affiliate with the Libertarian National Committee. The organization was founded in 1987 and its executive committee was incorporated in 2012. Current Officers: Steven N ...

and moderated by LPUSA Chair Mark Hinkle. The debate participants were selected by convention delegates in a secret ballot, in which a candidate needed to score 10 percent of the vote or higher to be allowed to take part. Libertarian candidates in the debate called for ending government interference in personal, family and business decisions; much lower government spending; deregulation; lower taxes; a currency free of government manipulation; free trade; and a peaceful, non-interventionist foreign policy.

Schedule

The convention covered five days over May 2–6. The business of deciding the national platform and candidates formally began on May 3, and a second candidate debate was held on May 4. On May 5, the party nominated Gary Johnson as its presidential candidate and Jim Gray as vice presidential candidate. On May 6, elections for the Libertarian National Committee concluded. Candidates for the presidential nomination were required to gather "tokens" from delegates. 53 tokens were required to participate in debates, while 30 were needed to be listed on the ballot.

Convention speakers

Speakers at the convention included: *

Norma Jean Almodovar Norma Jean Almodovar (born May 27, 1951) is an American author and sex workers' activist. Almodovar worked as a traffic officer for ten years. In 1982, she quit her job with the Los Angeles Police Department and began working as a call girl. In 1 ...

–

Sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work i ...

activist and former LAPD cop, LP candidate for Lieutenant Governor of California *

David Bergland David Peter Bergland (June 4, 1935 – June 3, 2019) was an American politician who was the United States Libertarian Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1984 presidential election,1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

LP presidential nominee * Judge John Buttrick – Superior Court Judge of

Maricopa County, Arizona Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and List of the most populous counties in the ...

* Alicia Garcia Clark – National

(LNC) leader from 1981 to 1983 *

Ed Clark Edward E. Clark (born May 4, 1930) is an American lawyer and politician who ran for governor of California in 1978, and for president of the United States as the nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1980 presidential election. Clark is an h ...

– 1980 LP presidential nominee * Michael Cloud – Author, ''Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion'', who ran for

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in 2002 * Sharon Harris – President of Advocates for Self-Government *

Carla Howell Carla Howell (born 1955) is an American politician, small government advocate and activist. She was the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts candidate for Massachusetts State Auditor in 1998, U.S. Senate in 2000, and Governor in 2002. She then serv ...

–

Executive Director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the Libertarian Party; 2000 LP nominee for the U.S Senate in Massachusetts, 2002 LP nominee for

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...

Manny Klausner ''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''. History ''Reas ...

– Co-founder of the

Reason Foundation The Reason Foundation is an American libertarian think tank that was founded in 1978. The foundation publishes the magazine ''Reason''. Based in Los Angeles, California, it is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. According to its web site, the f ...

, and former editor of ''Reason'' magazine *

Nancy Lord Nancy Theresa Lord (February 8, 1952 – February 14, 2022) was an American attorney and medical researcher who was the vice-presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party in the 1992 presidential election, as the running-mate of Andre Marrou. ...

– 1992 LP vice-presidential nominee * Tibor Machan – Professor of philosophy at Auburn University *

Tonie Nathan Theodora Nathalia "Tonie" Nathan (February 9, 1923 – March 20, 2014) was an American radio producer, television producer, and political activist. She was the first woman to receive an electoral vote in a United States presidential election. Sh ...

–

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LP vice-presidential nominee, and first woman in U.S. History to receive an electoral vote * Robert Poole – Co-founder of ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

'' magazine * Mary Ruwart – Research scientist and former contender for the

presidential nomination

Presidential candidates

Presidential delegate count

Libertarian National Committee elections

The 2012 Libertarian National Convention saw a two-day election of officers and members-at-large of the Libertarian National Committee officers leading to the defeat of most of the incumbents who were seen as being part of a "top-down faction". The voting for chair saw the first instance where " None of the Above", which was listed as a choice on the party ballot, received more votes than any of the candidates for chair. After a new list of individuals was nominated, Geoff Neale was elected chair. R. Lee Wrights was elected Vice Chair, Ruth Bennett Secretary, and Tim Hagan Treasurer. Elected as national committee members-at-large were Bill Redpath, Michael Cloud, Arvin Vohra, and

Wayne Allyn Root Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961) is an American conservative television and radio host, author, activist, conservative political commentator and conspiracy theorist. He is the host of two new television shows, daily at 7 PM ET on Lindell TV ...

. Winger, Richard (May 6, 2012
"Libertarian Party Takes Two Days to Choose Party Officers"
'' Ballot Access News''.

References

External links

Official Website of Libertarian National 2012 Convention
{{Authority control Libertarian Party (United States) National Conventions Libertarian Gary Johnson

Political conventions in Nevada History of Las Vegas 2012 conferences May 2012 events in the United States