2018 Libertarian National Convention
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The 2018 Libertarian National Convention was held from June 30 to July 3, 2018, in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. According to 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 ...
, the 2018 convention was the "biggest Libertarian National Convention ever," breaking previous records in attendance and fundraising.


Theme

The theme was ''"I'm THAT Libertarian!"'', a phrase uttered by the late Marc Allan Feldman in a Libertarian presidential debate at the 2016
national convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
.


Events


Chair election

Nicholas Sarwark's seat as Chair 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 ...
(LNC) was up for election. Sarwark faced challenge from Washington LP member Joshua Smith, Libertarian Socialist Caucus member Matt Kuehnel, former
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 ...
and
John McAfee John David McAfee ( ; 18 September 1945 – 23 June 2021) was a British-American computer programmer, businessman, and two-time presidential candidate who unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian Party nomination for president of the United States ...
campaign staffer Christopher Thrasher and Libertarian Party of Carbon County Chair Matt Schutter. Sarwark ended up winning an unprecedented consecutive third-term as LNC chair.


Endorsements


Polling


Results


Vice chair election

The seat of Vice chair was also up for election, the incumbent being Arvin Vohra. Alex Merced, 2017 candidate for New York comptroller, Libertarian Youth Caucus founder Trent Somes III, 2018 Iowa gubernatorial candidate Jake Porter, Indiana activist Joe Hauptmann, Treasurer of the Libertarian Radical Caucus Steve Scheetz, former Indiana Libertarian Party chair Sam Goldstein and Montana Libertarian Joe Paschal all sought election to the position. In January 2018 Arvin Vohra drew criticism for condoning sexual relations between adults and minors so long as affirmative consent is given, using the example of a 25-year-old male and a 15-year-old female. Multiple state Libertarian parties demanded Vohra be relieved from his position, as well as the Libertarian Youth Caucus through Trent Somes III, one of Vohra's opponents in the vice chairmanship election.


Endorsements


Debates


Polling


Speakers

Notable speakers included: *
Jim Cantrell Jim Cantrell is an American entrepreneur, mechanical engineer and road racer. He is the CEO and co-founder of Phantom Space Corporation, which seeks to build space transportation technology. After working at the French Space Agency CNES (Centre N ...
, entrepreneur * Judge James P. Gray, 2012 Libertarian vice presidential nominee *
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 ...
, former Executive Director 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 ...
*
Zoltan Istvan Zoltan Istvan Gyurko, professionally known as Zoltan Istvan (born March 30, 1973), is an American transhumanist, journalist, entrepreneur, political candidate, and futurist. Formerly a reporter for the National Geographic Channel, Istvan now wr ...
, 2018
candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...
for Governor of California and 2020
candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...
for
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
* Tim Moen, leader of the
Libertarian Party of Canada The Libertarian Party of Canada (french: Parti libertarien du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada founded in 1973. The party subscribes to classical liberal tenets, and its mission is to reduce the size, scope, and cost of government ...
(2014–) *
Brandon Phinney Brandon Phinney (born April 27, 1988) is an American politician and former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Strafford County's 24th district. Career Phinney earned his associate degree from Great Bay Communit ...
, Libertarian member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives (2016–2018) * Larry Sharpe, 2016 vice presidential candidate and
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
candidate for Governor of New York *
Joel Trammell Joel Trammell is an American businessman and entrepreneur. Trammell works in CEO education and software. Trammell is the former CEO of Black Box Network Services, and the founder and chairman of Khorus Software, which equips CEOs with strategy- ...
, entrepreneur


Controversies


Feud with Libertarian Party Mises Caucus

In late 2017, the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus reached out to the chairman of the 2018 LP Convention Committee, Daniel Hayes, entertaining the thought of former congressman and 1988 Libertarian Party
presidential nominee In United States politics and government, the term presidential nominee has two different meanings: # A candidate for president of the United States who has been selected by the delegates of a political party at the party's national convention ( ...
Ron Paul and ''Freedom Watch'' host Judge Napolitano speaking at the convention, offering to pay off speaking fees. Hayes rejected the idea of Paul speaking at the convention, saying "he has no idea what the LP represents", criticizing Napolitano as well. Ron Paul confronted the controversy, stating he has been a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party since 1987 when he paid using a gold coin, and asked, "do I get my gold coin back?" On February 3, 2018 Nicholas Sarwark confronted the controversy, saying in a tweet: "If Ron Paul decides he wants to attend the Libertarian Party national convention in New Orleans and speak, I'll make sure he gets time on the stage. It's the least we can do for a life member, former Presidential nominee, and Hall of Liberty award winner."


See also

*
United States elections, 2018 The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majo ...


References


External links


Convention Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Libertarian National Convention, 2018 2018 conferences 2018 in Louisiana
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
June 2018 events in the United States July 2018 events in the United States