Libertarian Party presidential primaries, 2016

Libertarian Party presidential primaries, 2016

March 1 – June 7, 2016

Preferential poll   Candidate Gary Johnson Uncommitted Austin Petersen Home state New Mexico n/a Missouri Contests won 2 1 0 Popular vote 2,560 3,207 1,053 Percentage 28.90% 36.20% 11.89%

First place (popular vote)      Gary Johnson        Uncommitted

The 2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses allow electors to indicate a non-binding preference for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate. These differ from traditional 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 nominee for the United States presidential election. The party's nominee for the 2016 presidential election will instead be chosen directly by registered delegates at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention, which runs from May 26 to May 30.

Four primaries and one caucus are to be held. Missouri and North Carolina held primaries on March 15, 2016, as an alternative ballot to other primaries such as those of the Republicans and Democrats. Gary Johnson, who had previously 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 is to run on May 27 during the national convention, while the California primary is to be held after the party's convention on June 7, 2016. The only caucus to have run was in Minnesota on March 1, 2016, where 75% of the electors selected Gary Johnson.

Candidates

16 candidates are currently recognized by the Libertarian Party and will be eligible for the presidential nomination at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention. For a candidate to be recognized by the Libertarian Party, they must:

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

Of the currently-recognized candidates, five will not be standing in any primary or caucus: Joey Berry, Thomas Clements, Malisia Garcia, Kevin McCormick, and Heidi Zeman. Joy Waymire, Steve Kerbel and Cecil Ince have dropped out. ^[1][2][3][4]

Candidate		Profession	Campaign	On primary or caucus ballot						Popular vote
				MN	NC	MO	NE	OR[5]	CA
Gary Johnson		29th Governor of New Mexico (1995-2003)	(Campaign • Positions • Website)							2,560
Austin Petersen		Founder and CEO of Stonegait, LLC (2014-present)	(Website)							1,053
Marc Allan Feldman[6][7]		Anesthesiologist at The Cleveland Clinic (1998–present)	(website)							304
Rhett Smith		Private security officer	(website)							141
Darryl Perry		Owner and Managing Editor of Free Press Publications	(website)							120
Derrick Michael Reid		Political analyst and retired engineer	(website)							71
Jack Robinson, Jr.		Businessman and inventor	(website)							69
John McAfee		Founder and CEO of McAfee, Inc. (1987-1994)	(Website)							26
Kevin McCormick		Technology Entrepreneur	(Website)							5*
Shawna Joy Sterling		Pastor at the Elohim Christian Church	(Website)							1
Steve Kerbel		Businessman and entrepreneur	(website) Withdrew: March 16, 2016[8] (endorsed Gary Johnson)							507
Joy Waymire		Ranch foreman	(website) Withdrew: April 13, 2016[9] (endorsed John McAfee)[10]							266
Cecil Ince		Owner of Ince Films	(website) Withdrew: March 17, 2016[11]							208

National polling

Poll source	Sample size	Date(s)	Feldman	Garcia	Ince	Johnson	Kerbel	McAfee	McCormick	Perry	Petersen	Reid	Robinson	Smith	Sterling	Waymire	Zeman	Others
Libertarian Party Choice[12]	5,325	April 25-May 5, 2016	4%	—	O	21%	O	10%	7%	5%	43%	—	—	—	—	O	—	None of the Above 0%/ Other 0%
A Libertarian Future[13]	~5,500	Apr 16-30, 2016	—	—	O	38%	O	25%	—	—	38%	—	—	—	—	O	—	N/A
A Libertarian Future[14]	~5,500	Apr 1-15, 2016	—	—	O	40%	O	21%	4%	3%	29%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 3%
Libertarian Party website[15]	9,102	Mar 17-31, 2016	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[16]	~2,500	Mar 15-31, 2016	1%	—	—	50%	O	10%	—	4%	34%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 1%
Libertarian Party website[17]	8,609	Feb 20- Mar 17, 2016	1%	—	0%	54%	4%	14%	—	2%	18%	0%	1%	0%	1%	0%	—	None of the Above 2%/ Other 4%
A Libertarian Future[18]	~2,500	Mar 1-15, 2016	—	—	—	44%	7%	14%	—	11%	24%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 0%
A Libertarian Future[19]	3,341	Feb 12-29, 2016	2%	—	—	46%	11%	9%	—	—	31%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 1%

Primaries and caucuses

Minnesota caucus

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 a distant second on 11.5% and Austin Petersen third on 7.5%.[20]

Minnesota Libertarian presidential caucus, March 1, 2016[20] Candidate Votes Percentage Gary Johnson 171 75.7% John McAfee 26 11.5% Austin Petersen 17 7.5% Darryl Perry 4 1.8% Steve Kerbel 2 0.9% None of the above 2 0.9% Cecil Ince 2 0.9% Marc Allan Feldman 1 0.4% Shawna Joy Sterling 1 0.4% Joy Waymire 0 0% Jack Robinson, Jr. 0 0% Derrick Michael Reid 0 0% Rhett Smith 0 0% Total 226 100%

Missouri primary

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.[21]

Missouri Libertarian presidential primary, March 15, 2016[21] Candidate Votes Percentage Austin Petersen 851 29% Uncommitted 1,170 40% Steve Kerbel 401 14% Marc Allan Feldman 239 8% Cecil Ince 134 5% Rhett Smith 99 3% Total 2,894 100%

County results — Missouri.   Austin Petersen   Steve Kerbel   Marc Allan Feldman   Cecil Ince   Rhett Smith   Uncommitted   Tie   No Votes

North Carolina primary

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.[22]

North Carolina Libertarian presidential primary, March 15, 2016[22] Candidate Votes Percentage Gary Johnson 2,389 42% No Preference 2,035 35% John David Hale 326 6% Joy Waymire 266 5% Austin Petersen 185 3% Darryl Perry 116 2% Steve Kerbel 104 2% Cecil Ince 72 1% Derrick Michael Reid 71 1% Jack Robinson, Jr. 69 1% Marc Allan Feldman 64 1% Rhett Smith 42 1% Total 5,739 100%

County results — North Carolina.   Gary Johnson   Uncommitted   Tie

Nebraska primary

The Nebraska primary is scheduled to be held on May 10, 2016.

Nebraska Libertarian presidential primary, May 10, 2016[23] Candidate Votes Percentage Marc Allan Feldman Gary Johnson John McAfee Austin Petersen Total

Oregon primary

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

Oregon Libertarian presidential primary, May 27, 2016[24] Candidate Votes Percentage Keenan Dunham Gary Johnson John McAfee Merry Susan Nehls Nathan Norman Darryl Perry Derrick Michael Reid Rhett Smith Uncommitted Total

California primary

In the California primary on June 7, the Libertarian Party will appear 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.[25]

California Libertarian presidential primary, June 7, 2016 Candidate Votes Percentage Marc Allan Feldman John David Hale Cecil Ince Gary Johnson Steve Kerbel John McAfee Darryl Perry Austin Petersen Derrick Michael Reid Jack Robinson, Jr. Rhett Smith Joy Waymire Uncommitted Total

Debate schedule

Debates among candidates for the 2016 Libertarian Party U.S. presidential nomination

Date	Place	Host	Participants
P  Participant, main debate.  S  Participant, secondary debate only.  A  Absent.  N  Confirmed non-invitee.  I  Invitee, future debate.  O  Out of race (exploring or suspended)			Clements	Feldman	Ince	Johnson	Kerbel	McAfee	Perry	Petersen	Reid	Robinson	Smith	Sterling	others
October 17, 2015[26]	Worcester, MA	Libertarian Party of Massachusetts	O	P	A	O	P	O	P	O	P	A	A	A	none
February 27, 2016[27]	Biloxi, MS	Libertarian Party of Alabama Libertarian Party of Mississippi	S	P	S	P	A	P	P	P	S	S	S	S	none
March 5, 2016[28]	Marietta, GA	Libertarian Party of Georgia	P	A	A	A[lower-alpha 1]	A	P	A	P	A	A[lower-alpha 2]	A	P	none
March 5, 2016[29]	Sandston, VA	Libertarian Party of Virginia	A	A	A	P	A	A	P	A	P	P	P	A	none
March 7, 2016[30]	Raleigh, NC Google Hangouts	Libertarian Party of North Carolina	N	N	N	P	P	P	P	P	N	P	N	N	none
March 11, 2016[31]	Springfield, IL	Libertarian Party of Illinois	A	P	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	A	P	P	none
March 12, 2016[32]	Colorado Springs, CO	Libertarian Party of Colorado	A	S	S	P	P	A[lower-alpha 3]	S	P	A	P	A	S	none
March 19, 2016[33]	Philadelphia, PA	Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania	A	P	O	P	O	A	P	A	P	A	A	A	none
March 25, 2016[34]	Hillsboro, OR	Libertarian Party of Oregon PAC	A	A	O	P	O	A	A	P	A	A	A	A	none
March 29, 2016[35] April 1 and 8, 2016 (air)	New York, NY	Stossel Fox Business Network	N	N	O	P	O	P	N	P	N	N	N	N	none
April 1, 2016[36]	Washington, DC	Public Square, Inc.	N	P	O	N	O	N	P	N	N	N	N	N	none
April 2, 2016[37]	Los Angeles, CA	Libertarian Party of California	A	P	O	P	O	P	A[lower-alpha 4]	P	S	A	S	A	McCormick Sloan Waymire Zeman
April 8, 2016[38]	San Antonio, TX	Libertarian Party of Texas	N	P	O	P	O	P	N	P	N	N	N	P	none
April 9, 2016[39]	Palm Beach, FL	Libertarian Party of Florida	A	P	O	P	O	A	P	P	A	A	A	A	none
April 16, 2016[40]	Baton Rouge, LA	Libertarian Party of Louisiana	P	A	O	A	O	A	P	A	A	P	P	A	none
April 16, 2016[41]	Maple Grove, MN	Libertarian Party of Minnesota	A	A	O	P	O	A	A	A	A	A	A	P	none
April 30, 2016[42]	New York, NY	Libertarian Party of New York	A	S	O	P	O	P	P	P	S	A	A	A	Coley Supreme
May 12, 2016[43][44]	Washington, DC	Watching the Hawks RT America	N	I	O	I[lower-alpha 5]	O	I[lower-alpha 6]	I	I	N	N	N	N	none

1. Jim Gray stood in for Johnson.
2. David Robinson stood in for Robinson.
3. Chris Thrasher stood in for McAfee, and made the second debate round.
4. Starchild read a statement from Perry.
5. Johnson has declined to attend.
6. McAfee has declined to attend.^[45]

April 1 and April 8, 2016 Stossel Debate (Fox Business Network)

The first nationally televised Libertarian Party presidential debate was hosted by Fox Business Network on John Stossel’s show Stossel. The two-hour debate was divided into two one hour segments which were televised on April 1 and 8 at 9:00 Eastern Time. The debate featured the three highest-polling candidates, as measured by the Libertarian Party’s own online poll. The candidates featured in the debate were former Republican Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, The Libertarian Republic founder Austin Petersen and anti-virus software developer John McAfee; Stossel moderated the debate which featured questions from himself, Fox media personalities (second part) and people who submitted their questions on social media. All three candidates were afforded about the same amount of time to speak at the debate.

See also

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

References

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5. Super User. "2016 Primary Candidates". Retrieved April 30, 2016.
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34. "Libertarian Party of Oregon". Facebook. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
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