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Alaska Libertarian Party

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Libertarian Party of Alaska
AbbreviationAKLP
ChairmanNicholas Conrad
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974)
HeadquartersAnchorage, Alaska
Membership (2021)Increase6,789[2]
IdeologyLibertarianism
Colorsa shade of Blue; Yellow
Senate
0 / 20
House of Representatives
0 / 40
U.S. Senate
0 / 2
U.S. House of Representatives
0 / 1
Other elected officials1 (June 2024)[1]
Website
alaskalp.org

The Libertarian Party of Alaska is the affiliate of the Libertarian Party (LP) in Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage.

It is the third-largest active[a] party in Alaska and has the highest percentage of registered Libertarians of any state.[3] Since 2012 candidates running as Libertarians who have won the Democratic-Libertarian-Independence primary have always polled between 5% and 30% in at least one state or federal election every election.

Since Libertarian presidential candidates were on the ballot in 1976, Alaska has been a stronghold for Libertarians with it being their best-performing state in every election until 1992 and was in the top five except in 2004 and 2008. Many of the first offices held by Libertarians were in Alaska.

History

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The Alaskan Libertarian Party was founded shortly after the national party and grew to become a stronghold for the new party in the late seventies and throughout the eighties. In 1973 John Hospers and Tonie Nathan, the party's 1972 presidential and vice presidential nominees, spoke at the party's first state convention in Fairbanks to fifty members of the party.[4][5] During the 1980 presidential election Ed Clark and Eugene McCarthy both appeared and spoke at their state convention.[6]

Dick Randolph was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives as a Libertarian in the 1978 election. Randolph and Ken Fanning were elected to the state house in the 1980 election. Randolph received 15% of the popular vote as the party's nominee in the 1982 gubernatorial election, but the Libertarians lost both of their seats in the state house. He became the leader of the party, but left to run for the Republican nomination in the 1986 gubernatorial election. Republican Representative Fritz Pettyjohn said that Randolph was "the glue that held the party together" and his "departure will be a death blow". Andre Marrou was elected to the state house in 1984.[7][8][9]

In the 1986 gubernatorial election the party leadership rejected the primary winner, Mary O'Brannon, and chose to launch a write-in campaign with the lieutenant governor candidate and runner up in the primary, Ed Hoch, as their candidate after failing to remove her with a lawsuit due to her failing to meet the residency requirements.[10][11] O'Brannon defeated Hoch in terms of popular vote with 1,050 against his 107 write-in votes, but she had lost over 14% and 28,000 votes from Randolph's 1982 campaign.[12] Marrou, the only sitting Libertarian in a state legislature at the time, lost reelection to the state house.[13]

In 1988 the party was successful in placing three legislature candidates on the ballot after the state Supreme Court ruled the filing deadline to be unconstitutional.[14] In 1992, the Alaskan affiliate along with the state's Constitution Party affiliate won a lawsuit against the Alaskan state Elections Division after both of their presidential ballot petitions were rejected.[15]

From 2009 to 2010 the party was engaged in a voter registration drive to reach 9,786 registered voters due to a 2004 bill that changed the Alaskan party qualification rules so that a party using the registration test must have registration of 3% of the last vote cast resulting in mid-term years having higher voter registration amounts needed than presidential election years. From April to June 2009 party registration increased by over 1,000 voters.[16][17]

In 2016, Cean Stevens withdrew after winning the state Libertarian primary to allow Republican Party member and Tea Party favorite nominee of the 2010 Senate election, Joe Miller her spot on the ticket in the 2016 Senate election and Miller was unanimously approved by the executive board to take Stevens' place.[18] Miller came in second place and garnered nearly 30% of the vote, the highest percentage ever received by a Libertarian Senate candidate, but did not beat the total vote record established in 2002 Massachusetts Senate election by Michael Cloud.

Current officials

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  • Alaska Public Office Commissioner Robert Clift (2017–present) – Appointed to a five-year term by Bill Walker
  • Alaska Public Office Commissioner Adam Schwemley (2017–present) – Appointed to a five-year term by Bill Walker
  • Ketchikan Gateway Borough School Board member Stephen Bradford (2021–present).[1]

Former officials

[edit]
  • Bethel City councilor Richard Robb (2017–2018)[19][20]
  • Cordova City councilor Ken Jones (2017–2021)[21][22]
  • State Representative Dick Randolph (1978–1982) – First person to be elected to partisan office under the banner of the Libertarian Party
  • State Representative Ken Fanning (1980–1982) – Second person to be elected to partisan office under the banner of the Libertarian Party
  • State Representative Andre Marrou (1985–1987) – 1988 vice presidential nominee and 1992 presidential nominee
  • Juneau City councilor Sara Chambers (2006–2010)

Chairman

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  • Terrence Shanigan (2016–2016)[23]
  • Jon Watts (2016–2022)[24]
  • Alex Coker (2022–2024)[25]
  • Meghan Trupp (2024–2024)[26]
  • Nicholas Conrad (2024–present)[27][28]

Electoral performance

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Presidential

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Year Presidential nominee Votes Change
1972 John Hospers (write-in) 45 (0.1%) Steady
1976 Roger MacBride 6,785 (5.5%) Increase 5.4%
1980 Ed Clark 18,479 (11.7%) Increase 6.2%
1984 David Bergland 6,378 (3.1%) Decrease 8.6%
1988 Ron Paul 5,484 (2.7%) Decrease 0.3%
1992 Andre Marrou 1,378 (0.5%) Decrease 2.2%
1996 Harry Browne 2,276 (0.9%) Increase 0.4%
2000 Harry Browne 2,636 (0.9%) Decrease 0.0%
2004 Michael Badnarik 1,675 (0.5%) Decrease 0.4%
2008 Bob Barr 1,589 (0.5%) Decrease 0.1%
2012 Gary Johnson 7,392 (2.5%) Increase 2.0%
2016 Gary Johnson 18,725 (5.9%) Increase 3.4%
2020 Jo Jorgensen 8,897 (2.5%) Decrease 3.4%

House

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Year House nominee Votes Change
1986 Betty Breck 4,182 (2.3%) Steady
1988 None None Decrease 2.3%
1998 None None Steady
2000 Len Karpinski 4,802 (1.8%) Increase 1.8%
2002 Rob Clift 3,797 (1.7%) Increase 0.1%
2004 Alvin A. Anders 7,157 (2.4%) Increase 0.7%
2006 Alexander Crawford 4,029 (1.7%) Decrease 0.7%
2008 None None Decrease 1.7%
2010 None None Steady
2012 Jim McDermott 15,028 (5.2%) Increase 5.2%
2014 Jim McDermott 21,290 (7.6%) Increase 2.4%
2016 Jim McDermott 31,770 (10.3%) Increase 2.7%
2018 None None Decrease 10.3%
2020 None None Steady
2022 Chris Bye 4,570 (1.7%) Increase 1.7%

Senate Class II

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Year Senate nominee Votes Change
2002 Leonard Karpinski 2,354 (1.0%) Steady
2008 Fredrick Haase 2,483 (0.8%) Decrease 0.3%
2014 Mark Fish 10,512 (3.7%) Increase 1.9%
2020 None None Decrease 3.7%

Senate Class III

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Year Senate nominee Votes Change
1986 Chuck House 3,161 (1.8%) Steady
1992 None None Decrease 1.8%
1998 Scott A. Kohlhaas 5,046 (2.3%) Increase 2.3%
2004 Scott A. Kohlhaas 1,240 (0.4%) Decrease 1.9%
2010 David Haase 1,459 (0.6%) Increase 0.2%
2016 Joe Miller 90,825 (29.2%) Increase 28.6%

Gubernatorial

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Year Gubernatorial nominee Votes Change
1982 Dick Randolph 29,067 (14.9%) Steady
1986 Mary Jane O'Brannon[b] 1,050 (0.6%)[c] Decrease 14.3%
1990 None None Decrease 0.6%
1994 None None Steady
1998 None None Steady
2002 William Toien 1,109 (0.5%) Increase 0.5%
2006 William Toien 682 (0.3%) Decrease 0.2%
2010 William Toien 2,682 (1.1%) Increase 0.8%
2014 Carolyn Clift 8,985 (3.2%) Increase 2.2%
2018 William Toien 5,402 (1.9%) Decrease 1.3%

Voter Registration

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The stagnate registration rate is due to the fact that the Democratic-Libertarian-Independence primary is open which allows any member of either party to vote for a candidate.

Year RV. % Change
2002 7,235 (1.6%) Steady[29]
2003 7,235 (1.6%) Steady[30]
2004 7,331 (1.6%) Increase 0.0%[31]
2005 6,932 (1.5%) Decrease 0.1%[32]
2006[d] 9,400 (2.0%) Increase 0.6%[33]
2007 8,587 (1.8%) Decrease 0.2%[34]
2008 8,117 (1.7%) Decrease 0.1%[35]
2009 6,742 (1.3%) Decrease 0.4%[36]
2010 9,280 (1.9%) Increase 0.6%[37]
2011 8,804 (1.8%) Decrease 0.1%[38]
2012 8,051 (1.6%) Decrease 0.1%[39]
2013 7,687 (1.5%) Decrease 0.1%[40]
2014 7,523 (1.6%) Increase 0.1%[41]
2015 7,176 (1.4%) Decrease 0.2%[42]
2016 7,477 (1.5%) Increase 0.1%[43]
2017 7,599 (1.4%) Decrease 0.0%[44]
2018 7,579 (1.4%) Steady[45]
2019[e] 7,251 (1.3%) Decrease 0.2%[46]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Alaskan Independence Party has more registered voters, but has only ran four candidates in the past decade and none in 2018
  2. ^ The party leadership rejected O'Brannon and ran a write-in campaign with Ed Hoch as their candidate
  3. ^ Hoch: 107 (0.1%) Decrease 14.9%
  4. ^ Listed as political group
  5. ^ Listed as political group

References

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  1. ^ a b "Elected Officials". Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "Alaska Division of Elections". www.elections.alaska.gov.
  3. ^ Winger, Richard (September 6, 2016). "Colorado Libertarian Registration Exceeds 1%; First Time any Libertarian Registration That High in Any State, Except in Alaska". Ballot Access News. Archived from the original on September 7, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  4. ^ "Hospers featured speaker for Libertarian meeting". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. 9 February 1973. p. 3. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Libertarian leader explains difference at confab here". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. 12 February 1973. p. 2. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Alaska Libertarian Party 1980 convention". Daily Sitka Sentinel. 21 April 1980. p. 1. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Libertarian Leader Quits Party; Seeking GOP Nod For Governor in '86". Associated Press. October 23, 1985. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "Libertarian Party a political force in Alaska". Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. October 27, 1982. p. 51. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Libertarians Make Push". Daily Sitka Sentinel. August 21, 1982. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Alaska Libertarian Party launches write-in against Libertarian Party primary victor 1986". Daily Sitka Sentinel. 7 October 1986. p. 3. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Former Libertarian in Jail Over Ads". Daily Sitka Sentinel. 17 March 1988. p. 8. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "1986 Gubernatorial General Election Results – Alaska" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  13. ^ "Libertarians Lose". Daily Sitka Sentinel. 5 November 1986. p. 7. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Judge: Libertarians Should be on Ballot". Daily Sitka Sentinel. 13 September 1988. p. 3. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Libertarian, Taxpayers Parties to be on Ballot?". Daily Sitka Sentinel. 22 September 1992. p. 1. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Alaska Libertarian Party Registration Drive Ahead of Schedule". Ballot Access News. January 2, 2019. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  17. ^ "Alaska Libertarian Party Makes Headway on Ballot Access". Ballot Access News. November 7, 2019. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  18. ^ Herz, Nathaniel (September 6, 2016). "Joe Miller to run as Libertarian in hopes of unseating US Sen. Lisa Murkowski". Alaska Dispatch News. Alaska Dispatch News. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  19. ^ "2017 Bethel City Council Candidate Richard Robb". 27 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  20. ^ "Mayor Richard Robb Has Passed The Torch". KYUK. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  21. ^ "Kenneth Byron Jones wins City Council Seat B". 23 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  22. ^ Smith, Zachary Snowdon (2021-03-03). "Schaefer defeats Jones in city council race - The Cordova Times". thecordovatimes.com. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  23. ^ "LNC Minutes July 17, 2016" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  24. ^ "Alaska Libertarian party boots chair weeks before election". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  25. ^ "Executive Committee". Alaska Libertarian Party. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  26. ^ "Meeting Minutes". Alaska Libertarian Party. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  27. ^ "Executive Committee". Alaska Libertarian Party. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  28. ^ "Political Parties and Groups in Alaska". State of Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  29. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2002" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-12-25. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  30. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2003" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-12-23. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  31. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2004". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  32. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2005". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  33. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2006". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  34. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2007". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  35. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2008". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  36. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2009". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  37. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2010". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  38. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2011". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  39. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2012". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  40. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2013". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  41. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2014". Archived from the original on 2018-06-30. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  42. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2015". Archived from the original on 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  43. ^ "Alaska Registered Voters 2016". Archived from the original on 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  44. ^ "Alaska Voter Registration by Party/Precinct".
  45. ^ "Alaska Voter Registration by Party/Precinct".
  46. ^ "Alaska Voter Registration by Party/Precinct".
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