Libertarian Party (United States)
Size and influence -- Presidential candidate performance
Table:
Year

Presidential/Vice presidential candidate

Popular votes

Percentage

Electoral votes

1972
John Hospers/Theodora Nathan

3,674
<0.01%
1

1976
Roger MacBride/David Bergland

172,553
0.21%
0

1980
Ed Clark/David Koch

921,128
1.06%
0

1984
David Bergland/James Lewis

228,111
0.25%
0

1988
Ron Paul/Andre Marrou (campaign)

431,750
0.47%
0

1992
Andre Marrou/Nancy Lord

290,087
0.28%
0

1996
Harry Browne/Jo Jorgensen

485,759
0.50%
0

2000
Harry Browne/Art Olivier (campaign)

384,431
0.36%
0

2004
Michael Badnarik/Richard Campagna (campaign)

397,265
0.32%
0

2008
Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root (campaign)

523,713
0.40%
0

2012
Gary Johnson/Jim Gray (campaign)

1,275,923
0.99%
0

2016
Gary Johnson/William Weld (campaign)

4,489,233
3.29%
0

Based on the given table and the supporting text listed below.

Answer the following question: How many books has the Libertarian nominee who ran in the 53rd quadrennial presidential election written ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

The president of the United States ( POTUS ) [ B ] 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 Armed Forces . In contemporary times , the president is looked upon as one of the world 's most powerful political figures as the leader of the only remaining global superpower . The role includes responsibility for the world 's most expensive military , which has the second largest nuclear arsenal . The president also leads the nation with the largest economy by nominal GDP . The president possesses significant domestic and international hard and soft power . Article II of the Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government . It vests the executive power of the United States in the president . The power includes the execution and enforcement of federal law , alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive , diplomatic , regulatory and judicial officers , and concluding treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of the Senate . The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves , and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances . The president directs the foreign and domestic policies of the United States , and takes an active role in promoting his policy priorities to members of Congress . In addition , as part of the system of checks and balances , Article I , Section 7 of the Constitution gives the president the power to sign or veto federal legislation .
The vice president of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government , after the president of the United States , and ranks first in the presidential line of succession . The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch , as president of the Senate . In this capacity , the vice president is empowered to preside over Senate deliberations , but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote . The vice president also presides over joint sessions of Congress . The vice president is indirectly elected together with the president to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the Electoral College . Section 2 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment , ratified in 1967 , created a mechanism for intra-term vice presidential succession , establishing that vice presidential vacancies will be filled by the president and confirmed by both houses of Congress . Prior to 1967 , in the event a vice president succeeded to the presidency , died , or resigned from office , the vice presidency remained vacant until the next presidential and vice presidential terms began . The vice president is also a statutory member of the National Security Council , and the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution . The Office of the Vice President assists and organises the vice president 's official functions . The role of the vice presidency has changed dramatically since the office was created during the 1787 constitutional Convention . Especially over the past 100 years , the vice presidency has evolved into a position of domestic and foreign policy political power , and is now widely seen as an integral part of a president 's administration . As the vice president 's role within the executive branch has expanded , his role within the legislative branch has contracted ; for example , he presides over the Senate only infrequently .
The Electoral College is a body of electors established by the United States Constitution , which forms every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president of the United States . The Electoral College consists of 538 electors , and an absolute majority of at least 270 electoral votes is required to win election . According to Article II , Section 1 , Clause 2 of the Constitution , each state legislature determines the manner by which its state 's electors are chosen . Each state 's number of electors is equal to the combined total of the state 's membership in the Senate and House of Representatives ; currently there are 100 senators and 435 representatives . Additionally , the Twenty-third Amendment , ratified in 1961 , provides that the District of Columbia ( D.C. ) is entitled to the number of electors it would have if it were the least populated state ( presently 3 ) . U.S. territories are not entitled to any electors as they are not states . Following the national presidential election , which takes place the Tuesday after the first Monday of November , each state counts its popular votes according to that state 's laws to designate presidential electors . In forty-eight states , the winner of the plurality of the statewide vote receives all of the electors ; in Maine and Nebraska , two electors are assigned in this manner and one elector allocated based on the plurality of votes in each congressional district . Electors are typically required to pledge to vote for the winning candidate , but there is an ongoing legal dispute about whether electors are required to vote as they pledged . State electors meet in their respective state capitals the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December to cast their votes . The results are counted by Congress , where they are tabulated nationally in the first week of January before a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives , presided over by the vice president , acting as president of the Senate . If a majority of votes are not cast for a candidate , the House turns itself into a presidential election session , where one vote is assigned to each of the fifty states , excluding the District of Columbia .
The 1972 United States presidential election was the 47th quadrennial presidential election . It was held on Tuesday , November 7 , 1972 . Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon from California defeated Democratic U.S . Senator George McGovern of South Dakota . Until 1984 , this was the largest margin of victory in the Electoral College in a U.S. presidential election . Nixon easily swept aside challenges from two Republican congressmen in the 1972 Republican primaries to win re-nomination . McGovern , who had played a significant role in reforming the Democratic nomination system after the 1968 election , mobilized the anti-war movement and other liberal supporters to win his party 's nomination . Among the candidates he defeated were early front-runner Edmund Muskie , 1968 nominee Hubert Humphrey , and Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm , the first African-American to run for a major party 's presidential nomination . Nixon emphasized the strong economy and his success in foreign affairs , while McGovern ran on a platform calling for an immediate end to the Vietnam War , and the institution of a guaranteed minimum income . Nixon maintained a large and consistent lead in polling . Separately , Nixon 's reelection committee broke into the Watergate complex to wiretap the Democratic National Committee 's headquarters , a scandal that would later be known as Watergate . McGovern 's campaign was further damaged by the revelation that his running mate , Thomas Eagleton , had undergone psychiatric electroshock therapy as a treatment for depression .
John Hospers ( June 9 , 1918 - June 12 , 2011 ) was an American philosopher and political activist . Hospers was interested in Objectivism , and was once a friend of the philosopher Ayn Rand , though she later broke with him . In 1972 , Hospers became the first presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party , and was the only minor party candidate to receive an electoral vote in that year 's U.S. presidential election .
Theodora Nathalia Tonie Nathan ( February 9 , 1923 - March 20 , 2014 ) was an American political figure . She was the first woman to receive an electoral vote in a United States presidential election . She was the 1972 vice presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party and running mate of John Hospers , when Roger MacBride , a Republican elector from Virginia , cast the historic vote as a faithless elector .
The 1976 United States presidential election was the 48th quadrennial presidential election . It was held on Tuesday , November 2 , 1976 . Democrat Jimmy Carter of Georgia defeated incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford from Michigan . Carter 's win represented the lone Democratic victory in a presidential election held between 1968 and 1992 . President Richard Nixon had won the 1972 election with Spiro Agnew as his running mate , but in 1973 Agnew resigned and Ford was appointed as vice president via the 25th Amendment . When Nixon resigned in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal , Ford ascended to the presidency , becoming the only president to have never been elected to national office . He faced a strong challenge from conservative former governor and future president Ronald Reagan of California in the Republican primaries , but Ford narrowly prevailed at the convention . Carter was little-known at the start of the Democratic primaries , but the former governor of Georgia emerged as the front-runner after his victories in the first set of primaries . Campaigning as a political moderate and Washington outsider , Carter defeated opponents such as Jerry Brown and Mo Udall to clinch the Democratic nomination . Ford pursued a Rose Garden strategy in which he sought to portray himself as an experienced leader focused on fulfilling his role as chief executive . Carter emphasized his status as a reformer who was untainted by Washington . Saddled with a poor economy , the fall of South Vietnam and his unpopular pardon of Nixon , Ford trailed by a wide margin in polls taken after Carter 's formal nomination in July 1976 .
Roger Lea MacBride ( August 6 , 1929 - March 5 , 1995 ) was an American lawyer , political figure , writer , and television producer . He was the presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1976 election . MacBride became the first presidential elector in U.S. history to cast a vote for a woman when , in the presidential election of 1972 , he voted for the Libertarian Party candidates John Hospers for president and Theodora Tonie Nathan for vice president . He was co-creator and co-producer of the television series Little House on the Prairie .
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 , and also served twice as the Chair of the Libertarian National Committee .
The 1980 United States presidential election was the 49th quadrennial presidential election . It was held on Tuesday , November 4 , 1980 . Republican nominee Ronald Reagan defeated Democrat Jimmy Carter . Due to the rise of conservatism following Reagan 's victory , some historians consider the election to be a realigning election that marked the start of the Reagan Era . Carter 's unpopularity and poor relations with Democratic leaders encouraged an intra-party challenge by Senator Ted Kennedy , a younger brother of former President John F. Kennedy . Carter defeated Kennedy in the majority of the Democratic primaries , but Kennedy remained in the race until Carter was officially nominated at the 1980 Democratic National Convention . The Republican primaries were contested between Reagan , who had previously served as the Governor of California , former Congressman George H. W. Bush of Texas , Congressman John B. Anderson of Illinois , and several other candidates . All of Reagan 's opponents had dropped out by the end of the primaries , and the 1980 Republican National Convention nominated a ticket consisting of Reagan and Bush . Anderson entered the race as an independent candidate , and convinced former Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey , a Democrat , to serve as his running mate . Reagan campaigned for increased defense spending , implementation of supply-side economic policies , and a balanced budget . His campaign was aided by Democratic dissatisfaction with Carter , the Iran hostage crisis , and a worsening economy at home marked by high unemployment and inflation . Carter attacked Reagan as a dangerous right-wing extremist and warned that Reagan would cut Medicare and Social Security .
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 honors graduate of Tabor Academy , Dartmouth College and received a law degree from Harvard Law School . Formerly a liberal Republican , he joined the Libertarian Party following President Richard Nixon 's imposition of wage and price controls in 1971 .
David Hamilton Koch ( /koʊk/ ; May 3 , 1940 - August 23 , 2019 ) was an American businessman , philanthropist , political activist , and chemical engineer . In 1970 , he joined the family business : Koch Industries , the second-largest privately held company in the United States . He became president of the subsidiary Koch Engineering in 1979 , and became a co-owner of Koch Industries ( along with elder brother Charles ) in 1983 . Koch served as an executive vice president of Koch Industries until he retired due to health issues in 2018 . Koch was a libertarian . He was the 1980 Libertarian candidate for Vice President of the United States and helped finance the campaign . He founded Citizens for a Sound Economy and donated to advocacy groups and political campaigns , most of which were Republican . Koch became a Republican in 1984 ; in 2012 , he spent over $ 100 million to oppose the re-election of President Barack Obama . Koch was the fourth-richest person in the United States in 2012 and was the wealthiest resident of New York City in 2013 . As of June 2019 , Koch was ranked as the 11th-richest person in the world ( tied with his brother Charles ) , with a fortune of $ 50.5 billion . Known for his philanthropy , Koch contributed to the Lincoln Center , Sloan Kettering , NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital , and the Dinosaur Wing at the American Museum of Natural History . The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center , home of the New York City Ballet , was renamed the David H. Koch Theater in 2008 following Koch 's gift of $ 100 million for the renovation of the theater .
The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election . It was held on Tuesday , November 6 , 1984 . Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale , the Democratic candidate . Reagan faced only token opposition in his bid for re-nomination by the Republicans , so he and Vice President George H. W. Bush were easily re-nominated . Mondale defeated activist Jesse Jackson and several other candidates in the 1984 Democratic primaries before eventually choosing U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York as his running mate , the first woman to be on a major party 's presidential ticket . Reagan touted a strong economic recovery from the 1970s stagflation and the 1981-82 recession , as well as the widespread perception that his presidency had overseen a revival of national confidence and prestige . The Reagan campaign produced effective television advertising and deftly neutralized concerns regarding Reagan 's age . Mondale criticized Reagan 's supply-side economic policies and budget deficits , and he called for a nuclear freeze and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment . Reagan won 58.8% of the popular vote and carried 49 of the 50 states , becoming the oldest person to win a presidential election . Reagan 's showing ranks fifth in the share of electoral votes received and fifth in the share of the popular vote won . No candidate since 1984 has equaled Reagan 's share of the electoral vote , although his popular vote was eventually surpassed by Bush in 2004 ( 62 million ) and subsequent candidates . Mondale received 40.6% of the popular vote , but carried only the District of Columbia and his home state of Minnesota .
James A. Jim Lewis ( April 20 , 1933 - February 22 , 1997 , in Old Saybrook , Connecticut ) was the Libertarian Party 's Vice-Presidential nominee ( 1983 ) in the 1984 U.S. presidential election , sharing the party ticket with David Bergland . The ticket received 228,111 votes ( 0.25% ) to finish third overall . Lewis , from his home in Old Saybrook , Connecticut , made campaign stops across the United States during his campaign , and co-authored a book with Jim Peron , entitled Liberty Reclaimed . [ citation needed ] In 1987 Lewis ran for the 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nomination finishing third with 12.8% of the vote at the 1987 Libertarian National Convention . Lewis finished behind nominee Ron Paul ( 51.3% ) and Russell Means ( 31.4% ) . Lewis had earlier ( 1982 ) run for U.S. Senate in Connecticut as a Libertarian finishing fourth ( receiving 8,163 votes ( 0.8% ) ) and had served from 1981 until 1983 as a representative to the Libertarian National Committee . Lewis graduated from Babson College in 1958 , and spent many years as a salesman for the General Book Binding Company of Cleveland , Ohio .
The 1988 United States presidential election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election . It was held on Tuesday , November 8 , 1988 . Incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush , the Republican nominee , defeated Democratic Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts . The 1988 election is the only election since 1948 in which either major party won a third straight presidential election . Incumbent President Ronald Reagan was ineligible to seek a third term , due to term limits established by the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution . Bush entered the 1988 Republican primaries as the front-runner . He defeated Senator Bob Dole and televangelist Pat Robertson to win the nomination , and selected Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate . Dukakis won the 1988 Democratic primaries after Democratic leaders such as Gary Hart and Ted Kennedy withdrew or declined to run . He selected Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas - who had defeated Bush in a U.S. Senate race 18 years earlier - as his running mate . Running an aggressive campaign , Bush concentrated on the economy and continuing Reagan 's policies . He attacked Dukakis as an elitist Massachusetts liberal , and Dukakis appeared to fail to respond effectively to Bush 's criticism . Despite Dukakis 's initial lead , Bush pulled ahead in opinion polling conducted in September and won by a substantial margin in both the popular and electoral vote .
Ronald Ernest Paul ( born August 20 , 1935 ) is an American author , physician , and retired politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Texas 's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985 , and for Texas 's 14th congressional district from 1997 to 2013 . On three occasions , he sought the presidency of the United States : as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988 and as a candidate in the Republican primaries of 2008 and 2012 . Paul is a critic of the federal government 's fiscal policies , especially the existence of the Federal Reserve and the tax policy , as well as the military-industrial complex , and the War on Drugs . He has also been a vocal critic of mass surveillance policies such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the NSA surveillance programs . He was the first chairman of the conservative PAC Citizens for a Sound Economy and has been characterized as the intellectual godfather of the Tea Party movement . Paul served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1968 , and worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist from the 1960s to the 1980s . He became the first Representative in history to serve concurrently with their child in the Senate when his son , Rand Paul , was elected to the U.S. Senate from Kentucky in 2010 . Paul is a Senior Fellow of the Mises Institute , and has published a number of books and promoted the ideas of economists of the Austrian School such as Murray Rothbard and Ludwig von Mises during his political campaigns . On July 12 , 2011 , Paul announced that he would forgo seeking another term in Congress in order to focus on his presidential bid . On May 14 , 2012 , Paul announced that he would not be competing in any other presidential primaries but that he would still compete for delegates in states where the primary elections have already been held . At the 2012 Republican National Convention , Paul received 190 delegate votes . In January 2013 , Paul retired from Congress but still remains active on college campuses , giving speeches promoting his libertarian vision .
Andre Verne Marrou ( /məˈruː/ ; born December 4 , 1938 ) is an American political politician who was the first Libertarian elected to a state legislature with his election to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1984 . He later served as the Libertarian Party 's vice presidential nominee in 1988 presidential election and its presidential nominee in 1992 presidential election .
The Ron Paul presidential campaign of 1988 began in early 1987 when former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas announced his candidacy for the 1988 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party . He joined the third party after leaving the Republican Party over the Reagan administration 's handling of the federal budget . He ran on a platform that included non-interventionism in foreign conflicts , decriminalization of illegal drugs on a federal level , a return to the gold standard , the abolition of the Federal Reserve and a reduction in all government spending . Paul defeated Native American activist Russell Means at the Libertarian Party 's National Convention in Seattle to win the party 's presidential nomination . Former Alaska State representative Andre Marrou was selected as his running mate . After over a year of campaigning as the Libertarian Party nominee , Paul received very little media coverage , and was excluded from presidential debates . On Election Day , he was on the ballot in 46 states and the District of Columbia , and finished in third place with approximately 0.47% of the vote , behind Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis and the winner Vice President George H.W . Bush .
The 1992 United States presidential election was the 52nd quadrennial presidential election . It was held on Tuesday , November 3 , 1992 . Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeated incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush , independent businessman Ross Perot of Texas , and a number of minor candidates . Bush had alienated many of the conservatives in his party by breaking his 1988 campaign pledge against raising taxes , but he fended off a primary challenge from conservative commentator Pat Buchanan . Bush 's popularity after his success in the Gulf War dissuaded high-profile Democratic candidates like Mario Cuomo from entering the 1992 Democratic primaries . Clinton , a leader of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council , established himself as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination by sweeping the Super Tuesday primaries . He defeated former and future Governor of California Jerry Brown , former Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas , and other candidates to win his party 's nomination , and chose Senator Al Gore as his running mate . Billionaire Ross Perot launched an independent campaign , emphasizing his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement and his plan to reduce the national debt . The economy was in recession and Bush 's greatest strength , foreign policy , was regarded as much less important following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War and the relatively peaceful climate in the Middle East after the Gulf War . Perot led in several polls taken in June 1992 , but severely damaged his candidacy by temporarily dropping out of the race in July . The Bush campaign criticized Clinton 's character and emphasized Bush 's foreign policy successes , while Clinton focused on the economy . Clinton won a plurality in the popular vote and a majority of the electoral vote , breaking a streak of three straight Republican victories .
Nancy Theresa Lord ( born February 8 , 1952 ) is an American politician and was the vice-presidential candidate of the United States Libertarian Party in the 1992 presidential election , as the running-mate of Andre Marrou . Marrou and Lord placed fourth in the popular vote with 290,087 votes ( 0.28% ) . She also ran for Nye County , Nevada District Attorney as a Republican in 2010 , and for District 5 Judge in 2012 . Lord completed undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Maryland . She earned her law degree from Georgetown University . Until 1983 , Lord was employed by Abbott Laboratories , where she authored the successful new drug application for benzodiazepine hypnotic ( ProSom ) . After leaving Abbott , Lord worked as an independent consultant in the areas of pharmaceutical development , medical malpractice , and toxicology . Lord was a candidate for Mayor of the District of Columbia in 1990 . Lord has served on the boards of directors for NORML and for the Fully Informed Jury Association and wrote the introduction to the original edition of You and the Police by Boston T. Party .
The 1996 United States presidential election was the 53rd quadrennial presidential election . It was held on Tuesday , November 5 , 1996 . Incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton defeated former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole , the Republican nominee , and Ross Perot , the Reform Party nominee . Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were re-nominated without incident by the Democratic Party . Numerous candidates entered the 1996 Republican primaries , with Dole considered the early front-runner . Dole clinched the nomination after defeating challenges by publisher Steve Forbes and paleoconservative leader Pat Buchanan . Dole 's running mate was Jack Kemp , a former Congressman and football player who had served as the Housing Secretary under President George H. W. Bush . Ross Perot , who had won 18.9% of the popular vote as an independent candidate in the 1992 election , ran as the candidate of the Reform Party . Perot received less media attention in 1996 and was excluded from the presidential debates . Clinton 's chances of winning were initially considered slim in the middle of his term as his party had lost both the House of Representatives and the Senate in 1994 for the first time in decades . He was able to regain ground as the economy began to recover from the early 1990s recession with a relatively stable world stage . Clinton tied Dole to Newt Gingrich , the unpopular Republican Speaker of the House .
Harry Edson Browne ( June 17 , 1933 - March 1 , 2006 ) was an American writer , politician , and investment advisor . He was the Libertarian Party 's Presidential nominee in the U.S. elections of 1996 and 2000 . He is the author of 12 books that in total have sold more than 2 million copies .
Jo Jorgensen ( born May 1 , 1957 ) is an American academic and perennial candidate . She was a Libertarian Party candidate for vice-president in the 1996 U.S. presidential election as the running mate of Harry Browne . She was also a candidate for South Carolina 's 4th congressional district in 1992 , receiving 4,286 votes . She is currently running for president in 2020 as a Libertarian .
The 2000 United States presidential election was the 54th quadrennial presidential election . It was held on Tuesday , November 7 , 2000 . Republican candidate George W. Bush , the governor of Texas and eldest son of the 41st president , George H. W. Bush , won the election , defeating Democratic nominee Al Gore , the incumbent vice president . It was the fourth of five presidential elections in which the winning candidate lost the popular vote , and is considered one of the closest elections in US history . Gore secured the Democratic nomination with relative ease , defeating a challenge by former Senator Bill Bradley . Bush was seen as the early favorite for the Republican nomination and , despite a contentious primary battle with Senator John McCain and others , secured the nomination by Super Tuesday . Bush chose former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney as his running mate , while Gore chose Senator Joe Lieberman . The left-wing Green Party nominated political activists Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke . Both major-party candidates focused primarily on domestic issues , such as the budget , tax relief , and reforms for federal social insurance programs , although foreign policy was not ignored . Due to President Bill Clinton 's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment , Gore avoided campaigning with Clinton . Republicans denounced Clinton 's indiscretions , while Gore criticized Bush 's lack of experience . On election night , it was unclear who had won , with the electoral votes of the state of Florida still undecided .
Arthur C. Olivier ( born August 24 , 1957 ) is an American politician . He is the former mayor of Bellflower , California and was the Libertarian candidate for Vice President in the United States presidential election in 2000 as the running mate of presidential candidate Harry Browne . Art Olivier is a graduate of Cerritos College with a degree in Design Technology . He and his wife Joyce have four children . Olivier served as a councilman ( 1994-1997 ) , mayor pro tempore ( 1997-1998 ) and mayor ( 1998-1999 ) of Bellflower , a Los Angeles suburb with 77,000 residents . Olivier is a Realtor with Cogburn Realty . During his five years on the City Council ( 1994-99 ) , Olivier privatized the city 's tree trimming , crossing guards , street sweeping and the Building Department . He eliminated the city 's lighting tax assessment and did not allow eminent domain to be exercised while on council .
The 2000 presidential campaign of Harry Browne , investment banker and 1996 nominee of the Libertarian Party , was formally launched on February 14 , 2000 as Browne announced his intention to seek the Libertarian Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2000 presidential election . Browne gained the Libertarian nomination on the first convention ballot becoming the first person to win the party 's nomination twice and Art Olivier , former mayor of Bellflower , California , was nominated as his vice president . The ticket had ballot status in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia . Due to a dispute with the Arizona wing of the Party , L. Neil Smith was placed on the ballot instead of Browne . Admitting that he had little chance of winning , he stated that any vote for him instead of George W. Bush or Al Gore was an endorsement , a statement , a declaration on behalf of smaller government .
The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election , held on Tuesday , November 2 , 2004 . Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush defeated Democratic nominee John Kerry , a United States Senator from Massachusetts . Bush and incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney were renominated by their party with no difficulty . Former Governor Howard Dean emerged as the early front-runner in the 2004 Democratic primaries , but Kerry won the first set of primaries in January 2004 and clinched his party 's nomination in March after a series of primary victories . Kerry chose Senator John Edwards of North Carolina , who had himself sought the party 's 2004 presidential nomination , to be his running mate . Bush 's popularity had soared early in his first term after the September 11 attacks , but his popularity declined between 2001 and 2004 . Foreign policy was the dominant theme throughout the election campaign , particularly Bush 's conduct of the War on Terrorism and the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Bush presented himself as a decisive leader and attacked Kerry as a flip-flopper , while Kerry criticized Bush 's conduct of the Iraq War . Domestic issues were debated as well , including the economy and jobs , health care , abortion , same-sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research . Bush won by a slim margin , taking 50.7% of the popular vote and 286 electoral votes . He swept the South and the Mountain States and took the crucial swing states of Ohio , Iowa , and New Mexico , the latter two being flipped Republican . Although Kerry flipped New Hampshire compared to the previous election , Bush 's electoral map expanded numerically .
Michael J. Badnarik ( /bædˈnɑːrɪk/ bad-NAR-ik ; born August 1 , 1954 ) is an American software engineer , political figure , and former radio talk show host . He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections , and placed fourth in the race , behind independent candidate Ralph Nader and the two major party candidates , George W. Bush and John Kerry . Two years later Badnarik ran as a Libertarian Party candidate in the 2006 congressional elections for Texas 's 10th congressional district seat near Austin . In a three candidate field , Badnarik came in third , receiving 7,603 votes for 4.3% of the vote .
Richard V. Campagna of Iowa City , Iowa was the vice-presidential running mate of Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party in the 2004 U.S. presidential election .
The 2004 presidential campaign of Michael Badnarik , software engineer and candidate for the Texas legislature in 2000 and 2002 , began on February 17 , 2003 , three months after starting an exploratory committee on November 17 , 2002 . He spent over a year traveling the country , totaling over 25,000 miles prior to the 2004 Libertarian National Convention . On the second night ( May 29th ) of the Convention , he participated in a debate with the other Libertarian candidates , broadcast on C-SPAN . The next day , the nomination for the Party began , with a candidate needing over 50% of the 778 votes cast . On the first ballot , Badnarik finished 2nd with 256 votes to Aaron Russo ( film producer turned political activist who had outspent him 3 to 1 the month before ) by two votes , while finishing 10 votes above Gary Nolan ( former talk radio host ) , with none of them having over 50% . On the 2nd ballot , Russo received 285 votes to Badnarik 's 249 , with Nolan at 244 . Badnarik was endorsed by Nolan prior to the third round of voting between him and Russo . On the third ballot , he received 423 votes to Russo 's 344 , clinching the nomination with 54.37% of the votes cast . Richard Campagna ( who had run for lieutenant governor of Iowa in 2002 ) was soon chosen as his running mate . After the victory , he stated , If I can win the nomination , there 's no reason I ca n't win this election . The ticket gained ballot access in 48 states and in the District of Columbia , with write-in access in New Hampshire .
The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election , held on Tuesday , November 4 , 2008 . The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama , the junior U.S . Senator from Illinois , and Joe Biden , the senior U.S . Senator from Delaware , defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain , the senior Senator from Arizona , and Sarah Palin , the Governor of Alaska . Obama became the first African American ever to be elected to the presidency . Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush was ineligible to pursue a third term due to the term limits established by the 22nd Amendment . As neither Bush nor Vice President Dick Cheney sought the presidency , the 2008 election was the first election since 1952 in which neither major party 's presidential nominee was the incumbent president or the incumbent vice president . McCain secured the Republican nomination by March 2008 , defeating Mitt Romney , Mike Huckabee , and other challengers . The Democratic primaries were marked by a sharp contest between Obama and the initial front-runner , Senator Hillary Clinton . Clinton 's victory in the New Hampshire primary made her the first woman to win a major party 's presidential primary . [ nb 1 ] After a long primary season , Obama clinched the Democratic nomination in June 2008 . Early campaigning focused heavily on the Iraq War and Bush 's unpopularity .
Robert Laurence Barr Jr. ( born November 5 , 1948 ) is an American attorney and politician . He served as a federal prosecutor and as a Congressman . He represented Georgia 's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003 . Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of President Bill Clinton . Barr joined the Libertarian Party in 2006 and served on its National Committee . He was the Libertarian Party 's nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election . Barr announced his return to the Republican party in December 2011 . He lost a subsequent bid in 2014 for a Congressional seat .
Wayne Allyn Root is a conservative American author , radio host and conspiracy theorist . He is the host of The Wayne Allyn Root Show on the USA Radio Network and Newsmax TV . Root is an opinion columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal . Root was the Vice Presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party in the 2008 presidential election . In 2012 , he left the Libertarian Party and re-joined the Republican Party .
The 2008 presidential campaign of Bob Barr , former Congressman of Georgia began on May 12 , 2008 . He announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party 's presidential after months of grassroots draft efforts . Barr ( who had formerly been a Republican ) was criticized by Libertarians who opposed his efforts in Congress , which included a vote in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act and authorization of the War in Iraq , but he was supported by others who accepted his regret for the votes . Barr won the party 's nomination after six rounds of balloting at the 2008 Libertarian Party National Convention . Former contender Wayne Allyn Root was named as his running mate . Reason magazine senior editor Radley Balko called Barr the first serious candidate the LP has run since I 've been eligible to vote . In the general election , Barr hoped to portray himself as a conservative alternative to the Republican nominee John McCain . He emphasized his opposition to the Republican Party for its positions on the War in Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act , but stood as an advocate for border security and fiscal constraint , demonstrated by his opposition to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 . The candidate never made headway in election polls , placing third or fourth when included . Barr 's efforts to be invited to presidential debates with the two main candidates also fell short when he failed to meet the 15% polling threshold . Barr campaigned throughout the nation . He litigated to gain ballot access in several states and to prevent McCain and the Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama from appearing on the Texas ballot for failing to meet the filing deadline .
The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election , held on Tuesday , November 6 , 2012 . The Democratic nominee , President Barack Obama , and his running mate , Vice President Joe Biden , were elected to a second term . They defeated the Republican ticket of businessman and former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin . As the incumbent president , Obama secured the Democratic nomination with no serious opposition . The Republicans experienced a competitive primary . Romney was consistently competitive in the polls and won the support of many party leaders , but he faced challenges from a number of more conservative contenders . Romney clinched his party 's nomination in May , defeating Rick Santorum , Newt Gingrich , and several other candidates . The campaigns focused heavily on domestic issues , and debate centered largely around sound responses to the Great Recession . Other issues included long-term federal budget issues , the future of social insurance programs , and the Affordable Care Act , Obama 's marquee legislative program . Foreign policy was also discussed , including the phase-out of the Iraq War , military spending , the Iranian nuclear program , and appropriate counteractions to terrorism . The campaign was marked by a sharp rise in fundraising , including from nominally independent Super PACs . Obama defeated Romney , winning a majority of both the popular vote and the Electoral College .
Gary Earl Johnson ( born January 1 , 1953 ) is an American businessman , author , and politician who 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 President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections . He was also the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in the 2018 New Mexico senate election . Johnson founded one of New Mexico 's largest construction companies . He entered politics for the first time by running for Governor of New Mexico in 1994 on a low-tax , anti-crime platform , promising a 'common sense business approach ' . He defeated incumbent Democratic governor Bruce King by 50% to 40% . He cut the 10% annual growth in the budget , in part due to his use of the gubernatorial veto 200 times during his first six months . Johnson sought reelection in 1998 , winning by 55% to 45% . In his second term , he concentrated on the issue of school voucher reforms as well as campaigning for cannabis decriminalization . During his tenure as governor , Johnson adhered to an anti-tax policy , setting state and national records for the number of times he used his veto power : more than the other 49 contemporary governors put together . Term-limited , Johnson retired from front-line politics in 2003 . Johnson ran for president in 2012 , initially as a Republican on a libertarian platform emphasizing the United States public debt and a balanced budget , protection of civil liberties , military non-interventionism , replacement of income tax with the FairTax , and opposition to the War on Drugs .
James Polin Jim Gray ( born February 14 , 1945 ) is an American jurist and writer . He was the presiding judge of the Superior Court of Orange County , California . Gray was the 2012 Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee , as well as the party 's 2004 candidate for the United States Senate in California . He is the author of multiple books and a play , and has been outspokenly critical of American drug laws . Gray has been a member of the California Judicial Council , as well as the California Judicial Council 's Advisory Committee on Juvenile Law , the Alcohol Advisory Board to the Orange County Board of Supervisors , the Advisory Board of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs , and the Orange County Law Library . He has also been a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC Law School . Gray also introduced Orange County to the Peer Court system , where juvenile defendants travel to a school outside their district to have their actual cases tried by other teenagers . In 2012 , Gray was nominated by Libertarian Party convention delegates as the running mate of former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson .
The 2012 presidential campaign of Gary Johnson , the 29th Governor of New Mexico , was announced on April 21 , 2011 . He declared his candidacy for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States . On December 28 , 2011 , Johnson withdrew his candidacy for the Republican nomination , and declared his candidacy for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party . The 2012 Libertarian National Convention was held during the first weekend of May 2012 . On May 5 , 2012 , after promoting his libertarian-oriented political positions to delegates , Johnson received the most votes at the convention and became the official 2012 Libertarian presidential nominee . On November 6 , 2012 , Johnson received just under 1% of the popular vote in the general election , amounting to more than 1.2 million votes , more than double what the Barr/Root ticket received in 2008 . This was the most successful result for a third-party presidential candidacy since 2000 , and the best in the Libertarian Party 's history by vote number at the time . Johnson ran again in 2016 and received nearly four times his 2012 vote total .
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election , held on Tuesday , November 8 , 2016 . The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S . Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine , despite losing the popular vote . Trump took office as the 45th president , and Pence as the 48th vice president , on January 20 , 2017 . Trump emerged as his party 's front-runner amidst a wide field of Republican primary candidates , while Clinton defeated Senator Bernie Sanders and became the first female presidential nominee of a major American party . Trump 's populist , nationalist campaign , which promised to Make America Great Again and opposed political correctness , illegal immigration , and many free-trade agreements , garnered extensive free media coverage . Clinton emphasized her extensive political experience , denounced Trump and many of his supporters as bigots , and advocated the expansion of President Obama 's policies ; racial , LGBT , and women 's rights ; and inclusive capitalism . The tone of the general election campaign was widely characterized as divisive and negative . Trump faced controversy over his views on race and immigration , incidents of violence against protestors at his rallies , and numerous sexual misconduct allegations including a controversial tape , while Clinton 's campaign was undermined by declining approval ratings due to concerns about her ethics and trustworthiness , and an FBI investigation of her improper use of a private email server , which received more media coverage than any other topic during the campaign . Clinton led in nearly every pre-election nationwide poll and in most swing state polls , leading some commentators to compare Trump 's victory to that of Harry S. Truman in 1948 as one of the greatest political upsets in modern U.S. history . While Clinton received 2.87 million more votes than Trump did ( the largest margin ever for a losing presidential candidate ) , Trump received the majority in the Electoral College and won upset victories in the pivotal Rust Belt region . Trump won six states that Democrat Barack Obama had won in 2012 : Florida , Iowa , Michigan , Ohio , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin .
William Floyd Weld ( born July 31 , 1945 ) is an American attorney , businessman , author , and Republican politician who served as the 68th Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997 . Weld is currently running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States of America in 2020 . A Harvard and Oxford graduate , Weld began his career as legal counsel to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary before becoming the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and later , the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division . He worked on a series of high-profile public corruption cases and later resigned in protest of an ethics scandal and associated investigations into Attorney General Edwin Meese . Weld was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1990 . In the 1994 election , he was reelected by the largest margin of victory in Massachusetts history . In 1996 , he was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in Massachusetts , losing to Democratic incumbent John Kerry . Weld resigned as governor in 1997 to focus on his nomination by President Bill Clinton to serve as United States Ambassador to Mexico ; due to opposition by socially conservative Senate Foreign Relations committee Chairman Jesse Helms , he was denied a hearing before the Foreign Relations committee and withdrew his nomination . After moving to New York in 2000 , Weld sought the Republican nomination for Governor of New York in the 2006 election ; when the Republican Party instead endorsed John Faso , Weld withdrew from the race . Weld became involved in presidential politics in later years . In 2016 , he left the Republican Party to become the Libertarian Party running mate of former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson . They received nearly 4.5 million votes , the highest number for a Libertarian ticket , and the best for any third-party ticket since 1996 .
The 2016 presidential campaign of Gary Johnson , the 29th Governor of New Mexico , was announced on January 6 , 2016 , for the nomination of the Libertarian Party for President of the United States . He officially won the nomination on May 29 , 2016 , at the Libertarian National Convention in Orlando , Florida , receiving 56% of the vote on the second ballot . Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld was endorsed by Johnson for the Libertarian vice-presidential nomination , which he also received on May 29 , 2016 . Johnson and Weld formed the first ticket of any party to feature two governors since the 1948 presidential election . They received nearly 4.5 million votes nationally , dwarfing Johnson 's 2012 popular vote total and marking the Libertarians ' most successful presidential run to date and the most successful third-party candidacy since Ross Perot in 1996 .