Libertarian Party US Presidential Election Results

History

Since 1972, there have been 10 Libertarian Presidential Nominees. The most successful in terms of percent of votes and number of votes was Ed Clark in 1980. In 1972, John Hospers received the first and only electoral vote in the party's history when one faithless elector voted for him.

1972 Presidential Election

In 1972, the Libertarian Party was barely organized and was still in its infant stage. The Presidential Nominee was John Hospers. The Vice Presidential Nominee was Tonie Nathan. The ticket was only on the ballot in 2 states and received one electoral vote from a faithless elector in Virginia.

1976 Presidential Election

By 1976, the party had started to organize and was able to mount a more solid campaign for president. The nominee was Roger MacBride, the same faithless elector who voted for John Hospers in the last election. The Vice Presidential Nominee was David Bergland. The pair managed to gain ballot access in 32 states and was able to gain more than 100,000 votes, a milestone for the relatively new political party.

1980 Presidential Election

The 1980 Presidential Election was another major milestone for the Libertarian Party. The Party nominated Ed Clark for President and David Koch for Vice President. The campaign was largely self financed and was able to run several national television advertisements. The ticket gained ballot access in all 50 states. In Alaska, the ticket gained 11.66% of the vote.

1984 Presidential Election

At the 1984 National Convention, many Libertarians walked out, leading many to suspect the end of the party was near. As a result of the walkout, David Bergland was nominated for President and Jim Lewis was nominated for Vice President. The ticket had ballot access in 36 states.

1988 Presidential Election

Former Congressman Ron Paul was the Presidential Nominee for 1988 and Andre Marrou was the Vice Presidential Nominee. The campaign raised over $2,000,000 and was on the ballot in 46 states.

1992 Presidential Election

For the 1992 Election, Andre Marrou was nominated as the Presidential Candidate. Marrou was known for being one of the few libertarian elected to a state legislature and as the Vice Presidential Candidate in 1988. Nancy Lord was nominated as the Vice Presidential Candidate. The ticket gained ballot access in all 50 states.

1996 Presidential Election

Harry Browne was the Presidential Nominee in 1996 and his running mate was Jo Jorgenson. Due to the personal wealth of both men, the campaign was able to get on the ballot in all 50 states.

2000 Presidential Election

Harry Browne was re-nominated as the Presidential Nominee in 2000 but chose Art Olivier as his running mate. The campaign had some controversy surrounding it after the National Director was found to have worked on the campaign in 1996 before Harry Browne's candidacy had been decided. The campaign nearly got on the ballot in all 50 states again but a split with the Arizona Chapter caused Harry Browne to be replaced on the ticket with another Libertarian.

2004 Presidential Election

At the 2004 Convention, the Presidential Nomination Election was very close. The race was between Michael Badnarik, Gary Nolan, and Aaron Russo. All three candidates were within 2% of each other for the first two ballots. However, Michael Badnarik made a surprising comeback and won the nomination. In a separate nomination, Richard Campagna was chosen as the vice presidential nominee. During the election cycle, Badnarik raised over $1,000,000 and ran national television ads on CNN and Fox news. The ticket gained ballot access in 48 states but didn't gain access in New Hampshire or Oklahoma.

2008 Presidential Election

Bob Barr was nominated as the Presidential Nominee in 2008 with Wayne Allen Root nominated as the Vice Presidential Candidate. The Barr campaign was expected to do very well but due to several factors such as Sarah Palin's nomination as McCain's VP, Ron Paul's dropping of his endorsement of Barr, and the campaign's lack of advertising. The campaign still raised nearly $1.4 million dollars but didn't get as many votes as many Libertarian Leaders felt it could have. The ticket was on the ballot in 44 states.