Libertarian Party of California

The Libertarian Party of California (LPC) is the California affiliate of the national Libertarian Party (LP). The party chairman is Adrian Malagon, and is based in Sacramento, California, in Sacramento County. As of 2026, Libertarians represent approximately 1.02% of the state's registered voters.

They have maintained continuous ballot access since 1980, which has long been considered a core goal for Libertarian Party state-level affiliates.

History

In 1972, the party considered suing county clerks in Placer and Butte counties for refusing to allow voters to register as Libertarians. In 1978, Ed Clark, who had been the affiliate's chairman from 1973 to 1974 and later the national presidential candidate in 1980, ran as an independent for governor of California to gain party recognition and received over five percent. However, the Secretary of State ruled that the two percent requirement was for retaining party recognition and not gaining party recognition and that since Clark had run as an independent and not a Libertarian it would not count either way. The party filed a lawsuit against the decision, but it was first dismissed then ruled against on appeal. The Libertarian Party of California has hosted the Libertarian National Convention in 1977, 1979, 1980, and in 2000.

Participation of "independent" voters Since January 2001, California has had a "modified" closed primary system in which political parties can determine whether or not to allow voters who are not affiliated with any party (i.e. "independent") to participate in the party's primary. The passage of Proposition 14 limited this "modified" closed primary system to primaries for President of the United States, starting with the 2012 primaries. For the first 15 years of the "modified" closed primary system, the California Libertarian Party did not allow "independent" voters to vote in Libertarian primaries. However, beginning with the 2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries, the California Libertarian Party has allowed "independent" voters to vote in its presidential primaries.

County-wide executive office In 2018 Jeff Hewett was elected to the Board of Supervisors in Riverside County. Representing approximately 2.5 million people, this was one of the most significant successes in the history of the Libertarian Party. It followed his term as Mayor of Calimesa, a city in Riverside, in which he avoided bankruptcy for the city by replacing their contract with the county fire department through building a municipal fire department.

Current elected officials All current Libertarian Party elected officials are in "nonpartisan" elected offices, meaning that the candidates' partisan affiliation is not listed on the ballot.

Bob Karwin – Menifee City Council District 1. Brian Holtz – Purisima Hills Water District board member John Harrington – San Gabriel city councilor Kate O'Brien – Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District board member Nils Nehrenheim – Redondo Beach City Council District 1. Ryan Kelley – Imperial County Supervisor, District 4.

Notable former elected officials

Jeff Hewitt – District 5 Riverside County Supervisor board member (2019–2023) and former Calimesa city councilmember and Mayor Art Olivier – Bellflower city councilor and mayor (1994–1997; 1998–1999)

Electoral performance

Year Presidential nominee Votes Change 1972 John Hospers (write-in) 980 (0.1%) 1976 Roger MacBride 56,388 (0.7%) 0.7% 1980 Ed Clark 148,434 (1.7%) 1.0% 1984 David Bergland 49,951 (0.5%) 1.2% 1988 Ron Paul 70,105 (0.7%) 0.2% 1992 Andre Marrou 48,139 (0.4%) 0.3% 1996 Harry Browne 73,600 (0.7%) 0.3% 2000 Harry Browne 45,520 (0.4%) 0.3% 2004 Michael Badnarik 50,165 (0.4%) 0.0% 2008 Bob Barr 67,582 (0.5%) 0.1% 2012 Gary Johnson 143,221 (1.1%) 0.6% 2016 Gary Johnson 478,500 (3.4%) 2.3% 2020 Jo Jorgensen 187,895 (1.1%) 2.3% 2024 Chase Oliver 65,296 (0.4%) 0.6%

Senate Class I Year Senate nominee Votes Change 1982 Joseph Fuhrig 107,720 (1.4%) 1988 Jack Dean 79,997 (0.8%) 0.6% 1992 Richard Benjamin Boddie 247,799 (2.3%) 1.5% 1994 Richard Benjamin Boddie 179,100 (2.1%) 0.2% 2000 Gail Lightfoot 187,718 (1.8%) 0.3% 2006 Michael S. Metti 133,851 (1.6%) 0.2% 2012 Gail Lightfoot 101,648 (2.1%) 0.5% 2018 Derrick Michael Reid 59,999 (0.9%) 1.2%

Senate Class III Year Senate nominee Votes Change 1980 David Bergland 202,481 (2.4%) 1986 Breck McKinley 66,261 (0.9%) 1.5% 1992 June R. Genis 235,919 (2.2%) 1.3% 1998 Ted Brown 93,926 (1.1%) 1.1% 2004 Jim Gray 216,522 (1.8%) 0.7% 2010 Gail Lightfoot 175,235 (1.8%) 0.1% 2016 Gail LightfootMark Matthew Herd 141,105 (1.9%) 0.1%

Gubernatorial Year Gubernatorial nominee Votes Change 1978 Ed Clark 377,960 (5.5%) 0.6% 1982 Dan P. Dougherty 81,076 (1.0%) 4.4% 1986 Joseph Fuhrig 52,628 (0.7%) 0.3% 1990 Dennis Thompson 145,628 (1.9%) 1.2% 1994 Richard Rider 149,281 (1.7%) 0.2% 1998 Steve Kubby 73,845 (0.9%) 0.8% 2002 Gary David Copeland 161,203 (2.2%) 1.3% 2003 Ned RoscoeKen HamidiJohn Hickey 5,887 (0.1%) 2.1% 2006 Art Olivier 114,329 (1.3%) 1.3% 2010 Dale Ogden 150,898 (1.5%) 0.2% 2014 None None 1.5% 2018 Zoltan IstvanNickolas Wildstar 26,028 (0.4%) 0.4%2021Jeff Hewitt50,378 (0.7%) 0.3%

Lieutenant Gubernatorial Year Lieutenant nominee Votes Change 1994 Bob New 180,896 (2.1%) 1998 Thomas Tryon 109,888 (1.4%) 0.8% 2002 Pat Wright 104,920 (1.4%) 0.1% 2006 Lynnette Shaw 142,851 (1.7%) 0.2% 2010 Pamela Brown 574,640 (5.9%) 4.2% 2014 None None 5.9% 2018 Tim Ferreira 99,949 (1.5%) 1.5%

Attorney General Year Attorney General nominee Votes Change 1994 Richard N. Burns 274,335 (3.3%) 1998 Joseph S. Farina 149,430 (1.9%) 1.5% 2002 Ed Kuwatch 127,152 (1.8%) 0.1% 2006 Kenneth Weissman 177,469 (2.1%) 0.3% 2010 Timothy J. Hannan 246,583 (2.6%) 0.5% 2014 Jonathan Jaech 99,056 (2.4%) 0.1% 2018 None None 2.4%

Secretary of State Year Secretary of State nominee Votes Change 1994 Peggy Christensen 248,748 (3.0%) 1998 Gail Lightfoot 216,853 (2.7%) 0.3% 2002 Gail Lightfoot 204,527 (2.8%) 0.1% 2006 Gail Lightfoot 171,393 (2.0%) 0.8% 2010 Christina Tobin 157,974 (2.2%) 0.2% 2014 None None 2.2% 2018 Gail Lightfoot 155,879 (2.4%) 2.4%

State Treasurer Year State Treasurer nominee Votes Change 1994 John Petersen 335,452 (4.1%) 1998 John Petersen 183,436 (2.3%) 1.8% 2002 Marian Smithson 168,401 (2.3%) 0.0% 2006 Marian Smithson 334,056 (4.%) 1.7% 2010 Edward Teyssier 217,818 (2.3%) 1.7% 2014 None None 2.3% 2018 None None

State Controller Year State Controller nominee Votes Change 1994 Cullene Marie Lang 128,378 (1.6%) 1998 Pamela Pescosolido 147,397 (1.8%) 0.3% 2002 None None 1.8% 2006 Donna Tello 188,934 (2.7%) 2.7% 2010 Andrew Favor 291,657 (3.0%) 0.77% 2014 None None 3.0% 2018 None None

Insurance Commissioner Year Insurance Commissioner nominee Votes Change 1994 Ted Brown 346,007 (4.2%) 1998 Dale Ogden 169,922 (2.1%) 2.1% 2002 Dale Ogden 236,688 (3.3%) 1.2% 2006 Dale Ogden 305,772 (3.7%) 0.4% 2010 Richard Bronstein 362,037 (4.0%) 0.3% 2014 None None 4.0% 2018 None None

State Assembly Year Number of candidates Votes Change 1992 46 343,366 (3.3%) 1994 35 166,510 (2.1%) 1.2% 1996 26 142,577 (1.5%) 0.5% 1998 38 144,427 (1.9%) 0.3% 2000 52 316,668 (2.8%) 1.0% 2002 36 162,472 (2.4%) 0.48% 2004 34 324,414 (2.9%) 0.3% 2006 21 122,036 (1.5%) 1.3% 2008 15 171,324 (1.4%) 0.1% 2010 18 115,714 (1.2%) 0.2% 2012 0 0 (0.0%) 1.2% 2014 1 30,735 (0.4%) 0.4% 2016 4 130,798 (1.0%) 0.6% 2018 5 145,514 (1.2%) 0.2%

Voter registration Libertarian voter registration in the state of California has experienced significant growth. Year Registered voters Voter gain or loss from previous year 2021 204,345 8,237 2020 196,108 42,760 2019 153,348 11,980 2018 141,368 93 2017 141,461 1,656 2016 139,805 17,929 2015 121,876 1,072 2014 120,804 11,168 2013 109,636 900 2012 108,736 16,490 2011 92,246 1,135 2010 91,111 7,748 2009 83,363 211 2008 83,574 154 2007 83,420 45 2006 83,465 503 2005 83,968 5,649 2004 89,617 77 2003 89,540 955 2002 90,495 2,865 2001 93,360 1,540 2000 94,900 12,561 1999 82,339

Governance The Libertarian Party of California is a "political party that has detailed statutory provisions applicable to its operation", which are in division 7, part 3 of the California Elections Code.Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee (1989), 489 U.S. 214 . "The State of California heavily regulates its political parties. … The California Elections Code (Code) provides that the 'official governing bodies' for such a party are its 'state convention,' 'state central committee,' and 'county central committees,' …"California Elections Code § 7250 The Libertarian State Central Committee, the governing body of the Libertarian Party of California, functions pursuant to its standing rules and bylaws."". Bylaws and Convention Rules of the Libertarian Party of California As Amended in Convention April 29, 2017. The regular officers of the Central Committee are the chairman, two regional vice chairmen, secretary, and treasurer.

County central committees There are semi-autonomous county central committees for many of California's 58 counties. The counties which currently have active affiliates are as follows:

Alameda Contra Costa El Dorado Kern Kings Los Angeles Monterey Nevada Orange Placer Riverside Sacramento San Bernardino San Diego San Francisco San Mateo Santa Clara Ventura Yolo

Notes

Libertarian Party of California

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