Libertarian Party of Indiana

The Libertarian Party of Indiana is the Indiana affiliate of the Libertarian Party.

As of 2026, the party has held ballot access for 32 years, with 12 Libertarians having been elected to office across the state.

History and operations The founding meeting of the Libertarian Party of Indiana was held on July 14, 1974, at the Holiday Inn at Weir Cook Airport (now called the Indianapolis International Airport). Approximately 20–25 people attended including Paul Hyatt, Tom Duncan, Marvin Lazaro, Brian Bernstein, Dick Smith, Steve Butterbaugh, and Charlie Reisert. Reisert made the motion to start the Libertarian Party of Indiana. The first headquarters was located at 1430 N. Capitol Avenue in Indianapolis. The LPIN became a minor political party in 1994 after achieving ballot access when Steve Dillon received more than 2% of the vote running for Secretary of State.

In 2008, the Libertarian presidential ticket of Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root had their strongest showing in Indiana, receiving 1.1% of the vote (19,243 votes). The party's best finish in a statewide race came in 2006 when US Senate candidate Steve Osborn received about 13% of the vote. Osborn had the best result for a third-party candidate running for the Senate in the 2006 elections.

In 2020 Indiana gubernatorial election, Donald Rainwater became the third Libertarian to get in the double digits with 11.44%, second only to Alaska’s Dick Randolph who won 14.91 percent in 1982.

At the 2026 Libertarian National Convention, the chairperson of the LPIN, Evan McMahon, was elected to chair the national party.

Officials and staff Officers Officer Name (First, Last) Chairman Evan McMahon Vice-chairman James Sceniak Secretary Stephanie Dasbach Treasurer Ronnie Dickson Staff Staff Name (First, Last) IT Director Michael Schultheiss Political Director VacantCommunication Director Andrew Smith Outreach Director Elizabeth Coquillard

State Central Committee Congressional District Representative Name 1 John Schick 2 Tim Cotton 3 Kristi Avery 4 Danny Lundy 5 Lauri Shillings 6 Luke Lomax 7 Elizabeth 'Libby' Glass 8 Micahn Haynes 9 Kelly Curran

National Committee Representative Region Representative Name(First, Last) 5 Dustin Nanna Alternate Gregory Hertzsch

Current elected officeholders , there were eight Libertarian members who held elected office in Indiana.

Susan Bell – Town Judge, Hagerstown Cheryl Heacox – Advisory Board, Clay Township Larry Walters – Town Council, Dublin Jessica Wallace – Town Council, at large, Larwill Jamie Jo Owens – Trustee, Liberty Township Terry Coffman – Advisory Board, Liberty Township Dean Hartley – Advisory Board, Franklin Township Ryan Coby – Town Council, Milton Nathan Kring – City Council, Tipton Patricia Warner – Clerk-Treasurer, Claypool

Appointed officeholders Several Libertarians have been appointed to offices in Indiana: Mark W. Rutherford – Chairman, Indiana Public Defender Commission (Since 2007) Scott Baker – Elkhart County Innkeepers Tax Commission (Since 2006) Joyce Morrell – Rush County Fiber Optic Board (Since 2016) Tom Monka – Rush County Planning Commission (Since 2016) Michael Dowden – Town of Brownsburg Economic Development Commission (2017–2020); Town of Brownsburg Improvement Committee (2017); Town of Brownsburg Redevelopment Authority (2014–2016) Paul Morrell – Chairman, Rush County Sheriff's Officer Merit Board (Since 2017) Jeffrey Mauer – Carmel Economic Development Commission (Since 2020); Home Place Advisory Board (Since 2018) Anna Elliott – Martinsville Board of Zoning Appeals, Vice-chair (Since 2019) Shane Lemler – Vincennes Urban Enterprise Association Board (Since 2020) Joel Samuelson – Culver Planning Commission (Since 2020) Joseph Bachman – New Chicago Planning Commission (Since 2020); New Chicago Parks Board (Since 2020) Jennifer Meador – Mooresville Board of Zoning Appeals (Since 2021) Ryan Patterson – Secretary, Franklin County Economic Development Commission (Since 2021)

Past state chairs

Year Start Year End Name (First, Last) 1974 1976 Paul Hyatt 1976 1979 Sally (Heistand) Callin 1979 1980 Joseph Hauptmann 1981 N/A Joe Bryan (deceased) 1981 1982 Kevin Grant 1983 N/A Mike Fallahay 1984 1985 Steve Dasbach 1985 1986 Jim Reidenauer (deceased) 1986 1987 Dr. Walter Weeks 1987 1988 Roger Strater 1988 N/A Bonnie Flemmonds 1988 1989 Steve Dasbach 1989 1996 Dr. Barbara Bourland 1996 1998 Rob Shuford 1998 2000 Joseph Hauptmann 2000 2007 Mark Rutherford 2007 2009 Todd Singer 2009 2013 Sam Goldstein 2013 2015 Dan Drexler 2015 2017 Joseph Hauptmann 2017 2021 Timothy Maguire 2021 present Evan McMahon

Past candidates Donald Rainwater was the 2020 LPIN nominee for Governor for Indiana. He lost to incumbent Governor Eric Holcomb, but he made a large impact in the election by receiving 11.4% (345,567 votes) of the vote after polling as high as 25%. His success has invigorated the Libertarian Party of Indiana, especially in the light of his 2nd-place finish in 1/3 of the 92 counties. Their motto in the 2021 convention, "Level Up" has inspired them to make serious moves to be a party of contention in Indiana politics.|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Rainwater Steve Osborn was the 2006 Libertarian Party nominee for US Senate from Indiana. He lost to incumbent Republican Senator Dick Lugar in the 2006 United States Senate election in Indiana. He was Lugar's only opponent on the ballot in that election, as the Democratic Party did not field a candidate. Osborn received about 13% of the vote, the best result for a Libertarian in the 2006 U.S. national-level elections.Osborn ; Muncie Free Press online; accessed . His previous political experience includes attempted bids for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Representative in his home district in 2000 and 2002. Osborn is from La Porte, Indiana. Paul Hager ran for the U.S. Representative in Indiana's 8th district in 1994, 1996, and 1998. Also, he ran for US Senate in 2000. In 2002, he ran for Indiana Secretary of State on the issue of voting reform.

Libertarian Party of Indiana

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