The 2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses were a series of electoral contests to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate in the 2020 United States presidential election. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses in that they do not appoint delegates to represent a candidate at the party's convention to select the party's presidential nominee.
The party's nominee was subsequently chosen directly by registered delegates at the 2020 Libertarian National Convention, held through an online convention from May 22 to May 24. Jo Jorgensen was chosen as the party's presidential nominee, becoming the first woman to receive the Libertarian nomination, after four rounds of voting. Spike Cohen was nominated for vice president.
Background The 2020 United States presidential election was the thirteenth contested presidential election in which the Libertarian Party participated. The 2016 election saw the highest vote total and percentage of votes for a Libertarian presidential ticket ever, with former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson and his running mate, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, receiving over four million votes and 3.3% of the total vote.
Candidates Major candidates have been invited to participate in at least two Libertarian Party-sponsored debates or have received substantial independent media coverage.
Nominee Candidate Born Experience Home state Campaign Popular vote Contests won RefJo Jorgensen (age )Libertyville, IllinoisPsychology senior lecturer at Clemson UniversityNominee for Vice President in 1996Nominee for U.S. representative from SC-04 in 1992CampaignNovember 2, 2019FEC Filing Nominated:May 23, 2020Running mate: Spike Cohen 5,123(11.2%)2(NE, NM)
Eliminated in convention balloting
CandidateBorn ExperienceHome stateCampaign announcedCampaign suspendedPopular voteContests won RefJacob Hornberger (age )Laredo, TexasFounder and President of the Future of Freedom FoundationIndependent candidate for U.S. Senate from Virginia in 2002Candidate for President in 2000October 29, 2019FEC FilingRunning mate: Spike Cohen May 23, 2020 (eliminated in balloting; endorsed Jorgensen after her nomination) 9,186(20.3%)7(CA, CT, IA, MN, MO, NY, OH)Vermin Supreme(age ) Rockport, MassachusettsPerformance artist, activist, and political satiristCandidate for president in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 CampaignJune 26, 2019FEC FilingRunning mate: Spike Cohen May 23, 2020 (eliminated in balloting; endorsed Jorgensen after her nomination) 4,290(9.4%)1(NH)Adam Kokesh(age )San Francisco, CaliforniaLibertarian and anti-war political activistNominee for U.S. Senate from Arizona in 2018Republican candidate for U.S. representative from NM-03 in 2010January 18, 2018FEC Filing Running mate: Larry Sharpe (formerly John McAfee)May 23, 2020(eliminated in balloting; endorsed Jorgensen during balloting)(ran for vice-president) 2,865(6.3%)0Dan Behrman(age )Los Angeles, CaliforniaSoftware engineer, internet personality and podcasterNominee for Texas State Representative from the 125th district in 2014January 30, 2019FEC FilingMay 23, 2020(Eliminated in nomination round of convention; endorsed Supreme)(Running as an independent) 2,398(5.3%)0Sam Robb (age )Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaSoftware engineer and authorFormer naval officerApril 1, 2019FEC FilingMay 23, 2020(Eliminated during nomination round; endorsed Jorgensen) 1,954(4.3%)0Souraya FaasFormer member of the Miami-Dade County Republican Executive Committee Independent candidate for president in 2016May 3, 2019FEC FilingMay 23, 2020(eliminated during nomination round; endorsed Supreme) 1,170(3.0%)0Erik GerhardtEntrepreneurMay 23, 2019FEC FilingMay 23, 2020(eliminated during nomination round) 847(2.2%)0Keenan Dunham(age )Myrtle Beach, South CarolinaChair of the Horry County, South Carolina Libertarian PartyCandidate for President in 2016August 26, 2018FEC FilingMay 23, 2020(eliminated during nomination round) 722(1.9%)0John McAfee 1945–2021; aged 75 years (at death) Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire,United KingdomFounder and CEO of McAfee, Inc.(1987–1994) Candidate for President in 2016CampaignJune 3, 2018Running mate: Adam KokeshMarch 4, 2020Resumed: March 5, 2020May 23, 2020(eliminated during nomination round)560(1.5%)0Arvin Vohra (age )Silver Spring, MarylandVice Chair of the LNC(2014–2018)Nominee for U.S. Senate from Maryland in 2016 and 2018Nominee for U.S. representative from MD-05 in 2012 and MD-04 in 2014July 3, 2018FEC FilingMay 23, 2020(eliminated during nomination round; endorsed Kokesh)272(0.7%)0 Kenneth Blevins Pipe welderJune 6, 2019FEC FilingMay 23, 2020(eliminated during nomination round)122(0.3%)0John Monds (age )Former President of the Grady County, Georgia NAACP Nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2010January 27, 2020FEC FilingMay 23, 2020 (eliminated during balloting; endorsed Jorgensen during balloting)(ran for vice-president) 64(0.2%)0Jim Gray (age ) Washington, D.C.Former presiding judge for the Superior Court of Orange County, CaliforniaNominee for Vice President in 2012April 13, 2020Running mate: Larry SharpeMay 23, 2020 (eliminated during balloting; endorsed Jorgensen during balloting) 42(0.1%)0
Withdrew during the primaries CandidateBornExperienceStateCampaign announcedCampaign suspendedPopular voteContests wonCampaignKen Armstrong (age )Pasadena, CaliforniaU.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer(1977–1994)Former nonprofit executiveFormer member of the Honolulu County, Hawaii Neighborhood Board May 10, 2019 (Ran for Vice President)(Endorsed Amash) 3,509(7.7%) 0FEC Filing Mark Whitney Podcaster and political satiristFounder and CEO of TheLaw.net Nominee for Vermont State Senate in 1996 December 20, 2019 (Endorsed Gray) 10(nil%) 0 CampaignFEC Filing Lincoln Chafee (age )Providence, Rhode IslandGovernor of Rhode Island (2011–2015) U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (1999–2007)Mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island (1993–1999)Democratic candidate for President in 2016 January 5, 2020 441(1.1%) 0 Campaign Max Abramson (age )Kent, WashingtonNew Hampshire State Representative(2014–2016; 2018–present)Nominee for Governor of New Hampshire in 2016 June 30, 2019 (Ran for Reform nomination and for Veterans' nomination) 2,040(4.5%) 0 FEC Filing Kim Ruff Peoria, Arizona Vice chair of the LPRadical CaucusWrite-in candidate for Arizona State Mine Inspector in 2018 (Endorsed Supreme) 3,045(6.7%)0 FEC FilingRunning mate: John Phillips Jr.
Withdrew before the primaries
Candidate Born Experience State Campaignannounced CampaignsuspendedPopular vote Ref. Joe Exotic (aged ) Garden City, Kansas Zookeeperindependent candidate for president in 2016 Statement of Candicacy docquery.fec.gov Retrieved May 7, 2023 0 Zoltan Istvan (aged ) Los Angeles, California Transhumanist activist and futuristCandidate for Governor of California in 2018Transhumanist nominee for President in 2016 0
Formed exploratory committee but did not run CandidateBornExperienceStateExploratory committee announcedExploratory committee disbandedPopular voteContests wonJustin Amash (age )Grand Rapids, Michigan U.S. representative from MI-03(2011–2021) Michigan State Representative from MI-72(2009–2011) April 28, 2020 May 16, 2020 3 (nil%) 0
Declined to be candidates These individuals have been the subject of presidential speculation, but have publicly denied or recanted interest in running for president. Patrick Byrne, CEO and founder of Overstock.com from Indiana Tom Campbell, former U.S. Representative from California (1989–1993, 1995–2001) (endorsed Jim Gray) Kmele Foster, telecommunications entrepreneur and TV host from New York (endorsed Justin Amash) Gary Johnson, Republican Governor of New Mexico (1995–2003), nominee for president in 2012 and 2016, nominee for U.S. senator from New Mexico in 2018 Thomas Massie, Republican U.S. representative from Kentucky (2012–present) Darryl W. Perry, radio host and candidate for President in 2016 (endorsed Kim Ruff) Austin Petersen, candidate for President in 2016, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Missouri in 2018 Mary Ruwart, candidate for president in 1984 and 2008, candidate for vice president in 1992, nominee for U.S. Senate from Texas in 2000 Mark Sanford, Republican U.S. representative from South Carolina (2013–2019) (ran for the Republican Party nomination) Nicholas Sarwark, attorney and chair of the Libertarian National Committee (2014–2020), candidate for Mayor of Phoenix in 2018 Larry Sharpe, businessman, motivational speaker, and nominee for Governor of New York in 2018 (ran for Vice President) Jesse Ventura, Reform Governor of Minnesota (1999–2003) (considered running for Green Party nomination) Bill Weld, Republican Governor of Massachusetts (1991–1997) and nominee for Vice President in 2016 (ran for the Republican Party nomination)
Timeline of the race 2017 November 25: Zoltan Istvan announces his intention to run.
2018 January 18: Adam Kokesh officially launches his campaign at an event in Texas, having already announced his intention to run for president during a jailhouse interview in 2013. On the day of his announcement, Kokesh was stopped twice by Texas state troopers, and placed under arrest and charged with possession of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence. May 28: Perennial candidate and performance artist Vermin Supreme files to run. June 3: Contrary to an assertion he made at the 2016 convention, John McAfee announces via Twitter that he would run for president again in 2020, either with the Libertarian Party or under the banner of a party of his own creation. July 3: Former Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, Arvin Vohra announces his candidacy, after an unsuccessful bid for re-election to his position as vice chair. August 26: Chair of the Horry County Libertarian party and 2016 presidential candidate Keenan Dunham files to run. October 19: After having been asked during a Q&A session a few days prior if he would be interested in running for president as a Libertarian, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne indicates that he "almost definitely" was not going to run for president in 2020. December 12: Vice chair of the L.P. Radical Caucus Kim Ruff expresses interest in a run.
2019 January 3: Biomedical researcher and candidate for the party's 2008 presidential nomination Mary Ruwart confirmed on Twitter that she was not planning on seeking the nomination on 2020 in order to focus on writing. January 11: Zoltan Istvan announced via his website that he had left the Libertarian Party some time before this date, and was no longer seeking its presidential nomination in 2020. January 20: At-the-time Republican representative Justin Amash warns the Libertarian Party against nominating a "squishy Republican" at LibertyCon, a comment widely seen as directed at 2016 vice-presidential nominee and presumptive frontrunner Bill Weld. January 21: Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who had been suggested as a Libertarian candidate, makes clear that any presidential run by him would be as an independent. January 22: McAfee announces via Twitter that he would be continuing his campaign "in exile", following reports that he, his wife, and four of his campaign staff were being indicted for tax-related felonies by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). McAfee indicated that he was in "international waters", and had previously tweeted that he was on his way to Venezuela. The IRS has not commented on the alleged indictments. January 23: McAfee confirmed on Twitter that he had docked in the Bahamas, where he would remain for the foreseeable future. January 30: Podcaster and software engineer Dan Behrman files to run.