Wikipedia

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania

The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA) is the Pennsylvania affiliate of the Libertarian Party. Since March 2023, it has been chaired by Greg Deal.

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania
AbbreviationLPPA
ChairpersonGreg Deal[1]
Founded1971
Headquarters3915 Union Deposit Road
P.O. Box 223
Harrisburg, PA 17109
Membership (2021)Increase 45,469[2]
IdeologyLibertarianism
National affiliationLibertarian Party
Colors  Gold-yellow
Statewide executive offices
0 / 5
Justices of the PA Supreme Court
0 / 7
Seats in the PA Senate
0 / 50
Seats in the PA House
0 / 203
PA seats in the U.S. Senate
0 / 2
PA seats in the U.S. House
0 / 18
Other elected officials108 (June 2024)[3]
Website
lppa.org

Leadership

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Executive Committee[1]
Chair Vice Chair Secretary Treasurer
Gregory Deal Bryan Goodnight Alfa Shaw Greg Perry

LPPA Platform

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The party believes that each individual must be free to do as she or he pleases as long as she or he does not infringe upon the equal right of others. Another tenet is that force must not be used on an individual, unless that individual has initiated the use of force or fraud. The party also believes that only those laws that are consistent with the purpose of the government to protect and secure individuals' rights should be utilized by the government.[4]

History

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Takeover by Mises Caucus

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Main article: Mises Caucus

The Mises Caucus, a Paleolibertarian group with ties to the Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign who described the Caucus as "the libertarian wing of the Libertarian Party,"[5] staged a takeover of the national Libertarian party at the 2022 Libertarian National Convention on May 28.[6] Concurrently, state branches staged takeovers of state affiliates and took control of 37 of the state parties. As a result, the parties of New Mexico, Virginia, and Massachusetts disaffiliated from the National Libertarian Party, and in late 2022 formed the Association of Liberty State Parties.[7] In Pennsylvania, Rob Cowburn led the local Mises branch in taking over the party, however, older members of the state committee, and various county branch leaders, left the party in protest and formed the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania led by Gus Tatlas, the former leader of the York County branch of the party.[8]

On December 28, 2023, former LPPA Executive Director Kevin Gaughen issued a press release titled "The LP of Pennsylvania Has Collapsed!" Gaughen denounced the Mises Caucus as the cause of the drop in the number of due-paying members from ~1,600 to 597 resulting in a 45.9% decline in total party income and that the party now has only $17,953 in its treasury, though it started with $47,377.92 during the takeover. He also pointed out that all Mises endorsed libertarians in the 2022 election lost, and that the only libertarians that were elected in Pennsylvania in 2022 were non-Mises old-guard. He also noted that before the takeover the party had 39 active county and regional committees covering 48 counties, which dropped to 20 active committees covering 22 counties post-takeover.[9]

Elected officeholders

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The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania has had many candidates elected to city and county positions throughout Pennsylvania, though the party does not hold any of the state's federal positions or seats in the state legislature. There are currently 108 elected Libertarian officeholders in Pennsylvania as of June 2024.[10]

Electoral performance

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Federal elections

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U.S. President

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Election year Vote percentage ±% Votes Presidential candidate Vice presidential candidate Result Reference
1980
0.7%
 N/A 33,263 Ed Clark David Koch 4th [11]
1984
0.1%
   0.59 6,982 David Bergland James A. Lewis 4th [12]
1988
0.3%
   0.1 12,051 Ron Paul Andre Marrou 4th [13]
1992
0.4%
   0.2 21,477 Andre Marrou Nancy Lord 4th [14]
1996
0.6%
   0.2 28,000 Harry Browne Jo Jorgensen 4th [15]
2000
0.2%
   0.4 11,248 Harry Browne Art Olivier 6th [16]
2004
0.4%
   0.1 21,185 Michael Badnarik Richard Campagna 3rd [17]
2008
0.3%
   nil 19,912 Bob Barr Wayne Allyn Root 4th [18]
2012
0.9%
   0.5 49,991 Gary Johnson Jim Gray 3rd [19]
2016
2.4%
   1.5 146,715 Gary Johnson Bill Weld 3rd [20]
2020
1.2%
   1.2 79,380 Jo Jorgensen Spike Cohen 3rd [21]

U.S. Senate

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Year Candidate Votes Percentage
1980 David K. Walter 18,595 0.4%
1982 Barbara I. Karkutt 19,244 0.5%
1988 Henry E. Haller II 11,822 0.3%
1992 John Perry 219,319 4.6%
1994 Donald Ernsberger 59,115 1.7%
1998 Jack Iannantuono 46,103 1.6%
2000 John Featherman 45,775 1.0%
2004 Betsy Summers 79,263 1.4%
2012 Rayburn Smith 96,926 1.7%
2016 Edward T. Clifford III 235,142 3.9%
2018 Dale Kerns 50,153 1.0%
2022 Erik Gerhardt 72,887 1.4%

References

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  1. ^ a b "Officers". Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  2. ^ Pennsylvania Department of State. "2021 Voter Registration Statistics – May 18, 2021 Primary" (PDF). Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Elected Officials". Libertarian Party. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Statement of Principles". lppa.org. Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  5. ^ Ron Paul's Message to the Mises Caucus. LP Mises Caucus. 2021-01-17. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-14 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Mises Caucus Takes Control of Libertarian Party". Reason.com. 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  7. ^ "Association of Liberty State Parties Announces Formation; Names Three State Affiliates". Independent Political Report. 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  8. ^ "The Keystone Party is Pa.'s newest political body. Here's what members are pushing for". Erie Times-News. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  9. ^ Gaughen, Kevin (29 December 2023). "The LP of Pennsylvania Has Collapsed!". third party watch. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Elected Officials". Libertarian Party. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  11. ^ Federal Election Commission (31 December 1980). "1980 Presidential Election Results" (PDF). pp. 3–5. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  12. ^ Federal Election Commission (June 1985). "Federal Elections 1984" (PDF). p. 11. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  13. ^ Federal Election Commission (June 1989). "Federal Elections 1988" (PDF). p. 11. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  14. ^ Federal Election Commission (June 1993). "Federal Elections 1992" (PDF). p. 25. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  15. ^ Federal Election Commission (May 1997). "Federal Elections 1996" (PDF). p. 26. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  16. ^ Federal Election Commission (June 2001). "Federal Elections 2000" (PDF). p. 27. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  17. ^ Federal Election Commission (May 2005). "Federal Elections 2004" (PDF). p. 36. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  18. ^ Federal Election Commission (July 2009). "Federal Elections 2008" (PDF). p. 36. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  19. ^ Federal Election Commission (July 2013). "Federal Elections 2012" (PDF). p. 37. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  20. ^ Federal Election Commission (December 2017). "Federal Elections 2016" (PDF). p. 39. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  21. ^ Pennsylvania Department of State. "Tuesday, November 3, 2020 Official Returns – Statewide". Pennsylvania Election Returns. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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