Alaska Libertarian Party: Difference between revisions

The Alaskan Libertarian Party was founded shortly after the national party and grew to become a stronghold for the new party in the late seventies and throughout the eighties. In 1973 [[John Hospers]] and [[Tonie Nathan]], the party's 1972 presidential and vice-presidential nominees, spoke at the party's first state convention in Fairbanks to fifty members of the party.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hospers featured speaker for Libertarian meeting|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31148439/fairbanks_daily_newsminer/|3=|access-date=2019-05-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501222237/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31148439/fairbanks_daily_newsminer/|archive-date=2019-05-01|dead-url=no|df=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Libertarian leader explains difference at confab here|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31148481/fairbanks_daily_newsminer/|3=|access-date=2019-05-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501222837/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31148481/fairbanks_daily_newsminer/|archive-date=2019-05-01|dead-url=no|df=}}</ref> During the 1980 Presidential election [[Ed Clark]] and [[Eugene McCarthy]] both appeared and spoke at their state convention.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alaska Libertarian Party 1980 convention|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2310894/alaska_libertarian_party_1980_convention/|}}</ref> Two years later the party gained the most votes for a non-write in third party candidate for governor with [[Dick Randolph]] receiving 14.91% of the vote and would maintain it until 1990. However, in 1985 Randolph left to run as a Republican in the 1986 gubernatorial election.<ref>{{cite web|title=Libertarian Leader Quits Party; Seeking GOP Nod For Governor in '86|url=https://apnews.com/d6550b0179ea3d33d2a2a1c53e80c90c|3=|access-date=2019-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410140300/https://apnews.com/d6550b0179ea3d33d2a2a1c53e80c90c|archive-date=2019-04-10|dead-url=no|df=}}</ref> Despite the success in 1982 the 1986 Alaska gubernatorial election proved to be a failure as the party leadership rejected the primary winner, Mary O'Brannon, and after failing to remove her with a lawsuit due to her failing to meet the residency requirements they instead chose to launch a write-in campaign with the lieutenant governor candidate and runner up in the primary, Ed Hoch, as their candidate.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alaska Libertarian Party launches write-in against Libertarian Party primary victor 1986|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2312064/alaska_libertarian_party_launches/|}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626121018/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33258687/daily_sitka_sentinel/|title=Former Libertarian in Jail Over Ads|publisher=Daily Sitka Sentinel|date=March 17, 1986|accessdate=June 26, 2019}}</ref>  O'Brannon defeated Hoch in terms of popular vote with 1,050 against his 107 write-in votes, but she had lost over 14% and 28,000 votes from Randolph's 1982 campaign.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elections.alaska.gov/returns/90genr.pdf |title=1986 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Alaska |accessdate=2009-08-31 |publisher=''Alaska Division of Elections'' |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902154442/http://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/86GENR/86genr.pdf |archivedate=2 September 2009 |deadurl=yes }}</ref> Also in 1986 [[Andre Marrou]], the only sitting Libertarian in a state legislature at the time, lost reelection to the state house.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626115815/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33258499/daily_sitka_sentinel/|title=Libertarians Lose

In 1988 the party was successful in placing three legislature candidates on the ballot after the state Supreme Court ruled the filing deadline to be unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626121403/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33258721/daily_sitka_sentinel/|title=Judge: Libertarians Should be on Ballot|publisher=Daily Sitka Sentinel|date=September 13, 1988|accessdate=June 26, 2019}}</ref>  In 1992 the Alaskan affiliate along with the state's Constitution Party affiliate won a lawsuit against the Alaskan state Elections Division after both of their presidential ballot petitions were rejected.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626120613/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33258649/daily_sitka_sentinel/|title=Libertarian, Taxpayers Parties to be on Ballot?

|publisher=Alaska Dispatch News|agency=Alaska Dispatch News|last=Herz|first=Nathaniel|date=September 6, 2016|accessdate=September 7, 2016}}</ref> Miller came in second place and garnered nearly 30% of the vote, the highest percentage ever received by a Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate, but did not beat the total vote record established in 2002 Massachusetts Senate election by Michael Cloud.