WASHINGTON (AP) — The Libertarian Party on Sunday named party activist Chase Oliver for president, rejecting former President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after each spoke at the party convention.
Third parties have rarely been competitive in US presidential elections and the Libertarian candidate four years ago won 1% of the vote. But the party’s decision is receiving more attention this year due to the rematch between Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden, which could again depend on small vote margins in a handful of contested states.
“We did it! I’m officially the presidential candidate,” Oliver posted on Sunday on X, formerly Twitter. “It’s time to unify and move forward for freedom.”
Trump appeared Saturday night in Washington at the convention to give a speech that was repeatedly booed by many in the room. It wasn’t worth the endorsement he requested, though his Republican allies praised him Sunday for choosing to appear before a hostile crowd.
Kennedy received a friendlier reception when he spoke on Friday and attacked Trump and Biden for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had spoken about his support for the Libertarians and an endorsement could have helped him speed up the process of gaining access to the polls in all 50 states, perhaps the biggest obstacle he faces in qualifying for the first presidential debate in June, hosted by CNN.
Libertarians prioritize small governments and individual freedoms, with a mix of political positions that can be seen as liberal, conservative, or neither.
Oliver is an activist from Atlanta who previously ran for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House in Georgia. His campaign website calls for major cuts to the federal budget with a view to balancing the budget, abolishing the death penalty and closing all military bases abroad, and ending military support for Israel and Ukraine.
