Libertarian Party of Texas
The Libertarian Party of Texas | |
---|---|
Chairperson | Whitney Bilyeu[1] |
Founded | 1971 |
Headquarters | PO Box 1766 Austin, Texas 78767 |
Ideology | Libertarianism |
National affiliation | Libertarian Party (United States) |
Colors | Gold and Blue[2] |
Website | |
www.lptexas.org | |
The Libertarian Party of Texas is the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party in Texas.
History
In 1971, Texas was one of the 13 original founding state parties at the first Libertarian Party (LP) convention in
In the 1990 statewide elections, gubernatorial candidate Jeff Daiell (author of the novel, From Roundheel To Revolutionary) achieved 3.3% of the vote (129,128) and Comptroller candidate Gill Grisham received 5.8%, guaranteeing ballot access through 1994. Daiell's showing is currently the LP of Texas record in a gubernatorial race in terms of percentage; in 2018 Mark Tippetts broke the record for most votes. On March 9, 1998, U.S. District Judge
In May 2004 the party easily met the state's signature requirement. In the November 2006 elections, the party ran 168 candidates, and easily secured ballot access for 2008 in two-way races for state judicial positions, with the highest vote total going to Jerry Adkins for
Officeholders
- Ed Tidwell – Mayor of Lago Vista
- Larry Bush – Jarrell City Council[6]
Campaigns and elections
2008 campaigns
The party fielded 173 candidates for federal, state, county, and local positions for the 2008 elections.[7]
The party received media attention when it announced on August 1 that Suzanna Hupp, a former Texas state representative, had called Jason Jordan and Joe Allport, two Libertarian candidates for state representative in districts Republicans were concerned with losing, asking them to drop out of the race.[8]
2010 campaigns
In January 2010, the party announced 193 Libertarians filed for nomination, including five gubernatorial candidates.[9]
Texas House District 130 candidate Joe Spencer received media attention in February 2010 as a finalist for Best Information Web Site by About.com
2012 election results
For the first time ever five Libertarians in Texas received over 1 million votes:
- Jaime O. Perez, Railroad Commissioner – 1,122,792
- RS Roberto Koelsch, Texas Supreme Court – 1,280,886
- Tom Oxford, Texas Supreme Court – 1,030,735
- Mark W. Bennett, Court of Criminal Appeals – 1,326,526
- William Bryan Strange, Court of Criminal Appeals – 1,313,746
Lillian Simmons achieved 30% in her race for Texas House. David Kinney in Hockley County had a competitive race for sheriff, receiving 2,479 votes for nearly 42% of the vote.
In Lago Vista, Libertarian candidate Ed Tidwell won his seat on City Council against a longtime incumbent.[11]
2021 Libertarian National Committee chair special election
In 2021, LP of Texas chair Whitney Bilyeu was elected as the 21st National chair of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) in a special election.[12][13]
References
- ^ "Area Libertarians attend state convention". Corsicana Daily Sun. 29 April 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ Libertarian Party of Texas Archived 2016-06-02 at the Wayback Machine – Color Guidelines
- ^ Under Texas law since the 1980s, any political party having at least one statewide candidate that garners at least 5% of the vote, is guaranteed ballot access at the next statewide election.
- ^ Libertarian Party of Texas Archived 2006-12-06 at archive.today – Texas Libertarians make major gains, break records
- ^ http://www.lptexas.org/rules – LPTexas Party Rules
- ^ "Elected Officials". Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ "Libertarian Party of Texas". Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
- ^ http://lptexas.org/release-20080801.shtml[permanent dead link]
- ^ Libertarian Party of Texas[permanent dead link] – 193 Libertarians File for Office
- ^ About.com Archived 2010-05-29 at the Wayback Machine, – Best Information Page Design: Joe Spencer for State Representative
- ^ Libertarian Party of Texas Archived 2013-04-15 at archive.today – Libertarians on the Rise in Texas
- ^ "Libertarian Party Announces New LNC Chair". Libertarian Party. July 12, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Winger, Richard (July 12, 2021). "Whitney Bilyeu is New Chair of Libertarian Party". Ballot Access News. Retrieved February 14, 2023.