Libertarians face big challenge
OLYMPIA – The Libertarians, Washington’s other major political party, are fighting for survival – and dreaming of much more.
Just four years after winning a breakthrough to official major party status, the party faces the possibility of losing it and becoming just another fringe voice.
It’s a tall order. To keep its status, and the visibility, validation and easy ballot access that it brings, the Libertarians need to win at least 5 percent of the total vote for at least one statewide office this fall.
And even before that November moment of truth, Libertarian candidates face a big hurdle in the primary election. They must convince at least some people to give up their chance to vote in the Democratic or Republican primaries and vote the Libertarian ticket only.
A little known facet of Washington’s new primary system is that for any party nominee to advance to the general election, he or she must be picked by at least 1 percent of the voters in that race.
That’s no problem for the mainline parties, but it could be tough for Libertarians. If you’re Spencer Garrett in the 8th Congressional District, for instance, it’s tough to persuade a bunch of voters to take the Libertarian ballot when there are red-hot Republican and Democratic primaries for the open House seat – not to mention statewide races, such as governor, that will provide a mighty tug on the voter.
The Libertarians have been active here since the 1970s. They’re an eclectic group that stitches together support from across the political spectrum. They appeal to some conservative voters by defending gun rights, states’ rights and individual liberties, while espousing a much smaller government and lower taxes. The state party Web site calls small government the source of “abundance, peace, justice and strength in our human spirit” and big government “the root cause of all war and famine.”
Many Libertarians also support causes dear to the left – abortion rights, gay rights and same-sex marriage, civil liberties, legalizing pot and doing away with the war on drugs. Some Libertarians want to bring home the troops from Iraq.
The state party calls itself “the only political party defending economic AND individual liberties.”
The party broke in at the local level by winning nonpartisan offices, such as city councils in Kent and elsewhere. The party now counts 19 local elected officials, but hasn’t cracked the two-party dominance of legislative, congressional and statewide office.
Hoping to move to the next level, Libertarians have blanketed the ballot in the last three elections, filing 46 candidates this time around.