The Libertarian National Convention is held every two years by the Libertarian Party (United States) to choose members of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC), and to conduct other party business. In presidential election years, the convention delegates enact a platform and nominate the Libertarian presidential and vice-presidential candidates who then face the nominees of other parties in the November general election.
While most delegates to the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention are tied to particular candidates, delegates to the Libertarian National Convention are free to choose, as was previously the case for the larger parties. Accordingly, Libertarian National Conventions place less emphasis on festivities and spinning the press, though some of each may be found. The complete convention is televised by C-SPAN with additional broadcast television coverage of the presidential nominating process. None of the above is always an option on all ballots.
The first Libertarian National Convention was held in 1972 in Denver, Colorado. John Hospers and Theodora Nathan were nominated presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively. The party received the first electoral vote won by a woman, cast by Roger MacBride.
The 1973 Convention was held in Strongsville, Ohio, from June 8 to 10. Over 175 were in attendance.[1]
The 1974 convention adopted the Dallas Accord which sought to accommodate supporters of both anarcho-capitalism and minarchism.[2] [3] [4]
The 1975 convention was held at the Statler-Hilton hotel in New York City. Roger MacBride was nominated for president. After initially selecting None of the Above, the convention's delegates nominated David Bergland for vice president.
The 1976 convention was held in Washington, D.C., from September 23 to 26, 1976.
See main article: 1977 Libertarian National Convention. The 1977 convention was held at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California. (More details soon)
The 1978 convention was held at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston Massachusetts. (More details soon)
The 1979 convention was held at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles[5] and nominated Ed Clark for president and billionaire David H. Koch for vice president.
The 1980 convention was held at the Century City Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and via satellite. Unlike other Libertarian Party conventions, its primary purpose was promotional.
The 1981 convention was held in Denver, Colorado.
See main article: 1983 Libertarian National Convention. David Bergland was selected as the 1984 presidential nominee at the 1983 National Convention.[6]
The 1985 convention was held in Phoenix, Arizona.
See main article: 1987 Libertarian National Convention. The 1987 Libertarian National Convention was held the first weekend in September in Seattle, Washington. At the convention, the party was split between conservative and liberal factions.[7] Ron Paul, representing the former, was nominated as the Libertarian Party's 1988 presidential candidate on the first ballot with 196 of the 368 votes cast. His closest opponent, Native American activist Russell Means, received 120 votes. Andre Marrou was selected as Paul's running mate as the candidate for vice president without opposition.
The 1989 convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
See main article: 1991 Libertarian National Convention. The 1991 Libertarian National Convention was held in Chicago the last weekend in August, and nominated Andre Marrou as the party's 1992 candidate for president.[8] [9]
The 1993 convention was held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
See main article: 1996 Libertarian National Convention. The 1996 Libertarian National Convention was held the first weekend of July in Washington D.C., and nominated Harry Browne as its presidential candidate.[10]
The 1998 convention was held in Washington D.C.
See main article: 2000 Libertarian National Convention. The 2000 convention was held in Anaheim, California, from June 30 to July 4. Harry Browne was again chosen as the party's presidential candidate, becoming the first Libertarian Party candidate to run twice for president of the United States.[11]
The 2002 convention was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, from July 3 to 7. Key Note Speaker: Dr. Ron Paul. [12]
See main article: 2004 Libertarian National Convention. The 2004 convention was held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, Memorial Day weekend, May 27 to May 31. Michael Badnarik was chosen as the party's presidential candidate, beating out Gary Nolan and Aaron Russo on the third ballot; Richard Campagna was chosen as the party's vice-presidential candidate over Tamara Millay, and Michael Dixon was elected chair of the LNC.
The 2006 convention was held at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Portland, Oregon, July 1–2.[13] Delegates chose (in a "retain or delete" vote process) to eliminate about three-quarters of the specific planks in the party's platform[14]
Speakers included:
See main article: 2008 Libertarian National Convention. The 2008 convention was held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel (formerly the Adam's Mark Hotel) in Denver, Colorado (the same city as the very first convention in 1972), May 23–26.
See main article: 2010 Libertarian National Convention. The 2010 convention was held in St. Louis, Missouri, from Friday, May 28, to Monday, May 31.
See main article: 2012 Libertarian National Convention. The 2012 convention was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 4–6, 2012.[15] [16]
See main article: 2014 Libertarian National Convention. The 2014 convention was held in Columbus, Ohio, during the last weekend in June.[17]
See main article: 2016 Libertarian National Convention. The 2016 convention was held in Orlando, Florida, during the last weekend in May.[18]
See main article: 2018 Libertarian National Convention. The 2018 convention was held from June 30 to July 3 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Nicholas Sarwark was reelected as chair, Alex Merced elected as vice chair, Caryn Ann Harlos elected as secretary, Tim Hagan reelected as treasurer, new at-large members were selected, and a new four-year term Judicial Committee was elected.
See main article: 2020 Libertarian National Convention. The 2020 convention was scheduled to be held in Austin, Texas, over Memorial Day weekend, but that was canceled via the enactment of their impossibility clause. Nomination business for president and vice president and potentially, confirmation of the in-person convention, was to be done virtually on Friday, May 22, with ratification to take place sometime in early July. That alternate venue was set by the Libertarian National Committee for Orlando, Florida, the host city of the 2016 Libertarian National Convention.
The 2022 convention was held on Memorial Day weekend from May 26 to 29 in Reno, Nevada.[19] [20]
See main article: article and 2024 Libertarian National Convention. The 2024 convention was held from May 24 to the early morning of May 27, 2024, at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.[21]
The following is a list of United States Libertarian Party Presidential nominating conventions.
| Year | Location | Presidential nominee | Vice presidential nominee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Denver, Colorado | John Hospers of California | Theodora Nathan of Oregon | |
| 1973 | Strongsville, Ohio | colspan=2 | ||
| 1974 | Irving, Texas | |||
| 1975 | New York, New York | Roger MacBride of Virginia | David Bergland of California | |
| 1977 | San Francisco, California | colspan=2 | ||
| 1979 | Los Angeles, California | Ed Clark of California | David Koch of Kansas | |
| 1980 | ||||
| 1981 | Denver, Colorado | colspan=2 | ||
| 1983 | New York, New York | David Bergland of California | James Lewis of Connecticut | |
| 1985 | Phoenix, Arizona | colspan=2 | ||
| 1987 | Seattle, Washington | Ron Paul of Texas | Andre Marrou of Alaska | |
| 1989 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | colspan=2 | ||
| 1991 | Chicago, Illinois | Andre Marrou of Alaska | Nancy Lord of Nevada | |
| 1993 | Salt Lake City, Utah | colspan=2 | ||
| 1996 | Washington, D.C. | Harry Browne of Tennessee | Jo Jorgensen of South Carolina | |
| 1998 | colspan=2 | |||
| 2000 | Anaheim, California | Harry Browne of Tennessee | Art Olivier of California | |
| 2002 | Indianapolis, Indiana | colspan=2 | ||
| 2004 | Atlanta, Georgia | Michael Badnarik of Texas | Richard Campagna of Iowa | |
| 2006 | Portland, Oregon | colspan=2 | ||
| 2008 | Denver, Colorado | Bob Barr of Georgia | Wayne Allyn Root of Nevada | |
| 2010 | St. Louis, Missouri | colspan=2 | ||
| 2012 | Las Vegas Valley | Gary Johnson of New Mexico | Jim Gray of California | |
| 2014 | Columbus, Ohio | colspan=2 | ||
| 2016 | Orlando, Florida | Gary Johnson of New Mexico | Bill Weld of Massachusetts | |
| 2018 | New Orleans, Louisiana | colspan=2 | ||
| 2020 | Virtual/Orlando, Florida | Jo Jorgensen of South Carolina | Spike Cohen of South Carolina | |
| 2022 | Reno, Nevada | colspan=2 | ||
| 2024 | Washington, D.C. | Chase Oliver of Georgia | Mike ter Maat of Virginia |