| Libertarian Party of Wisconsin | |
| Chairman: | Stephen Ecker [1] |
| Foundation: | 1973 |
| State: | Wisconsin |
| Ideology: | Libertarianism |
| Headquarters: | Greenfield, Wisconsin |
| National: | Libertarian Party (United States) |
| Colors: | Gold-yellow |
| Seats1 Title: | Seats in the Senate |
| Seats2 Title: | Seats in the Assembly |
| Seats3 Title: | Seats in the U.S. Senate |
| Seats4 Title: | Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives |
| Seats5 Title: | Other elected officials |
| Seats5: | 0 [2] |
The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin is the Wisconsin affiliate of the Libertarian Party. Founded in 1973, it is one of the oldest state affiliates in the Libertarian Party. In 2002, Ed Thompson, brother of Tommy Thompson and the Mayor of Tomah, Wisconsin, ran for Governor of Wisconsin, garnering over 10% of the vote. This was a record for a Libertarian gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin running against both a Democratic and Republican candidate.
Wisconsin requires parties to poll at least 1% in a statewide election in order to be recognized for ballot status and to conduct party primaries. The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin met this test in 2014 with the candidacies of Madison attorney Tom Nelson for Attorney General (3%), Milwaukee political consultant Andy Craig for secretary of state (3%), and former Mayor Jerry Shidell of Rhinelander for state treasurer (2%).[3]
In 2022, the sitting state chair of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, Jacob VandenPlas, ran for Congress (U.S. House of Representatives, WI District 8) and received 10.5% of the vote in a 3-way race, a state of Wisconsin record. (the Democratic candidate was listed on the ballot as an Independent due to failing to meet ballot access paperwork requirements). [4]
| Year | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | John Hospers (Write-in) | 101 | 0.01% |
| 1976 | Roger MacBride | 3,814 | 0.18% |
| 1980 | Ed Clark | 29,135 | 1.28% |
| 1984 | David Bergland | 4,884 | 0.22% |
| 1988 | Ron Paul | 5,157 | 0.56% |
| 1992 | Andre Marrou | 2,877 | 0.11% |
| 1996 | Harry Browne | 7,929 | 0.36% |
| 2000 | 6,640 | 0.26% | |
| 2004 | Michael Badnarik | 6,464 | 0.22% |
| 2008 | Bob Barr | 8,858 | 0.30% |
| 2012 | Gary Johnson | 20,439 | 0.67% |
| 2016 | 106,674 | 3.58% | |
| Year | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Bervin J. Larson | 9,679 | 0.44% |
| 1992 | William Bittner | 9,147 | 0.4% |
| 1994 | James R. Dean | 15,439 | 1.0% |
| 1998 | Tom Ender | 5,591 | 0.32% |
| 2000 | Tim Peterson | 21,348 | 0.8% |
| 2004 | Arif Khan | 8,367 | 0.28% |
| 2012 | Joseph Kexel | 62,240 | 2.07% |
| 2016 | Phillip Anderson | 87,531 | 2.97% |
| Year | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Larry Smiley | 9,734 | 0.62% |
| 1994 | David Harmon | 11,639 | 0.74% |
| 1998 | Jim Mueller | 11,071 | 0.63% |
| 2002 | Ed Thompson | 185,455 | 10.45% |
| 2010 | Terry Virgil | 6,790 | 0.31% |
| 2014 | Robert Burke | 18,720 | 0.78% |
| 2018 | Phillip Anderson | 20,320 | .8 |