We have our first official partisan nominee for the 2008 US presidential election. At this weekend’s convention, former Republican Congress member from Georgia (and Clinton impeachment manager) Bob Barr won the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party.
Just on purely objective indicators–name recognition, prior political experience, etc.–this year’s cast of “minor” presidential candidates could be one of the strongest in memory, if (as expected) Cynthia McKinney (a former Democratic Congress member, also from Georgia) gets the Green nomination: Barr, McKinney, and the Nader-Gonzalez independent ticket.
Barr led by one vote over Mary Ruwart1 in the first round of the Libertarian’s sequential-elimination2 majority method of selecting a candidate. He led Ruwart, 188–162 after the second round; he secured the nomination on the sixth ballot.
Multiparty Man Mike Gravel, a former Democratic Senator from Alaska and until this spring a Democratic Party pre-candidate, came in fourth.3
Update: Good insights, and comparison to the Paul campaign, by Poblano at 538.com. On a Paul rally earlier in the campaign, he comments:
The impression I was left with was that these were people who followed the news, but were generally disdainful of the political process itself, at least insofar as it involved the two major parties. It did not seem like Paul was “stealing” votes from anyone in particular.
Generally the case with campaigns of this sort, I would submit.
The post also has a graphic of the progression of the votes at each of the Libertarian convention ballots.
__________
- Who? I have no idea, either. But apparently she was considered the front-runner before Barr got in rather late. [↩]
- Sort of. Apparently there is a first-round threshold for continuing, as three first-round candidates (including write-in candidate Ron Paul) were dropped before the second round. Source: Third Party Watch. [↩]
- 71 votes in each of the two first rounds. [↩]
Matthew:
I was there. In fact, I gave the Libertarian side of the keynote speech, with Richard Viguerie giving the other side.
If I may be so bold, there are lots of details, and references to an excellent play-by-play, on my blog. This was an actual political convention. Fascinating experience.
http://mungowitzend.blogspot.com/
Seed planted by Mike Munger — 26 May 2008 @ 21:08
Thanks, Mike!
I just looked at my sample ballot from the Calif. primary. The samples that are sent out include all parties that are holding primaries, and there are twelve Libertarian pre-candidates listed. Of course, Barr, now the nominee, is not one of them (he announced very late). Nor is Ruwart, the second-place candidate in the convention voting. Neither is Gravel (who also announced late, and was still running in the Democratic party at the time of the 5 Feb. primary).
Only the third place candidate (Wayne Root) and the last two candidates at the convention first ballot (Steve Kubby and George Phillies) were on the ballot.
Obviously there is not much linkage between the convention delegations and the primary (which only some states hold for the Libertarian and other ‘minor’ parties).
Seed planted by MSS — 29 May 2008 @ 13:46
It just dawned on me that clearly the Libertarians are the baseball party. Or at least the NL party. They have a Kubby and Phillies.
Seed planted by MSS — 30 May 2008 @ 19:03