ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Libertarian Party presidential candidate Chase Oliver on Tuesday urged voters to give him a chance in the upcoming White House election.
“I hope that voters will give me their honest opinion. Compare me to the other candidates. I'm half the age of most of my opponents,” Oliver said.
Oliver, an activist from Snellville, was nominated as the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate after hours of campaigning in Washington, D.C., beating out fellow candidates Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump said he was ineligible to win the nomination because he had already been the Republican nominee.
“My team and I are very excited to have secured the nomination and to move quickly into the general election,” Oliver said. “Traveling across the country and reaching out to all 50 states is something that no Libertarian candidate has ever done before. I think that gives our supporters confidence that 'Chase is going to do really well in the general election.'”
Oliver said Tuesday that he is already eligible to appear on the ballot in November's elections in 37 states, including Georgia.
“Georgia means a lot to me. This is my home. This is where my values are rooted. This is where I grew up and the spirit of love and diversity that Atlanta has given me,” Oliver said.
Historically, third-party candidates have rarely been competitive in presidential elections.
Four years ago, Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen won about 1% of the vote nationwide, including 1.2% in Georgia.
“I don't expect the Libertarian Party candidate to play a big role in this election. Other third-party candidates will garner more attention and probably more votes than Chase Oliver,” said Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University.
Gillespie predicted that Kennedy and Cornel West were likely to receive more votes.
In 2022, Oliver received 2.1% of the vote in the U.S. Senate election.
But his presence led to a runoff election between Rev. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker, which Rev. Warnock inevitably won.
Gillespie doubts Oliver can muster enough support to have a similar impact on the 2024 presidential election.
“I just don't believe that Chase Oliver has that kind of influence,” Gillespie said. “I have a hard time believing that he can get enough points, or enough votes in any state, to look at the margin of victory and say it's a victory for the Libertarian Party.”
Oliver said his goal is to expand the Libertarian Party's reach beyond a presidential challenge.
“This is not a one-time election. This is an election that will steel us to defeat government abuses,” Oliver said.
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