As the Libertarian Party and its Colorado chapter prepare to file competing candidates for the state's November presidential election, a dispute among party leaders has devolved into an unprecedented tug-of-war over who should choose the party's nominee.
The dispute has pitted Colorado state officials against national party officials, who announced last week that they would replace the Libertarian Party's nominee with controversial independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. National party officials have already filed much of the paperwork needed to place the presidential and vice presidential candidates chosen at the party's national convention in May on Colorado's ballot. State party officials have said they plan to do the same for Kennedy and his running mate.
It's unclear what will happen if both campaigns submit paperwork for the Libertarian Party's slate by the Sept. 6 deadline. Jack Todd, a spokesman for the Colorado Secretary of State's office, said his office has never had candidates at different levels of the same party running for president on different slates, and he doesn't know of any examples of this happening anywhere in the country.
In a statement, Todd said state law “does not say anything about intra-party disputes over nominations,” suggesting the disputes might have to be resolved in court.
“A political party may not have more than one presidential and vice presidential candidate on the Colorado ballot,” he said. “The (Secretary of State's Office) will accept the dossier submitted by the chapter of the Libertarian Party.”
The fight erupted last week after the Colorado Libertarian Party announced it was ignoring the party's official nominees, presidential candidate Chase Oliver and his running mate Mike Ter-Martin, and that party officials are instead endorsing Kennedy and his running mate Nicole Shanahan.
Party officials say Kennedy, a former Democrat, is closer to Libertarian positions and that his candidacy would serve the party's interests and advance its candidates.
Kennedy's campaign did not respond to messages seeking comment this week, but he has been forming or forming new, smaller parties around the country to gain votes. He is part of a political family that is deeply skeptical of his generally anti-vaccination candidacy, but he has been garnering support in national polls, some of which have him at more than 10%.
Following the state party's endorsement of Kennedy, Libertarian Party National Secretary Caryn Ann Harros and Oliver's campaign filed paperwork with the Secretary of State's office to officially register the Libertarian Party as a candidate in Colorado. Harros and Oliver separately confirmed to The Denver Post on Tuesday that the paperwork had been submitted. (Todd, the state spokesman, said the paperwork was still incomplete and that a list of appointed electors was still needed.)
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Oliver said he didn't know the details surrounding his Colorado fight but reiterated that he has been formally nominated by his party and will be on Colorado's ballot in November.
A message sent to the National Liberal Party was not returned Tuesday.
Haros, who stressed he could not speak on behalf of the party, said Goodman and other local officials violated state and national party rules by replacing Oliver with Kennedy. Haros accused the Colorado Libertarian Party of endorsing Kennedy, who received only minor support at the party's national convention, of “sleazy opportunism” aimed at gaining money and attention.
“National nominations are decided at the national convention,” said Haros, who is based in Colorado and served on one of the local party's committees until he recently resigned, “just like the Democrats and Republicans. And as an affiliate party, the Colorado Libertarian Party is obligated to follow them.”
She added, “And RFK Jr. is not a libertarian, and we only vote for libertarians. They may not be perfect, but at least they're libertarian.”
Neither the Kennedy campaign nor the state party have yet filed paperwork to place Kennedy on the ballot as the Libertarian Party candidate, but state party chair Hannah Goodman said Tuesday they still plan to do so.
“State parties own the ballots,” Goodman said in a text message, and said he would work with state officials to resolve the issue before the Sept. 6 deadline. He declined to comment further and referred questions to a spokesman.
Before reaching the deal with Colorado Libertarians, Kennedy had been collecting signatures to appear on the ballot in the state as an independent. Signatures can still be collected, but time is running out: The deadline to submit them is Thursday.
The Libertarian Party is the third-most popular party in Colorado after the Democrats and Republicans, with 45,462 supporters as of last month, just over 1% of registered voters. That figure is down nearly 6% since May 2021, when The Washington Post reported on the 50th anniversary of the party's founding in Colorado.
At a state party meeting Monday night, members took turns criticizing and defending the decision to replace Oliver with Kennedy, according to video seen by The Washington Post, with one member saying the move was “against the will of the party” and another saying the decision would destroy the party.
Haros warned the bill would take the party down a “very, very, very dangerous path” with regards to election law.
But supporters said Kennedy would bring attention and money to a party they described as a political organization “on the brink of irrelevance and irrelevance.” One El Paso County liberal quipped that he was surprised “there's just nothing incredible going on” within the party.
“We think the principles are incredibly important,” added Jacob Luria, the party's campaign chairman in Colorado, “but we also know that other things like money and support are incredibly important.”
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