The Libertarian Party (LP) is a right-libertarian political party in the United States. The party promotes libertarianism, specifically fiscal conservatism and laissez-faire capitalism, civil libertarianism and cultural liberalism, foreign non-interventionism, and limiting the size and scope of government. it is the third-largest political party in the United States by voter registration, ahead of the Green Party of the United States.
The world's first explicitly libertarian party, the party was officially formed on December 11, 1971. Party organizers opposed the Nixon administration's wage and price controls, the Vietnam War and conscription, and the end of the Gold Standard and introduction of fiat money. The organizers of the party drew inspiration from the works and ideas of the prominent Austrian school economist Murray Rothbard.
Its fiscal policy positions include lowering taxes and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), decreasing the national debt, and phasing out Social Security and the welfare state in part by utilizing private charities. It supports ending the public school system and disbanding Medicare and Medicaid to return to a free-market healthcare system. Its social policy positions include ending the prohibition of illegal drugs, advocating criminal justice reform through the legalization of all victimless crimes, supporting same-sex marriage, ending capital punishment, and supporting the right to keep and bear arms. In 2013, Gary Johnson, the party's presidential nominee in 2012 and 2016, said the party is more socially liberal than Democrats and more fiscally conservative than Republicans.
The Libertarian Party contains several major factions with competing visions. In 2022, the paleolibertarian Mises Caucus (LPMC) won a majority on the Libertarian National Committee and shifted the party in a fiscal- and social-conservative direction. The change resulted in internal conflicts and significant policy changes. Several state chapters distanced or disavowed themselves of the National Committee and formed their own independent state-level parties. Other defectors formed the Classical Liberal Caucus and Liberal Party USA. In 2024, Mises won again. In 2025, "unity" candidate Steven Nekhaila was elected as party Chair. In 2026, anti-Mises candidates won. The new LNC disaffiliated the Mises-leaning Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, which had endorsed Donald Trump over Chase Oliver in 2024 and endorsed assassinating elected Democrats. LPNH leader Jeremy Kauffman appealed, which the LNC unanimously denied.
History
The first Libertarian National Convention was held in June 1972. In 1978, Dick Randolph of Alaska became the first elected Libertarian state legislator. Following the 1980 federal elections, the Libertarian Party assumed the title of being the third-largest party for the first time after the American Independent Party and the Conservative Party of New York (the other largest minor parties at the time) continued to decline. In 1994, over 40 Libertarians were elected or appointed, which was a record for the party at that time. 1995 saw a soaring membership and voter registration for the party. In 1996, the Libertarian Party became the first third party to earn ballot status in all 50 states two presidential elections in a row.
In the 2012 Presidential election, Libertarian candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson received over 1.2 million votes, the highest for any Libertarian to date.Libertarian Party buoyant; Greens hopeful. UPI. 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2016-10-04. He was renominated for president in 2016, this time choosing former Massachusetts Governor William “Bill” Weld as his running mate. Johnson/Weld shattered the Libertarian record for a presidential ticket, earning over 4.4 million votes.Libertarians pick ticket, slam Trump. CNN. 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-10-04. In the 2016 Presidential election, Gary Johnson won over 4.4 million votes (3.3% of the total), the highest for any Libertarian before or since. Johnson was particularly popular in Johnson's home state of New Mexico, earning 9.3% of the vote. Both Johnson and Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein received significantly more news coverage in 2016 than third-party candidates usually get, with polls showing both candidates potentially increasing their support over the last election, especially among younger voters.For Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson Is a Juicier Target Than Jill Stein. Mother Jones. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
In the 2020 Wyoming House election, Libertarian Marshall Burt won a seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives, the first state legislature win for the party since 2000. The first and only Libertarian in the United States Congress was Justin Amash, who joined the Libertarian Party in 2020 and left the U.S. House of Representatives in 2021 after choosing not to seek re-election.
2020s internal disputes In 2022, the Mises Caucus (LPMC) became the dominant faction on the Libertarian National Committee, leading to internal conflicts and significant policy changes, specifically regarding immigration and abortion. Some classical liberalism-minded dissidents split from the Libertarian Party to form the Liberal Party USA, while others formed the Classical Liberal Caucus.
At the 2022 Libertarian National Convention, members of the Mises Caucus, a paleolibertarian group affiliated with the beliefs of Ron Paul successfully staged a takeover of the Party, with over two-thirds of delegates becoming members of the Caucus, shifting the party in a right-ward direction. The caucus successfully swept leadership positions, including electing Angela McArdle as chairwomen and Joshua Smith as vice-chairman. The 2022 convention had an unusually high number of delegates, with the last recorded number for an off-election year convention in 2006 being just 300 delegates. The 2022 convention by contrast saw over 1,000 delegates. After the takeover, non-Mises affiliated members walked out, criticizing the group for lacking in libertarian orthodoxy, as well as condemning several racist statements that members of the Caucus had made in the past. More ardent members of the party started to splinter, with Pennsylvania's split resulting in the formation of the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania.
Following changes to the party's official core platform by new leadership, several other state-level affiliated parties disaffiliated from the national Party or dissolved themselves. The New Mexico Libertarian Party further argued the Mises Caucus sweep was illegal, citing bylaws which was later amended. After the Libertarian Party of Virginia reformed, the dissidents formed a splinter group, the Virginia Classical Liberal Party. A similar situation occurred regarding the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts. The Mises Caucus furthermore blocked the disaffiliation of the New Hampshire party.
The Association of Liberty State Parties was officially formed on December 3, 2022 as a national party committee between the Massachusetts, New Mexico, and New Mexico parties. The Association formally rebranded to Liberal Party USA in February 2024.
In late 2023, Party Chair Angela McArdle, after being contacted by former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell, met with Donald Trump to consult on how Trump could win over the Libertarian vote. McArdle suggested the pardon of Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 for his role in the marketplace Silk Road, which was achieved after the inauguration of Donald Trump. Five months later, Donald Trump was invited to the Libertarian Party's 2024 National Convention by McArdle, where he promised to include a libertarian in the cabinet and stated that the Libertarians should make him the presidential nominee. Trump was booed and heckled, including cries of "Bullshit!" and "Fuck you!". Subsequently, the convention nominated "armed and gay" former senate candidate Chase Oliver for president, who defeated paleolibertarian Michael Rectenwald. Oliver's nomination was denounced by the state affiliates in Montana, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Idaho.
Chair Angela McArdle, after claims of improper party fund spending directed at her partner, stepped down from her position as chair of the Libertarian Party National Committee in January 2025. Mises Caucus founder Michael Heise was defeated by Steven Nekhaila in a 9–6 vote, who promised commitments to a policy of emphasizing small local races. Six national committee members endorsed by the Mises Caucus defected to Nekhaila, cementing his victory. Classical Liberal Caucus member Paul Darr was elected as vice-chairman.
The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire was censured in September 2025 by the National Committee citing "despicable conduct", and was invited to disaffiliate and cease its use of the Libertarian Party name.
Ideology The party favors minimally regulated markets, a less powerful federal government, strong civil liberties (including LGBT rights, with the party supporting same-sex marriage), the liberalization of drug laws, separation of church and state, open immigration, non-interventionism and neutrality in diplomatic relations, free trade and free movement to all foreign countries and a more representative republic.
The party's platform preamble outlines the party's goals: "As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others." The platform emphasizes individual liberty in personal and economic affairs, avoidance of "foreign entanglements" and military and economic intervention in other nations' affairs, and free trade and migration. It calls for Constitutional limitations on government as well as the elimination of most state functions.
Political positions
The Libertarian Party supports laissez-faire capitalism and the abolition of the modern welfare state. It adopts pro-civil liberties and pro-cultural liberal approaches to cultural and social issues. Paul H. Rubin, professor of law and economics at Emory University, believes that while liberal Democrats generally seek to control economic activities and conservative Republicans generally seek to control consumption activities such as sexual behavior, abortion and so on, the Libertarian Party is the largest political party in the United States that advocates few or no regulations in what it deems "social" and "economic" issues.
Economic The "poverty and welfare" issues page of the Libertarian Party's website says that it opposes regulation of capitalist economic institutions and advocates dismantling the entirety of the welfare state: We should eliminate the entire social welfare system. This includes eliminating food stamps, subsidized housing, and all the rest. Individuals who are unable to fully support themselves and their families through the job market must, once again, learn to rely on supportive family, church, community, or private charity to bridge the gap.According to the party platform: "The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected" (adopted May 2008).
The Libertarian Party believes government regulations in the form of minimum wage laws drive up the cost of employing additional workers. That is why Libertarians favor loosening minimum wage laws so that overall unemployment rate can be reduced and low-wage workers, unskilled workers, visa immigrants and those with limited education or job experience can find employment.
Education