The 2004 Libertarian Party presidential primaries allowed voters to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses in that they did not appoint delegates to represent a candidate at the party's convention to select the party's nominee for the United States presidential election. The party's nominee for the 2004 presidential election was chosen directly by registered delegates at the 2004 Libertarian National Convention, which ran from May 28 to 31, 2004. The delegates nominated Michael Badnarik for president and Richard Campagna for vice president.
Five primaries were held. A total of 26,701 votes were cast in these primaries.
Candidates Candidate Profession Campaign On primary ballot Popular vote MO WI CA MA NEGary Nolan Talk radio host 14,683Aaron Russo Entertainment businessman, film producer and director, and political activist 4,964Michael Badnarik Software engineer 4,879Jeffrey Diket 223Ruben Perez 2002 candidate for Texas Railroad Commission 219Alternate ballot options:Uncommitted/No preference/Uninstructed delegation N/A 1,115
Primaries and caucuses + National totals Candidate Votes % First-placeprimary/caucusfinishes Gary Nolan 14,683 54.99% 5 Aaron Russo 4964 18.59% Michael Badnarik 4,879% 18.27 Uncommitted/uninstructed 885 3.31% Jeffery Diket 223 0.84% Ruben Perez 219 0.82% Scattered write-ins 214 0.80%
Missouri primary
In the Wisconsin primary on February 3, the Libertarian Party had a state-run primary held alongside the Democratic, Republican primaries.
+ Missouri Libertarian presidential primary, February 3, 2004 Candidate Votes Percentage Gary Nolan 899 45.7 Uncommitted 746 37.9 N. Ruben Perez 167 8.5 Jeffrey Diket 155 7.9 Total 1,967 100
Wisconsin primary
In the Wisconsin primary on February 17, the Libertarian Party had a state-run primary held alongside the Democratic, Republican primaries.
+ Wisconsin Libertarian presidential primary, February 17, 2004 Candidate Votes Percentage Gary Nolan 1,491 43.2 Michael Badnarik 1,416 41.0 Uninstructed delegation 139 4.0 Total 3,450 100
California primary Type: Semi-Closed
In the California primary on March 2, the Libertarian Party had a state-run primary held alongside those for the Republicans, Democrats, the Green Party, and the Peace and Freedom Party.
+ California Libertarian presidential primary, March 2, 2004 Candidate Votes Percentage Gary Nolan 11,885 59.2 Aaron Russo 4,858 24.2 Michael Badnarik 3,335 16.6 Total 20,078 100
Massachusetts primary
In the Massachusetts primary on March 2, the Libertarian Party had a state-run primary held alongside the Democratic, Republican, and Green primaries.
+ Massachusetts Libertarian presidential primary, March 2, 2004 Candidate Votes Percentage Gary Nolan 292 28.0 No preference 230 22.0 Aaron Russo 106 10.2 Michael Badnarik 82 7.9 Jeffrey Diket 68 6.5 Ruben Perez 52 5.0 Write-ins 214 20.5 Total 1,044 100
Nebraska primary
In the Nebraska primary on May 11, the Libertarian Party had a state-run primary held alongside the Democratic and Republican primaries.
+ Missouri Libertarian presidential primary, May 11, 2004 Candidate Votes Percentage Gary Nolan 116 71.6 Michael Badnarik 46 28.4 Total 162 100
2004 National Convention
See also Presidential primaries 2004 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2004 Green Party presidential primaries 2004 Republican Party presidential primaries
National Conventions 2008 Constitution Party National Convention 2004 Libertarian National Convention 2004 Green National Convention 2004 Democratic National Convention 2004 Republican National Convention
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