A Post-Convention Message from Jacob Hornberger

I was a candidate for the 2024 Libertarian Party presidential nomination.

Dear Friends and Supporters,

In February of last year, I announced my candidacy for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination, with the aim of running a campaign based on restoring the brand of principled libertarianism on which the party was founded.

This past weekend, the L.P. presidential nominating convention was held, and I got walloped! On the first ballot, I received 6 percent of the vote and then was knocked out of the race on the second ballot. 

The candidate who won the nomination was Chase Oliver. Chase was indefatigable and ran a first-class campaign. I congratulated him after his win, and I wish him and his vice-presidential running mate, Mike ter Maat, all the best. 

As my opponents know, at every state convention at which I spoke, I expressed my firm opposition to the message of Republican-lite, welfare-warfare state reform, and libertarian socialism (e.g., Social Security and Medicare) that has come to define our party and our presidential campaigns for the past 20 years. But at the same time, I gained an enormous amount of respect for my opponents, especially given the tremendous amount of time, effort, and money they put into seeking the nomination.

Paradigm shifts within organizations begin with a small minority of people. Six percent is a sizable minority to begin that process within the Libertarian Party. I am hoping that the acorns I planted during my campaign will grow into giant oaks that will envelope the Libertarian Party in principled libertarianism.

In this regard, I will most likely resume my Substack column as a way to use the power of the written word to continue striving to move the L.P. away from its rightwing, Republican-lite, reform-oriented, pro-socialist direction, as reflected by the advocacy of such statist measures as immigration controls, Social Security and Medicare reform plans, monetary reform schemes, school vouchers, and striving to have Libertarians take over and run the socialist public-school system -- as well as the decision by the L.P. hierarchy to invite Republicans to address a Libertarian Party national nominating convention and, now, the decision by some rightwing-oriented Libertarians to support Donald Trump's candidacy.

I wish to thank all of you who donated so generously to my campaign. It is an honor to have received your big vote of confidence, and your financial support enabled me to travel to around 30 state conventions spreading the message of principled libertarianism. I wish to also thank those of you who supported my candidacy in non-financial ways. And finally, I wish to thank those of you in the six percent who voted for me at the convention. I am counting on you all to lead the party toward a paradigm shift based on restoring the Libertarian brand of principled libertarianism.

Yours for liberty,
Jacob Hornberger
www.jacobforliberty.com