2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries

The 2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses allow electors to indicate a non-binding preference for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate. These differ from traditional presidential primaries and caucuses in that they do 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 2016 presidential election will instead be chosen directly by registered delegates at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention, which runs from May 26 to May 30.

Four primaries and one caucus are to be held. Missouri and North Carolina held primaries on March 15, 2016, as an alternative ballot to other primaries such as those of the Republicans and Democrats. Gary Johnson, who had previously won the party's nomination in the 2012 presidential election, won North Carolina with 42%, while in Missouri a plurality of uncommitted voters led local candidate Austin Petersen 40% to 29%. An Oregon primary is to run on May 27 during the national convention, while the California primary is to be held after the party's convention on June 7, 2016. The only caucus to have run was in Minnesota on March 1, 2016, where 75% of the electors selected Gary Johnson.

Candidates

See also: United States third party and independent presidential candidates, 2016 § Libertarian Party

16 candidates are currently recognized by the Libertarian Party and will be eligible for the presidential nomination at the 2016 Libertarian National Convention. For a candidate to be recognized by the Libertarian Party, they must:

1. have a campaign website;
2. be a dues-paying member of the party;
3. have met all U.S. Constitutional requirements to serve as President; and
4. not be a candidate for another political party.

Of the currently-recognized candidates, five will not be standing in any primary or caucus: Joey Berry, Thomas Clements, Malisia Garcia, Kevin McCormick, and Heidi Zeman. The other ten recognized candidates as well as three unrecognized candidates — John David Hale, who was disrecognized because he is under 35 and so ineligible to serve as President; Nathan Norman and Merry Susan Nehls — will stand in at least one primary or caucus, and appear in the table below. Four formerly-recognized candidates have withdrawn: Cecil Ince; Steve Kerbel; Joy Waymire and Bart Lower (who did not appear on any ballot). The only unrecognized candidate who will not appear on any ballot is Vermin Supreme.

Candidate		Profession	Campaign	On primary or caucus ballot						Popular vote
				MN	NC	MO	NE	OR	CA
Gary Johnson		29th Governor of New Mexico (1995-2003)	(Campaign • Positions • Website)							2,560
Austin Petersen		Founder and CEO of Stonegait, LLC (2014-present)	File:Austin Petersen presidential campaign, 2016 logo.png (Website)							1,053
John David Hale										326
Marc Allan Feldman		Anesthesiologist at The Cleveland Clinic (1998–present)	(website)							304
Rhett Smith		Private security officer	(website)							141
Darryl Perry		Owner and Managing Editor of Free Press Publications	(website)							120
Derrick Michael Reid		Political analyst and retired engineer	(website)							71
Jack Robinson, Jr.		Businessman and inventor	(website)							69
John McAfee		Founder and CEO of McAfee, Inc. (1987-1994)	(Website)							26
Shawna Joy Sterling		Pastor at the Elohim Christian Church	(Website)							1
Keenan Dunham			(Website)							-
Nathan Norman		Entertainer	(Website)							-
Merry Susan Nehls										-
Steve Kerbel		Businessman and entrepreneur	(website) Withdrew: March 16, 2016 (endorsed Gary Johnson)							507
Joy Waymire		Ranch foreman	(website) Withdrew: April 13, 2016 (endorsed John McAfee)							266
Cecil Ince		Owner of Ince Films	File:Cecil ince presidential campaign, 2016 logo.png (website) Withdrew: March 17, 2016							208

National polling

Poll source	Sample size	Date(s)	Feldman	Garcia	Ince	Johnson	Kerbel	McAfee	McCormick	Perry	Petersen	Reid	Robinson	Smith	Sterling	Waymire	Zeman	Others
A Libertarian Future	~5,500	Apr 16-30, 2016	—	—	O	38%	O	25%	—	—	37%	—	—	—	—	O	—	N/A
A Libertarian Future	~5,500	Apr 1-15, 2016	—	—	O	40%	O	21%	4%	3%	29%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 3%
Libertarian Party website	9,102	Mar 17-31, 2016	1%	0%	0%	58%	O	7%	9%	5%	13%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	None of the Above 1%/ Other 4%
A Libertarian Future	~2,500	Mar 15-31, 2016	1%	—	—	50%	O	10%	—	4%	34%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 1%
Libertarian Party website	8,609	Feb 20- Mar 17, 2016	1%	—	0%	54%	4%	14%	—	2%	18%	0%	1%	0%	1%	0%	—	None of the Above 2%/ Other 4%
A Libertarian Future	~2,500	Mar 1-15, 2016	—	—	—	44%	7%	14%	—	11%	24%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 0%
A Libertarian Future	3,341	Feb 12-29, 2016	2%	—	—	46%	11%	9%	—	—	31%	—	—	—	—	—	—	None of the Above 1%

Primaries and caucuses

Minnesota caucus

The Minnesota caucus was run on March 1, 2016, using ranked choice voting. Gary Johnson took over 75% of the 226 first-preference votes cast, with John McAfee a distant second on 11.5% and Austin Petersen third on 7.5%.

Minnesota Libertarian presidential caucus, March 1, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Gary Johnson	171	75.7%
John McAfee	26	11.5%
Austin Petersen	17	7.5%
Darryl Perry	4	1.8%
Steve Kerbel	2	0.9%
None of the above	2	0.9%
Cecil Ince	2	0.9%
Marc Allan Feldman	1	0.4%
Shawna Joy Sterling	1	0.4%
Joy Waymire	0	0%
Jack Robinson, Jr.	0	0%
Derrick Michael Reid	0	0%
Rhett Smith	0	0%
Total	226	100%

Missouri primary

The Missouri primary ran on March 15, 2016, alongside those of the Republican, Democratic, and Constitution parties. 40% of the electorate voted to stand uncommitted to any candidate. Austin Petersen, running in his home state, finished second with 29% of the statewide vote, which was double that of Steve Kerbel from Colorado, who finished third with 14%. Petersen comfortably won the support of voters in the state's capital, Jefferson City, and its surrounding counties, but fell heavily behind the uncommitted vote in the state's two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis. Kerbel won three counties around Springfield, while Marc Allan Feldman, Cecil Ince, and Rhett Smith all won a sprawl of counties across the state; in most of these counties, however, only a single vote was cast. No votes were cast for Libertarian Party candidates in the northwestern counties of Harrison, Holt, Mercer, and Worth.

Missouri Libertarian presidential primary, March 15, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Uncommitted	1,170	40%
Austin Petersen	851	29%
Steve Kerbel	401	14%
Marc Allan Feldman	239	8%
Cecil Ince	134	5%
Rhett Smith	99	3%
Total	2,894	100%

County results — Missouri.

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  Austin Petersen

  Steve Kerbel

  Marc Allan Feldman

  Cecil Ince

  Rhett Smith

  Uncommitted

  Tie

  No Votes

North Carolina primary

The North Carolina primary was also run on March 15, 2016, and also alongside the primaries of the Republican, Democratic, and Constitution parties. Gary Johnson won against competing candidates with 42% of the primary vote, overcoming 35% of the electorate who remained uncommitted to any candidate, and far ahead of third-place finisher John David Hale with 6%. Most urban counties showed majority support for Johnson, particularly in the state's largest city, Charlotte, and its capital, Raleigh, while uncommitted votes mostly came from rural counties across the state. Many counties were tied between Johnson and the uncommitted vote, but a number of counties in the east recorded ties between Johnson and other candidates such as John David Hale and Joy Waymire, albeit with a small amount of votes. In Gates County, a four-way tie was recorded when Gary Johnson, Cecil Ince, and Derrick Michael Reid recorded one vote each, with an additional uncommitted voter accounted for. Tyrrell was the only county in the entire state where Johnson did not win or tie; instead Hale tied with an uncommitted voter, with one vote each.

North Carolina Libertarian presidential primary, March 15, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Gary Johnson	2,389	42%
No Preference	2,035	35%
John David Hale	326	6%
Joy Waymire	266	5%
Austin Petersen	185	3%
Darryl Perry	116	2%
Steve Kerbel	104	2%
Cecil Ince	72	1%
Derrick Michael Reid	71	1%
Jack Robinson, Jr.	69	1%
Marc Allan Feldman	64	1%
Rhett Smith	42	1%
Total	5,739	100%

County results — North Carolina.

---

  Gary Johnson

  Uncommitted

  Tie

Nebraska primary

The Nebraska primary is scheduled to be held on May 10, 2016.

Nebraska Libertarian presidential primary, May 10, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Marc Allan Feldman
Gary Johnson
Steve Kerbel
John McAfee
Austin Petersen
Total

Oregon primary

The Oregon primary is scheduled to be completed on May 27, 2016, the last day to receive mail-in ballots.

Oregon Libertarian presidential primary, May 27, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Keenan Dunham
Gary Johnson
John McAfee
Merry Susan Nehls
Nathan Norman
Darryl Perry
Derrick Michael Reid
Rhett Smith
Uncommitted
Total

California primary

In the California primary on June 7, the Libertarian Party will appear alongside the Republicans, Democrats, the Green Party (as part of their own series of primaries), the American Independent Party and the Peace and Freedom Party.

California Libertarian presidential primary, June 7, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage
Marc Allan Feldman
John David Hale
Cecil Ince
Gary Johnson
Steve Kerbel
John McAfee
Darryl Perry
Austin Petersen
Derrick Michael Reid
Jack Robinson, Jr.
Rhett Smith
Joy Waymire
Uncommitted
Total

Debate schedule

Debates among candidates for the 2016 Libertarian Party U.S. presidential nomination

Date	Place	Host	Participants
P  Participant, main debate.  S  Participant, secondary debate only.  A  Absent.  N  Confirmed non-invitee.  O  Out of race (exploring or suspended)			Clements	Feldman	Ince	Johnson	Kerbel	McAfee	Perry	Petersen	Reid	Robinson	Smith	Sterling	others
October 17, 2015	Worcester, MA	Libertarian Party of Massachusetts	O	P	A	O	P	O	P	O	P	A	A	A	none
February 27, 2016	Biloxi, MS	Libertarian Party of Alabama Libertarian Party of Mississippi	S	P	S	P	A	P	P	P	S	S	S	S	none
March 5, 2016	Marietta, GA	Libertarian Party of Georgia	P	A	A	A	A	P	A	P	A	A	A	P	none
March 5, 2016	Sandston, VA	Libertarian Party of Virginia	A	A	A	P	A	A	P	A	P	P	P	A	none
March 7, 2016	Raleigh, NC Google Hangouts	Libertarian Party of North Carolina	N	N	N	P	P	P	P	P	N	P	N	N	none
March 11, 2016	Springfield, IL	Libertarian Party of Illinois	A	P	P	P	A	A	A	P	P	A	P	P	none
March 12, 2016	Colorado Springs, CO	Libertarian Party of Colorado	A	S	S	P	P	A	S	P	A	P	A	S	none
March 19, 2016	Philadelphia, PA	Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania	A	P	O	P	O	A	P	A	P	A	A	A	none
March 25, 2016	Hillsboro, OR	Libertarian Party of Oregon PAC	A	A	O	P	O	A	A	P	A	A	A	A	none
March 29, 2016 April 1 and 8, 2016 (air)	New York, NY	Stossel Fox Business Network	N	N	O	P	O	P	N	P	N	N	N	N	none
April 1, 2016	Washington, DC	Public Square, Inc.	N	P	O	N	O	N	P	N	N	N	N	N	none
April 2, 2016	Los Angeles, CA	Libertarian Party of California	A	P	O	P	O	P	A	P	S	A	S	A	McCormick Sloan Waymire Zeman
April 8, 2016	San Antonio, TX	Libertarian Party of Texas	N	P	O	P	O	P	N	P	N	N	N	P	none
April 9, 2016	Palm Beach, FL	Libertarian Party of Florida	A	P	O	P	O	A	P	P	A	A	A	A	none
April 16, 2016	Baton Rouge, LA	Libertarian Party of Louisiana	P	A	O	A	O	A	P	A	A	P	P	A	none
April 16, 2016	Maple Grove, MN	Libertarian Party of Minnesota	A	A	O	P	O	A	A	A	A	A	A	P	none
April 30, 2016	New York, NY	Libertarian Party of New York	A	S	O	P	O	P	P	P	S	A	A	A	Coley Supreme

April 1 and April 8, 2016 Stossel Debate (Fox Business Network)

Main article: Stossel Libertarian Debate 2016

The first nationally televised Libertarian Party presidential debate was hosted by Fox Business Network on John Stossel’s show Stossel. The two-hour debate was divided into two one hour segments which were televised on April 1 and 8 at 9:00 Eastern Time. The debate featured the three highest-polling candidates, as measured by the Libertarian Party’s own online poll. The candidates featured in the debate were former Republican Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, The Libertarian Republic founder Austin Petersen and anti-virus software developer John McAfee; Stossel moderated the debate which featured questions from himself, Fox media personalities (second part) and people who submitted their questions on social media. All three candidates were afforded about the same amount of time to speak at the debate.

See also

Primaries

• Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
• Green Party presidential primaries, 2016
• Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016

National Conventions

• 2016 Constitution Party National Convention
• 2016 Libertarian National Convention
• 2016 Green National Convention
• 2016 Democratic National Convention
• 2016 Republican National Convention