2023 has been an exciting year for Libertarians, beginning with a wildly successful anti-war rally and culminating in the election of Libertarian Javier Milei as the President of Argentina. Libertarianism has worked its way into the greater American consciousness and is poised to take center stage and capture the zeitgeist of 2024.

The presidency is not a pipedream. Brash, unapologetic messaging is not a turn-off. The election of an outspoken Austrian economist in Argentina has completely changed what we consider within the realm of possibility. Javier Milei captured his country’s attention by taking a bold Libertarian message and wrapping it with populist enthusiasm. The Argentinian people were done with the impoverishing results of their socialist policies. They were ready for economic freedom. They embraced deregulation. They celebrated the abolition of their central bank. This is a watershed moment for Libertarians in the United States as well, and it makes the efforts of the previous year all the more important and worthwhile. 

As we look with anticipation into the new year, we reflect back on the highlights of the last twelve months. 2023 has ushered in a new era of Libertarian leadership, and I’ve been grateful to lead the way. When I was elected Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, I knew it would be both a challenging and incredibly rewarding role – especially as we finetuned our vision and looked to overcome internal disagreements about the party’s direction. In spite of many obstacles set before, we are leading from outside of the left/right paradigm and expanding the vision of millions of Americans. 

In February of 2023, the Libertarian Party joined forces with the Peoples Party, Action for Assange, and many other anti-war advocacy groups and thought leaders to hold a coalition-based anti-war rally in Washington DC, “Rage Against The War Machine”. Our rally drew 3,000 attendees from all over the country to listen to some of the most compelling anti-war voices in the movement, including prominent Texas Libertarians Scott Horton, Daniel McAdams, and Ron Paul. In a time of frenzied war propaganda on behalf of the Ukrainian government, I am grateful that we had the opportunity to publicly stand for peace and non-interventionism. As a result of our rally, the term “war machine” has permeated public discourse, and people on the left and right have come together to see the humanity in one another as they rebuke the evils of government. 

In June and July, the Libertarian Party had a strong presence at both Porcfest and Freedom Fest – the two most prominent Libertarian events in the United States. Our Freedom Fest panel discussion, “Thinking Outside The Ballot Box” was one of the most well-attended Festival events and featured special guests Bret Weinstein, Maj Toure, and Hannah Frankman. Through that event, we’ve forged new political relationships and demonstrated our ability to communicate our ideas effectively and creatively.

We’ve also been hard at work building a political infrastructure for our candidates. In October, we acquired something called “Voter Gravity” – one of the most powerful campaign tools available to candidates in the US. Our staff has been hard at work putting together a series of online courses that will launch in the new year, titled LP Masterclass. Earlier this year, we released a teaser course on ballot access petitioning featuring Bill Redpath.

In November, we elected more than 38 Libertarians across the country – a  fantastic number for an off year in the election cycle. Congratulations to our newly elected Libertarians: 

Lily Wu, Sydney Wissel, Clayton Soultz, Cassaundra Fryman, Patricia Warner, Susan Klinefelter, Greg Carpenter, Dustin Willet, Walter Nesic, David Bails, Daniel Sherman, Benjamin Breedlove, Joshua Sloan, William Schroeder, Eric Pikiewicz, Kathryn Divittorio, Tom Williams, Alexis Matthews, Charles Martin, Charles L Johnson. Timothy Fink, Tina Marie Kline, Joseph Winter, Neil Belliveau, Nick Liberty, Caleb Shreve, Christopher Burneisen, Elijah Scretching, Aisha Pickett, Brandon Wisenburg, Chris Laurent, Sid Daod, Kathleen Redhead, Sharon Lee Forersch, Keith Redhead, Earl A. Gingerich, Angela Einwachter, Ryan Sanders, and the inevitable number that we missed.

So far, we have over 35 announced Libertarian candidates for President, with at least seven candidates actively campaigning and attending conventions and events to spread the Libertarian message. Notably, candidate Chase Oliver participated in the Iowa State Fair debate earlier this year. We thank our candidates for their hard work and dedication to the cause of liberty.

This year has been a fantastic year for Libertarian media coverage, as well. We gained ground in alternative media, with Libertarian Dave Smith hosting Tucker Carlson on his show and appearing multiple times on Joe Rogan to share the message of peace and non-interventionist foreign policy and expose the truth of America’s foreign policy blunders. As Chair, I was able to publish several prominent editorials with Newsweek Magazine, including an article opposing the death penalty and three articles on peaceful foreign policy. We also launched a new online merchandise store, shop.lp.org, full of beautiful, eye-catching apparel that’s designed to spread the message of liberty. Many thanks to our hard-working staff and volunteers who made the store possible.

Throughout the past year, we’ve challenged mainstream discourse and penetrated popular culture. We are poised to become critical players in the 2024 elections and break through the glass ceiling of mainstream politics. Thank you to everyone who’s worked to make 2023 successful and productive. Let’s continue to strengthen our grassroots and shine like a beacon of freedom for the rest of the United States.

The opinions shared here do not necessarily represent the official position of the Libertarian Party. These editorial articles have been submitted by Libertarians across the country, and featuring these topics does not represent an endorsement of the content therein.