The Libertarian Party of Indiana met at its annual state convention this afternoon to select its candidates for the 2012 election cycle.
Indiana election law lays out that the membership of a party that achieves between two and nine percent in the Secretary of State race will gathers at nomination conventions to elect their candidates. The Libertarian Party of Indiana won six percent of the vote in 2010.
“The election cycle before us is potentially historic for the Libertarian Party of Indiana,” said State Chair Sam Goldstein. “Our delegates were excited to nominate this slate of candidates, and are ready to work hard for them in the coming months. We have a Governor’s candidate in Rupert Boneham that can reach out to the 70% of the population that does not vote, and bring them in to the process. He brings a level of name id that our previous candidates have not had, which is important in politics. We have a United States Senate candidate in Andrew Horning that has a message that has always been too early. His message has finally become mainstream. We have also have some of the best Congressional and State Legislative candidates in our history. For example, Rex Bell set records in his last race, and he’s looking to make history in Congressional District 6. Congressional District 5 candidate Chard Reid won our party’s first endorsement by the state’s largest newspaper in his last Congressional run. These are just a few of the incredible candidates that will spread the message of libertarianism in 2012.”
The following candidates are the Libertarian Party of Indiana Nominees for 2012:
- Governor: Rupert Boneham
- Lt. Governor: Brad Klopfenstein
- U.S. Senate: Andrew Horning
- Congressional District 4: Joe Bowman (removed from ballot by LPIN leadership)
- Congressional District 5: Chard Reid
- Congressional District 6: Rex Bell
- Congressional District 7: Jason Sharp (resigned nomination)
- Congressional District 8: Bart Gadau
The LPIN also nominated nine State House candidates:
- James Rainwater, District 28
- Jeremiah Morrell, District 54
- Mark Brim, District 56
- Paul Bravard, District 57
- Al Cox, District 65
- Alexander Avery, District 81
- James Hanson, District 84
- Fred Peterson, District 87
- James Nease, District 89
[editor: In the 4th District, the LPIN removed Joe Bowman’s candidacy. Benjamin Gehlhausen was the Party’s nominee on the ballot for the 4th Congressional District. In the 7th District, Jason Sharp resigned his candidacy shortly after winning the nomination. The Party did not run a candidate in that race.]
Jeffrey Knoop was nominated for Marion County superior court judge.
The Libertarian Party of Indiana also held a Presidential debate and straw poll. Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson won this straw poll with 87% of the vote.
Media Contact:
Chris Spangle, LPIN Executive Director, (317) 997-5558, cspangle@lpin.org
Sam Goldstein, LPIN State Chair, (317) 850-0726, chair@lpin.org