Voters in Wake County will have the most Libertarians on their ballots in 2024 so far this century. The national LP will nominate candidates for President and Vice President at their Washington, DC convention in May of next year; those candidates will be on the ballot of every voter in the state.
Four Libertarians will be vying for Council of State offices, including candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Agriculture Commissioner, and Auditor. They will also be on ballots statewide (the two Libertarians filed to run for Governor sets up a March primary election for that office, also the first this century).
There’s an announced Libertarian candidate for Wake Soil & Water Supervisor; if he files to run next July, that will mean every voter in Wake County will have at least seven Libertarians on the ballot. Voters in the US Congressional District 4 will also have a Libertarian option, which gives them at least eight on their ballots.
Libertarians are contesting 14 of the 19 Wake North Carolina General Assembly seats, as well. Thus, every voter in the county will have at least seven and potentially as many as ten Libertarians on their ballot this Fall. “We’re in touch with reality,” stated WakeLP Chair Travis Groo, “and we recognize that no matter what we do, Democrats are going to be elected in most NC House and Senate districts in this very blue county.
“But,” he continued, “there are a lot of folks fed up with the nasty bickering that passes for politics with the establishment parties these days. If you look at the voter registration stats, there are now more independent voters in North Carolina than either Democrats or Republicans. Thirty years ago, 92% of all voters were either Ds or Rs; only 8% were registered independents. That number has been growing: in 2017 the number of independent voters surpassed the number of Republicans statewide and last year, they outdistanced the Democrats. Today, 36% of voters in NC are independent, compared to 33% Democrat and 30% Republican."
“That growth is accelerating: week-in and week-out in 2023, 74% of all net new voters registered as independents. Our NCGA candidates will be offering common sense suggestions for improving government policies with respect to the things most Wake voters care about: health care, education, and the economy,” stated WakeLP Vice Chair Patrick Bowersox. “They will not spend time and energy posting grade school insults of their opponents—or worse, their opponents’ supporters—on social media. Our objective is to elevate political discussion to where it should be: focusing on how best to build and maintain a free, peaceful and prosperous North Carolina where every individual has the opportunity to pursue their unique vision of a rewarding and enriching life.”
Added Groo, “We will not give the establishment parties a pass on the mess they have made of our electoral system, the design of which appears to reward hyper-partisanship. We are proposing a suite of reforms, including establishing an independent, non-partisan entity to conduct redistricting and elections, enabling municipalities and counties to utilize instant runoff voting to enhance fairness, reduce the incentives for hyper-partisanship, and save tax dollars, and ending unfair treatment of independent voters who currently are statutorily banned from serving on any of our 101 boards of election and effectively banned from running for partisan office by discriminatory requirements that only apply to them.
“We will be appealing to Wake County voters who agree with us on these issues—particularly those in districts where a victory by the Democrat is a foregone conclusion, which is most of them—to consider using their vote to send a message to both establishment parties by voting for their Libertarian NCGA candidates.”
2024 Wake County Candidate Lineup:
S-13: Susan Hogarth
S-14: Sammie Brooks
S-15: Kat McDonald
S-17: Patrick Bowersox
S-18: Brad Hessel
H-11: Matthew Kordon
H-33: Chris Costello
H-34: Ed George
H-35: Michael Oakes
H-36: Travis Groo
H-37: Christopher Robinson
H-40: Michael Munger
H-41: Matt Laszacs
H-66: Michael Nelson
Soil and Water Supervisor: Brian Lewis (files July 2024)
Wake County will also be able to vote for:
President/VP: (TBD)
Governor: Shannon Bray or Mike Ross (PRIMARY)
Lt. Governor: Dee Watson
CD4: Guy Meilleur
Commissioner of Agriculture: Sean Haugh
Auditor: Bob Drach
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