The Libertarian Party of North Carolina has joined a coalition to end gerrymandering in the state. 

North Carolinians to End Gerrymandering Now is led by former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot, a Republican, and former Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, a Democrat. The coalition, formed last month, will work to bring a nonpartisan redistricting process to North Carolina. 

“The Libertarian Party is pleased to join this multi-partisan effort,” said LPNC Chair J.J. Summerell. “Libertarians believe voters should choose their legislators, not the other way around.” 

During its annual state convention in April the party adopted a platform plank calling for an independent, nonpartisan redistricting process. 

The coalition is an effort of the North Carolina Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, a nonpartisan group of citizens and organizations across the state. 

North Carolinians who want to join the campaign to get a nonpartisan, data-driven redistricting system in our state can go to endgerrymanderingnow.org to sign up. To learn more, call 919-833-0092 or email [email protected].

Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh is polling “a surprisingly high 11 percent” in the U.S. Senate race, according the first poll conducted by Public Policy Polling. Incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan is at 38 percent, Republican challenger Thom Tillis is at 36 percent, and 15 percent are undecided. 

“This is an extraordinarily high poll result for a third-party candidate in three-way race for U.S. Senate in a major public poll,” observed Richard Winger, a nationally recognized ballot access law expert, writing on his Ballot Access News website. 

Haugh said he was excited by the results of this poll. “This supports my belief that people are hungry for an alternative, that they are eager to support any candidate who is against more war and more debt,” he said.

by J.J. Summerell
Chair, Libertarian Party of North Carolina

The deadline date for "Early Bird" registration has been extended by two weeks, from May 1 to Thursday, May 15.

The 2014 Libertarian Party National Convention will take place over the last weekend of June at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Columbus, Ohio. This location is geographically located within a day’s drive to a majority of our membership, so many of you could make it a road trip!

Sean Haugh of Durham won the Libertarian nomination for U.S. Senate in the second primary in the party's history. Unofficial results (as of 8:42 a.m. May 7) have Haugh winning with 1,215 votes (60.7 percent) to 787 (39.3 percent) for Tim D'Annunzio of Raeford.

The 15.9 percent voter turnout was higher than the 14 percent turnout in the last non-presidential year primary in 2010. 

Haugh ended a four-year “retirement” from politics to enter the contest. At a victory party at Satisfactions Restaurant in Durham, he promised supporters he would run a vigorous general election effort focused on his campaign theme to “stop all wars.” 

About 10 p.m., D'Annunzio called to congratulate Haugh on his victory and pledged his support for the fall campaign. 

“I'm in this race to give anyone who is tired of sending the same old lying politicians to Washington for God-knows-how-long a viable alternative,” he said. “We just keep ending up with more wars, and more debt, and it just keeps getting worse.”