For the third time a row, the Libertarian Party preserved its ballot access status when Lon Cecil won more than two percent of the vote for governor. The Libertarians are the only party in North Carolina history to achieve this, other than the Democrats and Republicans. The party made another historic first when Gary Johnson earned 2.72 percent of the vote for president. 

“It is indeed a great year to be a Libertarian,” said Brian Irving, state party chair. “We're extremely proud of this double accomplishment. It's a fitting testament to the hard work of thousands of volunteers and all of our candidates.” 

Less than 4,500 votes separate the Democrat and Republican gubernatorial nominees. Although Democrat Roy Cooper claimed victory, there are still thousands of provisional votes to count. Cecil received more than 20 times that margin, 101,049 votes. 

“So the election is not over,” Irving noted. “Regardless of which establishment party candidate wins, it's clear the Libertarian Party made a significant impact on this race.” 

Another example of that impact is the race for Wake County's state House 49, Irving observed. Democrat Cynthia Ball unseated incumbent Republican Gary Pendleton by 852 votes. Libertarian David Ulmer pulled 2,258 votes. This was one of the most expensive General Assembly races in the state. 

“We're sure the Republicans and Democrats will continue to spread the falsehood that we Libertarians are 'spoilers' or 'steal' votes from them,” Irving said. “But the truth is we don't. People are just feed up with the two-party duopoly that's failed them in so many ways at so many levels. They're looking for an alternate, leaders who will put people first, not politics.” 

U.S. Senate candidate Sean Haugh earned the highest number of votes, 165,163 (3.56 percent). Jacki Cole got 130,252 votes (2.85 percent) for lieutenant governor.  

Full election results.

Election Day is tomorrow. There's no more time for words, or ads, blog posts, putting out signs, or speeches. There's no more time for bickering about whether Gary Johnson and Bill Weld were the best Libertarian candidates or lament over how they should have said this, or done that.

It's time to vote.

Don't trade your vote.

Don't waste your vote.

Don't vote for the lesser of two evils.

Vote Libertarian.

You vote does count. The establishment parties desperately want to believe otherwise. They don't want you to believe that every single vote for a Libertarian running for any office, will help bring about the most devastating blow to the two-party duopoly that protects the Republican and Democratic parties from real competition.

Your vote for Gary Johnson for President will help us the Libertarian Party reach the arbitrary 5% threshold set by the establishment parties to qualify us as a “major” party.

Your vote for Lon Cecil for Governor will help keep the Libertarian Party on the ballot in North Carolina.

Your vote for Sean Haugh could decide whether the Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. Senate.

Your vote for a Libertarian candidate for General Assembly could help shift the balance of power in the state legislature.

In the year the Chicago Cubs came back from a 3-1 game deficit and won the World Series for the first time in 108 years, anything is possible.

Vote your hopes, not your fears. Vote Libertarian.

By Olen Watson
Libertarian for NC House 38 

We are stuck on repeat, reliving the same horrible incidents of police shootings in Charlotte, Tulsa, and elsewhere while ignoring the underlying problem. We have to wake up both Republican and Democratic politicians — their “solutions” have been utterly ineffective. 

The partisan solutions that have been preached for decades simply do not work. We need different ideas and different voices advocating for them. 

Republicans talk about people doing what the police tell them and Democrats talk about making the police friendlier and training them more effectively. Both parties ignore the reality of the problem: human nature and oppressive governmental control. We see regulations that monitor the amount of rainwater you collect from your roof and question the legality of a loaner library on your front lawn. It is nearly impossible for anyone to actually be a law-abiding citizen.

Read more in the North State Journal Online. 

by Brian Irving
LPNC Chair

The side-by-side op-eds by the Democratic and Republican party chairs the News & Observer printed Sunday  offer a clear view of why the two-party system is dying. The main point in both articles was fear – fear of the other. Neither offered any positive or hopeful message.

“The future of our state and our country is in your hands. The stakes couldn’t be higher” warned Democrat chair Patsy Keever. If the Republicans win they “will continue to undermine the foundation of the state’s economic success” and our state and nation will be “divided by fear, bigotry, and hatred”

“Everything is at stake for this election – perhaps, the republic itself,” admonished Republican chair Robin Hayes. Another President Clinton will appoint judges with an “extremist agenda to legislate from the bench and ... ensure our Constitutionally granted first liberty to live and work in accordance to our peacefully held beliefs will continue its dangerous trajectory toward death.”

Libertarians offer something different. We ask you to vote your hopes, and not your fears.