Meet Matthew Laszacs - Libertarian Party of North Carolina Candidate for US House NC District 2
Travis' LP National Candidate Page
Travis Groo - President of Better Ballot North Carolina
Travis Groo on Are You Smarter Than A Politician
The Political Freedom Fighters Podcast - Episode 29 (Introducing Travis Groo)
Travis' Interview with the Tar Heel Libertarian:
Tar Heel: You’ve now run for office in 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2026. What did those earlier races teach you that you are applying in this first congressional campaign?
Travis Groo: That all politics are rigged by the Uniparty.
Tar Heel: You built your political life in Wake County and now live in Greensboro while running in Western North Carolina. Why District 11, and why should mountain voters trust a candidate whose organizing base was in Wake?
Groo: I love the mountains, I love hiking and I love nature. I love everything about the western part of NC. I’m upset with how FEMA handled hurricane Helene. I want to conduct a thorough investigation into how they handled this natural disaster. The people deserve to know.
Tar Heel: You work as a safety specialist for Old Dominion Freight Line. How does that day job shape how you think about regulation, transportation policy, and the federal government’s role in the economy?
Groo: Some things are super important to protect, especially when it comes to hazardous materials. The environment is ours to protect as well. The goal is to keep people safe. I have not seen too much overreach in this department.
Tar Heel: You describe yourself as a born-again Christian and a Libertarian. Where do those two identities reinforce each other, and where do voters assume they conflict?
Groo: Jesus is a Libertarian. There is no conflict.
Tar Heel: You served two full terms as Wake LP chair and one as vice chair. Wake became known for putting Libertarians on nearly every legislative ballot. Was that a growth strategy, a branding strategy, or both—and did it work?
Groo: It was both. WakeLP’s mission was to offer a choice between the two parties that run everything.
Tar Heel: In 2022 you told the News & Observer that only about half of Wake’s Libertarian candidates were actively campaigning. Looking back, was that an acceptable tradeoff for ballot presence?
Groo: It was an accurate statement that I stand by to this day. Offering a true choice is always worth the effort.
Tar Heel: Brad Hessel, who followed you as Wake LP chair, is now running for NC Senate. What did you two actually disagree about when you were building that affiliate?
Groo: Not much. He was my right hand man, and still is. We don’t disagree on much. I’m cooler than him though.
Tar Heel: After years of chairing an affiliate famous for candidate recruitment, what is the single biggest organizational mistake the LPNC still makes?
Groo: I love that the LP makes mistakes. We’re all human, and we should own up to it. Politicians are not immune to mistakes either
Tar Heel: You are president of Better Ballot NC, which exists to bring ranked-choice voting to North Carolina. How do you keep that 501(c)(3) work separate from this partisan campaign without watering down either one?
Groo: It’s not partisan. I’m also about as non-partisan as it gets, so it’s not hard.
Tar Heel: North Carolina already piloted RCV in Cary and Hendersonville in 2007, and voters said they liked it. If the public liked it then, why has it gone nowhere for nearly 20 years—and what does that say about the two major parties?
Groo: The “powerful” Uniparty doesn’t like it. They will do everything in their “power” to restrict voter choice.
Tar Heel: You argue that winners should have majority support and that costly runoffs should end. If RCV had been used in the 2026 NC-11 Republican replacement process after Chuck Edwards withdrew, what would have been different?
Groo: A Libertarian may win, or even a Green Party candidate.
Tar Heel: Critics say RCV is a third-party power grab. Is that fair, or is it simply the only practical way to stop voters from treating a Libertarian vote as a wasted vote.
Groo: The current system is a power grab. That is accurate. The only wasted vote is a vote for a candidate that you don’t truly support.
Tar Heel: If Congress cannot impose RCV on the states, what federal election reforms would you push from the House?
Groo: Term limits are cool, but I don’t support an Article V Convention of the States.
Tar Heel: Grass Roots North Carolina has scored you in the 93–95 range. In Congress, would you vote to repeal specific federal gun laws, or is your position more about blocking new ones?
Groo: All gun laws are illegal.
Tar Heel: District 11 is a heavily armed, rural-and-small-town district. How do you talk about the Second Amendment there without sounding like you are just copying Jennifer Balkcom’s Republican talking points?
Groo: All gun laws are illegal.
Tar Heel: You have said you strongly support nullifying federal gun laws. What does that mean in practice for a freshman House member who cannot “nullify” anything by himself?
Groo: All gun laws are illegal.
Tar Heel: After every mass shooting, both parties race to look busy. What is the Libertarian answer that is not “do nothing” and not “another federal restriction”?
Groo: The true free market will take care of itself. Crony markets are controlled by governments, they aren't free at all. The honest answer is that you can’t prevent idiots from being idiots. But good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns.
Tar Heel: You have supported heavily reducing or repealing state taxes. Translate that into a House agenda: which federal taxes, agencies, or spending streams would you actually put on the table in year one?
Groo: Day one: abolish all income taxes. Day two: abolish all capital gains taxes. Day three: audit the fed.
Tar Heel: Western North Carolina is still living with Hurricane Helene recovery, insurance costs, and housing pressure. Where did the federal response fail, and how is your answer different from Jamie Ager’s “more recovery money” pitch?
Groo: FEMA just got in the way from real recovery. Honestly, if we brought our troops home and stopped the endless wars, we’d have the money to rebuild western NC and make it better than it ever was.
Tar Heel: You work in freight. What is the most damaging federal transportation or labor rule you see from the cab or the safety office, and what would you do about it?
Groo: It’s actually been going in the right direction as far as decentralizing and deregulation. I have no issues at this time.
Tar Heel: Inflation, debt, and tariffs are all live fights. Are tariffs a legitimate national-security tool, or are they just another tax that hits the same working people you say you represent?
Groo: Tariffs are taxes that Americas pay. It’s affecting everything. Inflation is just another tax.
Tar Heel: The United States and Iran have spent 2026 cycling between ceasefires, strikes, and a fight over the Strait of Hormuz. As a House member, would you vote to authorize force, restrict it, or defund it?
Groo: As a non-interventionist I would advocate to bring all of our troops home to defend and protect our boarders. I’m a fan of minding our own business as usual.
Tar Heel: Libertarians say they are the anti-war party. What is the concrete off-ramp you want from the current Iran confrontation that is not “trust the White House” and not “abandon the region overnight”?
Groo: Silence is golden.
Tar Heel: Oil prices have moved with every flare-up around Hormuz. How do you talk to District 11 voters—farmers, truckers, tourism businesses—about a war that shows up in their fuel bill before it shows up on cable news?
Groo: These are inflated numbers caused by politicians and implemented by war. Stopping it would end this confusion.
Tar Heel: Both major parties have spent decades expanding the war power of the presidency. Name one specific War Powers or appropriations vote you would cast differently from Ager and Balkcom.
Groo: No war without congressional approval. That’s how it’s actually supposed to work anyway!
Tar Heel: If Israel and Iran are shooting again next month, what is the test you would use to decide whether the United States should be in that fight at all?
Groo: The United States should be in the fight if any country starts shooting at the United States. That is the measure to abide by.
Tar Heel: Chuck Edwards won this seat, then left the race after a House Ethics Committee report. Jennifer Balkcom was installed by party committee, not by primary voters. Why is that a problem for Republicans and for the idea of representative government?
Groo: I don’t know Chuck Edwards personally, but I don’t think I’d like to have a beer with him. The Republicans are replacing him with a MAGA clown.
Tar Heel: Jamie Ager is a fourth-generation farmer with a family name in Western NC politics and a large fundraising lead. What do you say to a voter who likes your principles but thinks only Ager or Balkcom can “win”?
Groo: I will just way to vote your principles and not your party. All parties are cults.
Tar Heel: Unaffiliated voters are now the largest registration bloc in North Carolina. If they are the majority-in-waiting, why do they still vote as if the choice is only red or blue?
Groo: Unaffiliated for the win! What this tells me is that people are tired of the extremes. Go team unaffiliated, but you have to stop voting for the Uniparty.
Tar Heel: If you could force Ager and Balkcom to answer one question they have been dodging, what would it be?
Groo: Is taxation theft?
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