Chairperson Char-Lez Braden Headquarters Bradenton, FL 34212 Colors Blue, Gold, White | Founded 1987 | |
National affiliation Libertarian Party (United States) | ||
The Libertarian Party of Florida, or LPF, is the state of Florida's official affiliate with the Libertarian National Committee. The organization was founded in 1987 and its Executive Committee was incorporated in 2012.
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Voter Registration
Libertarian voter registration in the state of Florida has experienced significant growth.
2010–2012 elections
In 2010, the LPF had a statewide candidate on the ballot for the first time with Alexander Snitker for U.S. Senate.
In the 2012 Election, Libertarian Party of Florida candidates included Calen Fretts for Florida's 1st congressional district, Peter Richter, Franklin Perez, and Jonathan Loesche for Florida House of Representatives. The LPF also had several candidates for county and municipal races statewide.
In 2012 the Libertarian Party of Florida was sued by Franklin Perez, the 2012 Libertarian candidate for the Florida State House of Representatives (District 28), for not refunding a candidate filing fee that political parties receive after the LPF de-vetted him and removed him from the party's state website. The courts awarded Perez $620.
2014–2016 elections
In 2014, the Libertarian Party ran their first state executive ticket, with Adrian Wyllie for Governor, Greg Roe for Lieutenant Governor, and Bill Wohlsifer for Attorney General. The Wyllie/Roe ticket garnered 3.8% of the vote, a record for the Libertarians in Florida. Wohlsifer got under that, with 2.9% of the vote. The highest percentge that the Wyllie/Roe ticket got in a county was in Citrus County, where they received 7% of the vote.
Down ballot, Lucas Overby got the second highest percentage a Libertarian has ever gotten in a house election, with 24.74% of the vote. Many people at the time attributed it to the lack of a Democrat on the ballot.
In 2016, the Libertarians held their first statewide primary, for US Senate. The race was between attorney Augustus Sol Invictus, who was controversial for his sacrifice of a goat and more radical views, to the point of then Chairman Adrian Wyllie resigning, and veteran Paul Stanton, who won a large victory.
Presidential Nominee Results
Since 1972, the Libertarian Party has run a candidate for President of the United States. The candidate who has received the highest vote total in Florida was Gary Johnson in 2016. In every election year after 1984 the Libertarian Party has gained ballot access in FL.
Elected Public Officials
Past and present public officials from the Libertarian Party of Florida include:
2017
The LPF's 2017 convention will be held May 5-7 in Cocoa Beach at the International Palms Resort. The offices of Chair, Vice Chair, Director at Large seats 1 and 3 are up for election.
2016
The 2016 state convention was held in West Palm Beach in April. During convention, state delegates voted in James Morris as Treasurer, Suzanne Gilmore as Secretary, and Russ Wood as Director at Large (2) to their respective offices. State delegates also voted on individuals to send as delegates and alternate delegates to the Libertarian National Convention the following month in Orlando.
2015
In 2015, the LPF convention was held in New Port Richey.