State and Local Races: Mostly Runs and Hits

Voters in 36 states this year had the opportunity to choose Libertarian candidates other than Ed Clark and David Koch for federal, state, or local offices, and the results of their selections show a general upward trend for the Libertarian Party.

The high points include the Alaska races, where two Libertarians were elected to the state legislature; three U.S. Senate races, in which Libertarians represented the “balance of power” in close contests; and races for other offices scattered around the country where Libertarians earned surprisingly high vote totals.

Apart from these partisan races, it’s encouraging to note the election of Mary K. Shell, a registered Libertarian, to the nonpartisan office of Mayor of Bakersfield, California. Shell’s political affiliation was generally known and to some extent discussed during the campaign.

Alaska

Dick Randolph of Fairbanks won reelection for a second consecutive term in the lower house of the state legislature, and will be joined by Libertarian Ken Fanning, elected to his first two-year term from the same district.

Fairbanks voters choose six winners to represent them in Juneau; in a field of 18 candidates—six from each party—Randolph and Fanning finished first and fourth, respectively. Randolph’s vote total of over 10,000 stands as the highest ever cast for a State Representative in Alaska history, and represents a substantial improvement over his sixth place, (5,500 vote) showing in 1978.

Other races in Alaska produced results for Libertarians which, while not victorious, were matched by few Libertarians in the “lower 48.”

Balance of Power

The U. S. Senate races in Arizona, Idaho, and North Carolina were decided in each instance by fewer votes than the total won by the Libertarian candidate. In Arizona, Barry Goldwater squeaked out a victory of less than 8,000 votes while Libertarian Fred Esser won 12,000; in Idaho, Larry Fullmer’s total of 6,700 was half again the size of the margin between winning Republican Steve Symms and losing Democrat Frank Church; and Libertarian Rick Pasotto in North Carolina won more than 7,500 votes, while Republican John East upset incumbent Robert Morgan by only 7,000.

High percentages for Libertarians in U.S. Senate races were gained by Bud Shasteen in Hawaii and Tonie Nathan in Oregon, both with 4 percent of the vote; and Allan Hacker in Nevada, with 3 percent. Libertarian National Chairman David Bergland won just over 2 percent in his Senate race in California.

Of the relatively few statewide races other than U. S. Senate contested by Libertarians, those in Oregon were remarkable for the consistent level of 4 to 5 percent achieved by Libertarian candidates despite tiny campaign budgets. And in Texas, David Hutzelmann, running for Railroad Commission (the top office on the Texas ballot this year and one which regulates all state utilities), took nearly 90,000 votes, a showing which strongly indicates future Libertarian success in that state.

Overall, the “balance of power” position became more common for Libertarian candidates at every level. Several of them achieved this status in the California congressional and legislative races, and the phenomenon appeared in several other states as well.

Reaching this position has been a conscious interim goal of Libertarian strategists, but without any intent to “get” one or the other of the major parties. No analysis is yet available to show whether Libertarians in “balance of power” races drew more heavily from Republicans or from Democrats, and from the Libertarian point of view, such an analysis would be no more than a matter of passing interest. The objective for now is for the Libertarian Party to become a measurably strong, politically independent factor in the elections of each state and district.

Western Bias

Not surprisingly, Libertarians neared this goal far more often in the western half of the country than in the east. In three-way races in California, Hawaii, Arizona, and Nevada—all states where Libertarians have established a political presence in the past—Libertarian candidates had consistently respectable percentages of 3 to 6 percent with several even higher, notably the 8 percent showings of Bill Evers and Dan Mahaffey in California congressional contests.

Of the four highest showings in three-way races nationally (outside of Alaska), three were in the west: Roberta Rinehart with 17 percent of the vote in a California Assembly race, Buck Crouch with 19 percent in an Arizona State Senate race; and Mary Harris with 14 percent in the contest for Clark County (Las Vegas, Nevada) Public Administrator. The other particularly high result was Ben Olson’s 14 percent in a three-way contest for state representative in rural Iowa.

The most outstanding results gained by Libertarians in two-way races were Vivian Baures’s 32 percent for Treasurer of Jackson County, Oregon, and the 42 percent racked up by Michael Tanchek for a state representative seat in Montana against an incumbent Democrat.

Eastern results for Libertarians were uniformly lower, reflecting both a relative unfamiliarity with the Libertarian Party and a more consistent loyalty to the two party system on the part of eastern voters.

The Bottom Line

Looking at the national picture, two notable, measurable Libertarian achievements stand out: First, the fact that, nationwide, as many as 500 Libertarian candidates did run; and second, the fact that the joint efforts of the Clark campaign and local Libertarian candidates earned future ballot status for the Party in 13 states.

The Libertarian Party now has ballot status for 1982 in Alabama, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, plus 1984 Presidential ballot status in Alaska and New Mexico. Ballot access is particularly burdensome and expensive in California, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, and Wisconsin, and the total savings on future ballot drive efforts in these thirteen states come to well over $100,000.

No doubt many individual Libertarian candidates and their supporters were disappointed with the results, but the overall trend is definitely up for the Libertarian Party. The total number of candidates in 1980 was two-and-a-half times that of 1978. The typical voting percentage increased from the 1 to 3 percent range to the 3 to 6 percent range. The 1980 Alaska results proved that Dick Randolph’s 1978 victory was no fluke, but rather that he has expanded and strengthened the Libertarian constituency in that state. Libertarians made their first-ever electoral efforts in many states and cities, and the Party can expect to improve on their results in future elections.

As a general trend, Ed Clark’s vote for President ran ahead of Libertarian percentages for what were perceived as important statewide offices (U.S. Senate, Governor), and ran behind Libertarian percentages for Congress, state legislature, and minor statewide office. This trend probably indicates a positive attitude toward Clark and Libertarians roughly described as follows: “I like Clark, but not enough to vote Libertarian for President, so I’ll show my approval by voting Libertarian in a less important race.”

Thanks to the 500 Libertarian candidates who were willing to run in 1980, an estimated three percent of all voters nationally did in fact cast at least one vote for a Libertarian candidate.

This means that over two million voters—more than double the 1978 figure—were willing to break lifelong loyalties to the two party system and give at least a qualified endorsement to Libertarians. Should this trend continue, it will auger well for the long-term prospects of the Libertarian Party in the 1980’s and ’90’s.

—Chris Hocker