Reasonable people will look at Libertarian Party candidates’ election results — votes largely, but also the nature of attention obtained — through the November 2024 general election to judge if the new leadership of the national Libertarian Party has succeeded or failed.
The new leadership, put in place in May of 2022 by delegates at the Libertarian Party’s national convention, so far has seemed most focused on communicating in social media, helping put on an antiwar rally in Washington, DC, and urging officeholders from other parties to vote a certain way. Whatever success is achieved from these three endeavors can be expected to be viewed as largely beside the point by many people whose aid is important for the party’s functioning. Much else may be happening behind the scenes, though. Political parties are uniquely about candidates and campaigns, and it is mostly by the performance of candidates and campaigns that most people can be expected to assess a political party’s achievement or lack thereof.
The November 2022 general election — occurring less than half a year after the new leadership took charge — was too soon to pin on the new leadership. In contrast, the two years later November 2024 general election is all theirs, assuming they stay in charge through that election.
Has the party leadership been taking actions that will lead to impressive campaign results through 2024? We’ll have to wait and see. Without such results that are easily communicable and discernable, you can expect volunteer and monetary support for national party activities to slacken. The party leadership should be ready to be judged by this old, familiar standard: “Put up or shut up.”
