Joanne Marie Jorgensen

Joanne Marie Jorgensen, May 1, 1957 (Libertyville, Ill.) -

VP candidate for Libertarian Party (aka Independent) (1996)

Running mate with nominee: Harry Edson Browne (1933-2006)
Popular vote: 485,798 (0.50%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In many ways the 1996 election had several historic landmarks for the Libertarians, starting with their Presidential nomination process. In this year they qualified for primary election status in more states than any other third party in US history up to that point. The clear winner in this chapter of election season was financial advisor and author Harry Browne. With a campaign committee that included past Presidential and VP nominees Hospers, Clark, Bergland, Nathan, and Lord, Harry Browne seemed to be the choice of the Party's establishment. There were charges that the Party itself, which is supposed to be neutral in such cases, engineered Browne's selection over more extreme, less desirable candidates in terms of appealing to mainstream voters. Accusation of conspiracies and unethical behavior by staff members were made. Although not as split as it had been in earlier years, the Libertarians went into the 1996 election bruised and battered from their own inner wars.

One of the distinguishing paradoxes about the Libertarians is that in spite of the fact the party is comprised of a vast array of individualists with conflicting concepts of ideological purity vs. political practice, the core of their official platform has changed little over the decades. Unlike the candidates from the Big Two  when I wonder where the Democratic and Republican  candidates fall in the Left/Right spectrum given the pandering and meandering vagueness of their political stances, with Libertarians on the ballot the nuances are different-- I want to find out if they are pure or practical, do they lean more toward economic, or, civil libertarianism?

Jo Jorgensen, a Party member who had run for Congress in 1992 as a Libertarian, actively campaigned for the Vice-Presidential nomination and did not appear to have any strong competition. She developed a stump speech that was repeated throughout the year: "Republican politicians give us the political equivalent of 1-900 phone sex. They tell us that we're special. They ask us what we really want— and tell us that they want it, too. Then they start breathing heavy and getting excited by what we want. They tell us their fantasy for us. They tease us and tempt us. They arouse our passions. They tell us how much they want it and how good it is going to be. When we hang up from the 1-900 Republican Tax Cut Fantasy Line, we realize three things: they cost us a lot of money, the real thing is a lot more satisfying, and they're never going to come over ... The Democrats want to increase annual spending by $55 billion. The Republicans want to up the total by $45 billion. That $10 billion dollar difference works out to 10.5 cents daily from every American. So whoever said there isn't a dime's worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans was wrong; there is a dime's difference. One dime!"

The Party wasted no time adjusting to the World Wide Web. Jorgensen kept a campaign diary that was posted on the Browne website. I found this particular entry to be insightful and of interest as it reveals a bit of the human side of campaigning and what life must be like for candidates in the same circumstances--

Thursday, October 10. I have one of my most rewarding experiences speaking before a high school class. There are two male students in the back of the room who keep asking me great questions -- questions of interest, not of skepticism.

Finally one of them, a large guy who looks like a football player (but isn't -- I asked), says, "So what you're saying is that you think that people should be able to do ANYthing they want, as long as they don't hurt anyone else?" I reply, "Yes, that's about it." He practically jumps out of his chair and exclaims, "Wow! THIS is the party for me!!"

-- (Political) Queen for a Day --
Later that evening. After my last talk in Virginia I go out to dinner with the local Libertarians and a few audience members who tag along. The menu includes both dinner and breakfast items. Even though it's dinnertime, I ask if I can order from the breakfast menu. (I rarely eat breakfast out, so I get breakfast food whenever I can .)

The waiter informs me that they only serve breakfast in the morning, so I tell him I'll be happy ordering from the dinner menu. Jokingly, the local Libertarians ask the waiter if he knows who I am and ask if he would turn down such a request from Jack Kemp. The waiter, after talking with the chef, returns and says they will be more than happy to make anything I want, anytime I want it.

I object, explaining that this is the kind of treatment I want taken away from the politicians, and that I am running to make government so small that people wouldn't have a reason to treat politicians so specially.

But the waiter insists and seems truly hurt, so I relent and order breakfast. Here is yet one more taste I get of how our elected representatives in Washington are treated like kings and queens. No wonder none of them want to leave office once elected! 

The Browne/Jorgensen ticket made the ballot in all 50 states + DC, a very impressive achievement. Ross Perot and his Reform Party plus Ralph Nader and the Green Party delegated the Libertarians to 5th place in the final results but even so the Party achieved some milestones. Browne was not a household name but he still finished with the second highest popular vote and percentage numbers in the history of the Party up that time. Jorgensen had the third highest of number of popular votes for any female third party candidate in US history, only behind Winona LaDuke of the Green Party in 1996 and 2000.

The Browne/Jorgensen ticket had their best showings in: Arizona 1.02%, Nevada 0.96%, Alaska 0.94%, New Hampshire 0.85%, Wyoming and Colorado 0.82% each, Massachusetts 0.80%, Georgia 0.78%, and Delaware 0.76%. These results were different in that they demonstrated a wider regional appeal than just the Far West as in the past.

Jo Jorgensen is now the 2020 Presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, finally breaking the glass ceiling of that party for the top spot.

Election history:
1992 - US House of Representatives (SC) (Libertarian Party) - defeated
2020 - US President (Libertarian Party) - pending

Other occupations: academic lecturer in psychology, computer systems business

Notes:
Was on a roller hockey team.
Can fly planes.
Grew up in a conservative Republican family.
Courted by conservative Democrats to run for Congress in 1998 but apparently it did not happen.

James Arthur Lewis

James Arthur Lewis, April 20, 1933 (Old Saybrook, Conn.) - February 22, 1997 (Norwich, Conn.)

VP candidate for Libertarian Party (aka Free Libertarian Party) (1984)

Running mate with nominee: David Peter Bergland (1935–2019)
Popular vote: 228,111 (0.25%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Until shortly before the Libertarian Party convention in 1983, talk show host Gene Burns was assumed to be the Party nominee for President. But he decided not to run (politically speaking at the last minute) and a power struggle ensued to fill the void. In the process the so-called "Crane Machine," which had run the 1980 campaign, was displaced by the more "ultraist" forces of 1980 VP David Bergland.

Bergland was selected as the standard bearer for the Libertarian Party on the fourth round of voting. The convention voted for Jim Lewis as running-mate on the second ballot. In both cases neither Bergland or Lewis were the first choice on the first round. Once the insurgents had gained the nominations many of the moderates walked out. This included people like 1980 VP nominee David Koch who took his bankroll with him.

Being something of surprise nominees, the Bergland/Lewis ticket had to devise a campaign strategy on the fly. And coordinating a party of diehard individualists to act in a unified manner could not have been easy. It is something of a tribute that they performed as well they did. Better, in fact, than any other third party in 1984.

During the electioneering it was apparent Lewis had a special interest in opposing the concept of income tax. In Massachusetts at an anti-tax protest in April 1984 he told a reporter, "I haven't filed an income tax return in four years and I'm still on the street ... There is nothing in the tax code that makes you subject to criminal prosecution for failing to file an income tax form. The system is in fact voluntary ... I don't expect to file again until they put a gun to my head."

The bad news on Election Day was that the Party suffered a significant drop compared to the 1980 Presidential results. The 1984 0.25% national percentage still stands as their lowest since 1980. But on the bright side, the Libertarians landed in third place for the first time in Presidential elections, a feat they would repeat off and on for the next few decades. At the grassroots level about a dozen Party members were elected to various offices around the country.

On the ballot in 39 states and DC they continued to enjoy their strongest support in the Far West: Alaska 3.07%, Montana 1.35%, Wyoming 1.25%, Arizona 1.03%, New Mexico and Colorado 0.87% each, Nevada 0.80%, Oklahoma 0.72%, Idaho 0.69%.

Lewis, acting as his own attorney, went on to be convicted in a U.S. District Court in 1988 for willful failure to file income tax returns in the 1980s. Rather than considering himself a "tax cheat," Lewis saw his actions as an act of tax protest and attempted to use the trial as a venue for arguing the constitutionality of income tax. Needless to say, he was convicted. He began his sentence at Allenwood, Penn. in April 1988 (about the same time income tax is due) and was released 10 months later.

Election history:
1982 - US Senate (Conn.) (Libertarian Party) - defeated
1987 - Libertarian Party nomination for US President - defeated

Other occupations: salesman for the General Book Binding Company, author

Buried: ?

Notes:
Winner of the 1982 race was Lowell Weicker.
Previously a Republican.

David Peter Bergland

David Peter Bergland, June 4, 1935 (Mapleton, Iowa) – June 3, 2019 (Kennewick, Wash.)

VP candidate for Libertarian Party (1976)

Running mate with nominee: Roger MacBride (1929-1995)
Popular vote: 172,557 (0.21%)    
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In 1972 a faithless Elector in Virginia named Roger MacBride cast his vote for the Hospers/Nathan Libertarian Party ticket instead of Richard Nixon. This action generated talk within Libertarian Party circles of rewarding MacBride with the 1976 Presidential nomination in the Party's second run for the White House. MacBride had also been a Republican member of the Vermont State Legislature and he could pump some of his personal wealth into the campaign so his experience and resources was a definite plus.

MacBride nixed the first two people who looked to be likely Vice-Presidential nominees. Jim Trotter was a public tax-resister and John Vernon was openly Gay. MacBride claimed they would hurt the image of the Party and he wanted to be taken seriously. Incredibly, the convention allowed him to do this.

I'm no political scientist so bear with me here as I share my personal impressions. To say there are Left or Right factions within the Libertarian ranks doesn't really work as this group defies that old model. I'm sure Libertarians themselves have their own esoteric language and terms for this, but I'll just make it simple and identify the divisions in their early years as hardcore and moderate. The differences between these two camps did involve political philosophy but it as was really concerning form and method. The hardcore felt that by being purists and not playing the Establishment's dirty game they would attract voters who were seeking a clear and honest alternative. The moderates appeared to be open to political alliances and performing outreach that might possibly involve compromise since that is how the political world traditionally functions. MacBride's running-mate was California attorney David Bergland, who I would place in the hardcore faction. So the 1976 ticket really had both wings represented.

One of the saving graces for the Libertarian Party was the lack of a central iconic household name personality, especially in their early years. In many other of the non-major parties in US history where such an individual existed (e.g. William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, George Wallace, Ross Perot), the power struggle to fill the vacuum after that person was gone utterly destroyed their organizations. But the Libertarians have managed to survive in spite of inner conflicts or perhaps have grown stronger because of them. Today they are regarded as America's most major minor party.

In mid-October Bergland told a newspaper, "If we get 1% of the vote nationally, we'll consider that a tremendous success." It didn't quite turn out that way, but they fared better than most of the other third parties. When you consider that in 1972 they had been on the ballot in only two states it becomes apparent 1976 was really the first year the Party introduced itself to the whole country and with that in mind their election results were quite impressive. They placed 4th, behind Eugene McCarthy.

They were on the ballot in over 30 states and write-ins in several more. Their strongest showings were Far West regional with Alaska giving them a whopping 5.49%, Hawaii 1.35%, Idaho 1.04%, Arizona 1.03%, Nevada 0.75%, California 0.72%, South Dakota 0.54%, Colorado 0.49%, and Utah 0.45%. It is difficult to say which of the major candidates they might have impacted the most. 13 of their top 15 states voted for President Ford.

Bergland will return as the 1984 Libertarian Presidential nominee.

Other occupations: soldier (US Army), lifeguard, firefighter, city inspector for Los Angeles, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, attorney, author, adjunct professor of law

Election history:
1974 - Attorney General of California (Libertarian Party) - defeated
1978 - California State Senate (Libertarian Party) - defeated
1980 - US Senate (Calif.) (Libertarian Party) - defeated
1984 - US President (Libertarian Party) - defeated

Buried: ?

Notes:
Was a write-in candidate in the 1974 race.
Endorsed the Free State Project in 2006.
"Libertarians approach political, economic, and social issues by placing the highest priority on letting
 people solve their own problems, their own way, according to their own values. This usually results
 in proposals to replace clumsy, counterproductive government approaches with more effective and
 compassionate voluntary cooperation."--David Bergland
Joined the Libertarian Party in 1973.
Martial arts enthusiast and bodybuilder.
Winner of the 1978 race was John G. Schmitz.
Winner of the 1980 race was Alan Cranston.
Another Washington State connection! Bergland lived up here in his later years.