In L.A. County, 28.8% of voters are listed as a no-party preference, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office, and 25,508 of those people represent the Libertarian Party.
According to a recent census tally, the bulk of voters in the Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim Metro Area are 71.8% Democratic and only 22.4% Republican, according to BestPlaces.net.
Third parties in the United States often represent a smaller margin but strong following in recent national elections.
In 2012, the Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson touted that his candidacy represented another path forward for Americans tired of the two party duopoly.
That year, the Libertarians received approximately 1.3 million or nearly 1% in the national popular vote, but no Electoral College votes, the most in the party’s history.
The last third party to receive votes in the Electoral College was the George Wallace campaign for the American Independent party in 1968, where he received 46 electoral votes.
“I think Gary Johnson created the perception that the Libertarian Party was some kind of middle-of-the-road party when it’s really not,” said party chair Mimi Robson.
Mimi Robson is the Libertarian Party Chair for the State of California. She ran for the 33rd District of the California State Senate in 2016 and the 70th District State Assembly in 2018. She was unsuccessful but her vote tallies in 2016 were 48,316 or 21.35% of the total vote and in 2018 38,706 or 27.1% of the total vote, according to Ballotpedia.
Long Beach does not currently have a candidate for the Libertarian or Green parties, two of the largest third parties in terms of voters in Los Angeles County.
However, the Libertarian Party is supporting Jo Jorgensen as their presidential nominee, along with Spike Cohen as their vice presidential nominee. Jorgensen is an academic and political activist, and she was the party’s nominee for vice president in 1996.
“I am optimistic that the Libertarian Party can break through and possibly become the second largest party in California, even beating out the Republicans,” said Mimi Robson.
“The Libertarian Party, simply put, stands for freedom to do what you want without interference from the government. We also believe in the non-aggression principle which means voluntary exchange of your participation,” she said.
For more information about the Libertarian Party of California, they can be reached at: ca.lp.org.
Viking News reached out to the Green Party of Long Beach, but they did not respond by publication.