In a presidential race that’s shaping up to be a high-stakes showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, there’s a third contender who’s turning heads and challenging the political status quo. Meet Chase Oliver: Libertarian Party nominee, proud “armed and gay” activist, and potential swing state disruptor for 2024.
“I’m under the age of 80. I speak in complete sentences. I’m not a convicted felon. It’s a very low bar, but I’ve managed to clear that,” he said once during a campaign trail.
Oliver, 37, aligns with the more traditional faction of the Libertarian party. His platform reflects a unique blend of positions: he’s a “strict Second Amendment supporter” but also supports a woman’s right to choose abortion. He advocates for immigration reform, cutting federal spending, and eliminating federally backed student loans.
In 2022, he ran for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat, garnering roughly 81,000 votes and forcing a runoff between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker. With just 2.1% of the vote, Oliver saw this as a success, accomplishing his goal of disrupting the two-party system.
“This is not a one-and-done election. This is about building ourselves up so we can tear the abuses of the government down,” he told Georgia-based station WRDW in May on his vision of expanding the Libertarian party.
Now, Oliver has his sights set on an even bigger prize: the White House. He clinched the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination, beating out both former President Donald Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It’s a longshot bid, to be sure, but Oliver’s campaign isn’t just about winning the presidency.
“So there are wins like ballot access wins here in the state of Georgia. We can win ballot access for future candidates to run statewide,” Oliver explains. “There are other states across the country that rely on this presidential and vice presidential vote to earn that ballot access across the country. We want to make it easier for libertarians and others to be able to run.”
This focus on expanding ballot access reflects Oliver’s broader vision for American politics.
“My goal is to provide voters a true choice on the ballot they can feel good about voting for,” Oliver says. “So many people don’t even get out to vote because they just don’t see a choice that represents them and that’s a true travesty of our republic.”
But Oliver’s campaign faces significant challenges. He raised a mere $7,790 through the end of June 2022 for his Senate run, a drop in the bucket compared to the millions raised by Harris and Trump. And while he’s set to appear on ballots across most of the country, including several key swing states, he’s still fighting an uphill battle for name recognition and media attention.
Yet, in a race between Harris and Trump that’s likely to be hotly contested, Oliver’s presence on the ballot could have outsized importance. In 2020, Libertarian presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen made a modest showing in several key states, enough, it is believed, to have influenced the outcome of the election.
Oliver is aware of the potential impact of his campaign, but he rejects the notion that he’s a spoiler. “I don’t think you can spoil something that’s already rotten,” he said to The New York Times in 2022. “And I think that’s what the two-party system in Washington, D.C., currently is — it’s rotten.”
Instead, Oliver sees his campaign as a way to inject new ideas into the national conversation and potentially influence the major parties’ platforms. “If you get out and vote libertarian this election, perhaps the Democrats and Republicans adopt policy strategies that align more with you,” he told 11Alive on Sept. 8.
Oliver’s potential Trump card
As the 2024 election approaches, all eyes are on the swing states – and that’s precisely where Chase Oliver could make his biggest impact. According to Oliver’s campaign, the Libertarian’s name will appear on ballots across most of the country, including several key swing states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, and North Carolina.
These swing states have become increasingly crucial in recent elections. As David Schultz, a professor of political science at Hamline University, explained to NPR, “Swing states have increasingly become not just states that flip back and forth, but states, given the relative polarization and certainty of other states voting particular ways, these are the small cluster of states that truly are going to decide the presidential election.”
Oliver’s potential impact is not lost on political observers. In the 2020 election, Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen’s modest showing in several key states is believed to have influenced the outcome. Now, with Harris and Trump likely to be locked in a tight race, Oliver’s presence on the ballot could prove crucial.
The potential for Oliver to draw votes from Trump in key states is a scenario that’s causing concern in some Republican circles. Oliver’s pro-gun stance and focus on small government could appeal to conservative voters who are dissatisfied with Trump but reluctant to vote for Harris. At the same time, his pro-choice position and support for LGBT rights might attract liberal-leaning voters who are looking for an alternative to the major party candidates.
Historical trends suggest that third-party candidates often see their support decline as Election Day approaches. However, even a small percentage of the vote in these battleground states could significantly influence the outcome. In Michigan, for instance, Trump won by about 10,000 votes in 2016, when third-party candidates collectively garnered more than 250,000 votes.
“Third parties are able to bring to the forefront the political consciousness some of the matters that may not be politically palatable for the dominant parties,” said Tammy Greer, assistant professor of political science at Georgia State University during a speech for the Washington Foreign Press Center briefing on the election this April.
Oliver’s campaign is particularly focused on states where his presence could influence ballot access for future Libertarian candidates. “There are other states across the country that rely on this presidential and vice presidential vote to earn that ballot access across the country. We want to make it easier for libertarians and others to be able to run,” he explained to 11Alive.
Some Republican political operatives and lawyers are reportedly propping up liberal third-party candidates in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, hoping to take votes from Kamala Harris.
“Third parties often harbor people who leave one major party but are not yet ready, if ever, to switch to the other one,” Carl Cavalli, a political-science professor at the University of North Georgia, told Newsweek last week, adding that third-party candidates are viable options for voters who can’t stomach major party candidates, be it Trump or Harris.
Oliver rejects the notion that he’s a spoiler candidate, particularly for Trump. “I don’t think you can spoil something that’s already rotten,” he told The New York Times in 2022. “And I think that’s what the two-party system in Washington, D.C., currently is — it’s rotten.”
Instead, he sees his campaign as a way to inject new ideas into the national conversation and potentially influence the major parties’ platforms.
“If you get out and vote libertarian this election, perhaps the Democrats and Republicans adopt policy strategies that align more with you,” he told 11Alive. “They say, ‘Hey, this is what these people wanted to see, that’s why I’m going to support this in the future.’”
As the 2024 campaign heats up, Oliver remains an intriguing wild card. Whether he’ll be remembered as a footnote in political history or as the candidate who changed the course of the election remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: in a race between Harris and Trump, Oliver is offering voters something different. And in today’s political climate, different might just be what some voters are looking for.
Lana Leguia, resident of Sussex County, N.J. who attended the Libertarian convention in June, told NPR that she plans to vote for Oliver this coming November.
“I think a Libertarian candidate is going to be direct competition, and I think people are ready for something new, something outside of the duopoly.”
