Political activist Chase Oliver was nominated for president by the Libertarian Party on Sunday. In the decision that let down former President Donald Trump and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bids for the party’s nomination, the party chose Oliver as its nominee in the seventh round of voting after he was in second place in the first five rounds.
Libertarians select Chase Oliver as presidential nominee, very little support shown for Trump, RFK Jr. https://t.co/HZeR4uoq9U
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 27, 2024
In the seventh round, Oliver had nearly 60% of the vote, clearing the 50% threshold he needed for victory. Oliver’s opponent in that final round was the “none of the above” option, which came after professor-turned-podcaster Michael Rectenwald went against him in the sixth round after five rounds and was eliminated.
In his victory speech after the nomination, Oliver said, “I will continue to bring a hopeful and positive message of liberty to both those who consider themselves libertarian and those who don’t know they are libertarian yet.”
The party’s selection came a day after Trump delivered a speech at the Libertarian convention in Washington, D.C. and tried to appeal to the party to nominate him.
The Republican presidential candidate ended up not qualifying for the Libertarian nomination and only received six write-in votes on Sunday.
“In the last year, I’ve been indicted by the government on 91 different things. So if I wasn’t a libertarian before, I sure as hell am a Libertarian now,” he stated, going on to reveal plans to release “limited government so that the people can have an unlimited future.”
“Only endorse me if you want to win. If you want to lose, don’t do that. Keep getting your 3% every four years,” he said.
The GOP presumptive nominee went on to promise to vacate the sentence of Ross Ulbrict, the darknet marketplace Silk Road’s founder who has been in prison after his 2013 arrest.
After his speech, Oliver took a hard shot at him, saying, “I don’t like having a criminal on this stage.”
He went on to say that “if he thinks he’s going to win our party’s nomination, he’s more delusional than I thought.”
“… If Donald Trump thinks that he can come in here in our house and earn our nomination, he’s got another thing coming,” the newly nominated Libertarian Party presidential candidate added.