Libertarians recognized as Ohio party

The Ohio Libertarian Party has been recognized as an official state party in Ohio and will run candidates in several races, including the closely contested Ninth District U.S. House race. After mounting a petition drive, the party won minor party status in Ohio. The party's presidential candidate, Chase Oliver, will be on the ballot in November. Tom Pruss, who lives in the Toledo area, is the Libertarian Party candidate in the 9th District U.S. House race, which also includes U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, and state Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova Township. Another race that is also expected to be close, the U.S. Senate contest between U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican businessman Bernie Moreno, has a Libertarian candidate, Don Kissick, as well. In theory, if those races were close enough, a Libertarian candidate could affect the outcome. Oliver came to public attention when he ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2022 against Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock. Oliver received more than 2% of the vote, forcing the race into a runoff, which Warnock won. A spokesman for Secretary of State Frank LaRose confirmed that the Ohio Libertarian Party successfully circulated a petition and gathered enough signatures to attain official party status. Dustin Nanna, the chairman of the Ohio Libertarian Party, said the party filed a little more than 88,000 signatures in July. The party needed to get about 43,000 signatures verified as valid and officials verified more than 48,000, Nanna said. Nanna said that in addition to Oliver, Pruss and Kissick, Libertarians are fielding a candidate in the 4th U.S. House district in Ohio, represented by U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana. In addition, there are four Libertarian candidates in Hamilton County running for state and local offices and three candidates in Franklin County. Nanna said the last time the Ohio Libertarian Party was able to field party candidates was 2020. This time, the party is guaranteed to be on the ballot until 2026. To stay on the ballot after 2026, the party needs to get 3% of the vote in the current presidential election or in the gubernatorial election in 2028. Otherwise, the party will have to conduct another petition drive, Nanna said. A 3% vote would be a relatively successful effort, as the Libertarian presidential candidate in 2020, Jo Jorgensen, won 1.1% of the vote in Ohio in the last presidential election. Oliver and other Libertarian politicians will be hosting a rally at 4:30 p.m. this Friday at Levis Park in Toledo, at the corner of St. Claire Street and Madison Avenue. Oliver's other campaign events in Ohio are posted at his campaign site, votechaseoliver.com. Pruss has a campaign site on Facebook. Kissick has an account on X and a website at donkissick.org.