RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR)–Libertarian Robert Sarvis, the third party candidate on the Virginia ballot for governor, is headed towards a possibly historic day, regardless of a victory at the polls.
He’s already shaken up the race, had a double-digit showing at the polls, been endorsed and mentioned by newspapers—all signs that indicate 37-year-old Sarvis will have one of the better Libertarian party showings, not just in the state but in the nation.
Smart Politics, a political news site out of Minnesota, took a look at more than 200 Libertarian candidates dating back to the 1970s and concluded Sarvis will have had one of the “top three strongest candidacies in party history,” after all the votes are tallied.
The Libertarian Party was founded December 11, 1971. In 1982, Dick Randolph had the best ever Libertarian result for Governor by earning 14.9% of the vote in his Alaska race.
In 2002, Ed Thompson received 10.5% of the vote in his Wisconsin gubernatorial run or the same office. That resulted in a seat on the state elections board for the Libertarian Party.
According to Smart Politics, the only other Libertarian to reach five percent in a gubernatorial race was Sam Steiger, Arizona, 1982.
While it’s incredibly likely that Sarvis won’t be the next governor of Virginia, if he gets the votes that have been pledged to him so far, he could secure the 10 percent needed to gain ballot access for state and local offices (but not federal races) through 2021, according to the State Board of Elections.
It just remains to be seen if people will follow through behind the voting curtain.
Read more on Libertarian election results here: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cspg/smartpolitics/2013/10/sarvis_eyes_record_book_in_vir.php
