DES MOINES, Iowa — There is a new threat to Libertarian Party candidates in Congress and their place on the Iowa ballot.
Iowa’s three-member appeals panel meets on August 28. The Republican secretary of state, Republican attorney general and Democratic state auditor will decide whether to reject or accept appeals against three Libertarian congressional candidates.
Their eligibility to vote is being questioned following objections to whether their candidacies meet the requirements to stand for election.
“This is the first time their party has been officially elected in an actual presidential election year, and that meant that they – the Libertarians – had to go through the same process as Democrats and Republicans in terms of holding caucuses, county caucuses, maybe district caucuses and a state convention,” said Tim Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa.
Behind the challenges are local GOP leaders who claim the Libertarians did not hold precinct caucuses. Republican attorney Alan Ostergren represents them but declined Iowa’s News Now’s request for comment Tuesday.
In their objection, they argued that, to their knowledge, the Iowa Libertarian Party had proceeded directly from the county caucuses to a state convention to nominate its congressional candidates without holding a county convention to select delegates.
However, all three Libertarian candidates refuted these claims in their comments at the Iowa State Fair last week.
“We were attacked. And by ‘we,’ I mean the Libertarian Party,” said Nicholas Gluba, the Libertarian Party’s candidate for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. “The Republican Party decided to challenge our congressional candidates on the grounds that we hadn’t held conventions. Well, I was there. I remember being at a convention.”
Professor Hagle said these third-party candidates often act as spoilers, which could impact hotly contested races, including Iowa’s 1st and 3rd Congressional District seats.
“They’re divided on the issue, but recently, given the emphasis on economic issues, they may have gotten more from Republicans than Democrats,” Hagle said.
