By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Saturday, February 25 , 2017, the Libertarian Party of Alabama elected Joshua Tuttle as their Party Chairman at their annual convention in Huntsville.
Chairman Tuttle won the office after a close race against Baldwin County Affiliate Chair Laura Lane.
Chairman Josh Tuttle said, “I am deeply humbled to have earned the trust of the party members as Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Alabama. Our focus will be to carry the torch of liberty and contest the Old Parties in upcoming elections.”
Tuttle said on social media, “I want to thank everyone that helped make the 2017 Libertarian Party of Alabama Convention possible. I want to thank all the members that drove from all over this great state and everyone that stepped up to be a member of the Executive Committee. Without you, none of this is possible.”
Tuttle added, “I want to personally thank Leigh LaChine for all his hard work over the last four years. The fruits of his labor showed with the massive growth and participation in the Convention. I’m humbled for the opportunity to help carry the torch for the next year. This is just the beginning.”
The members of the Libertarian Party of Alabama 2017 Executive Committee include: Joshua Tuttle, Chairman; C.J. Ezell, Vice Chairman; Nicole Jordan, Secretary; Ross Lowe, Treasurer; Noah Rhys, Region 1 Representative; Aaron Watkins, Region 2 Representative; Gage Fenwick, Region 3 Representative; Zackary Redmond, Region 4 Representative; Anthony Peebles – At-Large Member; and Jim Albea- At-Large Member.
The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the country. In the 2016 presidential election Libertarian Party presidential candidate, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson received over four million votes. That is 3.2 percent of the votes cast; a significant increase over 2012; but still far from the five percent threshold needed to receive federal election funding. In Alabama, the Libertarian ticked received 2.1 percent of the vote (43,869). Polling months before the election had the Libertarian Party performing far better (in some polls almost ten percent); but gaffes by Governor Johnson and get out the vote efforts by the two major political parties drew away many potential third party voters. The Green Party is the fourth largest political party.
Alabama is one of the most difficult states in the country for third party candidates to get ballot access.
