As voters suffer presidential election deja vu, Chase Oliver wants to be another option

PORTLAND, Maine – For voters who aren't excited about a rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, Libertarian presidential nominee Chase Oliver’s pitch is strikingly simple.

“I'm under the age of 80, I speak in complete sentences, I'm not a convicted felon,” he says on the campaign trail. “It's a very low bar, but I've managed to clear that.”

Oliver is 39, an anti-war activist and the new public face of the Libertarian Party, the country’s third largest political party — and one that could influence who wins the White House in November.

He’s not going to win the election, but that’s not his only measure of success. Getting the party more media attention, better ballot access and more Libertarian candidates into local office is also on the docket.

“There are concrete things we can do to build our party foundation up that don't require us to win the White House this November,” Oliver said. “And I think a lot of those things, if done correctly, will be seen as a victory in my eyes and a victory in the eyes of libertarians across the country.”

In the aftermath of the chaotic Libertarian Party national convention where Oliver eventually secured the party’s nomination after seven rounds of voting (winning with 60.6% against 36.6% for “none of the above”), his campaign schedule has seen travel across the country to boost his own name recognition and that of the party.

At a low-key campaign kickoff at a brewery east of Atlanta, Oliver told friends, family and running mate Mike ter Maat that he believes the Libertarian Party can reach a younger generation disillusioned with the current status of America.

“One of the things I’ve heard most is, ‘I became a libertarian when I was a young person,’” he said.