Source: Independent Political Report
Four parties held presidential primaries yesterday in Missouri, though only three fielded candidates: the Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians. James Ogle, an advocate for a parliamentary system based on ranked-choice voting, was the only Libertarian candidate on the ballot. In the final tally, he received 508 votes or 52.7 percent. The remaining 456 Libertarian voters chose “uncommitted”.
Ogle, who was profiled in a Columbia Missourian article last week, is not even listed on the LP website, which enacted strict requirements for inclusion on January 31. Ogle was the only LP candidate that paid the $1000 filing fee to appear on the Missouri ballot. Others such as former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, former air traffic controller RJ Harris, and activist R. Lee Wrights chose to skip the non-binding election.
According to Richard Winger here, in addition to Missouri, individual state Libertarian Parties are qualified to hold primaries in Arizona, California, Delaware, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.
At this time, California is the only one of these states anticipated to hold a primary. It is scheduled for June, one month after the Libertarian National Convention.
For the Democratic Missouri primary, four candidates were listed on the ballot, including IPR contributor Darcy Richardson. Richardson came in fourth place with 892 votes (1.2%); attorney John Wolfe, Jr. finished third with 1,022 (1.4%); anti-abortion activist Randall Terry placed second with 2,016 (2.8%); and President Barack Obama won with 64,405 (88.3%).
Former Senator Rick Santorum won on the Republican side.
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