IOWA, USA — While most Iowa Caucus coverage has focused on Democrats and Republicans, another party held precinct caucuses on Monday.
The Libertarian Party of Iowa (LPIA) held caucuses throughout the state on Monday, with candidate Chase Oliver winning 40.7% of the vote, according to unofficial results.
Michael Rectenwald finished with 17.44% of the vote, while Michael ter Maat and Joshua Smith both had 13.95% of the vote. Notably, Vivek Ramaswamy also had 4.65% of the Libertarian vote, despite running as a Republican.
As a recognized political party in Iowa, Libertarians are required to hold precinct caucuses. Iowans interested in participating must be registered to vote as a Libertarian.
"We are honored to have the opportunity to kick off the presidential nomination process for the Libertarian Party,” said Jules Cutler, LPIA chair, in a September statement. “As the party of liberty, it’s fitting that Iowa should lead the way in giving voice to the millions of Americans who are frustrated with the two-party duopoly.”
However, the Libertarian Party hasn't always been recognized in the state of Iowa.
Libertarians gained official political party status in 2022 after Rick Stewart received 2.4% of the vote in the gubernatorial election. In Iowa, a group can only be recognized as a political party if they receive more than 2% of the vote in the most recent general election.
2022 marked the second time Libertarians reached political party status in Iowa. The party last achieved it after Gary Johnson's 2016 presidential campaign. LPIA lost political party status in 2018, before eventually regaining it in 2022.
Without party status, LPIA was previously considered a "non-party political organization", like the Green Party.