The Libertarian Party of Washington (LPWA) is the state-affiliate of the national Libertarian Party in the state of Washington, the third-largest political party in the state and country.
The party advocates for constitutionally restricted government and significant cuts to government spending and taxation. The party also supports protecting natural rights and expanding civil rights, including sexual and racial equality, LGBT rights, and decriminalization of scheduled drugs and prostitution. In addition, the party also supports school choice, privatizing the ferry system and portions of the state highways, eliminating predatory speed-traps, allowing private investment in water and natural resources, and supporting investment in industrial hemp. The Libertarian Party of Washington operates under a non-aggression pact.
Libertarians align across the political spectrum, but generally advocate against statist practices. Libertarian political affiliation is best understood by the Nolan chart, rather than the standard left/right paradigm.
Statement of Principles
The Libertarian Party of Washington State describes its principles as follows: We, the members of the Libertarian Party of Washington State, hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Accordingly, all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.
We further hold that where government exists, it must not violate the right of any individual: namely (1) the right to life – accordingly, we support the prohibition of the initiation of physical force against others; (2) the right to liberty of speech and action – accordingly we oppose all attempts by the government to abridge the freedom of speech and the press, as well as government censorship in any form; and (3) the right to property – accordingly, we oppose all government interference with private property, such as confiscation, nationalization, and eminent domain, and support the prohibition of robbery, trespass, fraud, and misrepresentation.
Since governments, when instituted, must not violate individual rights, we oppose all interference by government in the areas of voluntary and contractual relations among individuals. People should not be forced to sacrifice their lives or property for the benefit of others. They should be left free by the government to deal with one another as free traders; and the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection of individual rights, is the free market.
History of the Libertarian Party in Washington State
In 2000, the Libertarian Party attained major party status in Washington after the success of Libertarian candidates in statewide races, many of whom received the required 5% of the total statewide vote. The party ran 43 candidates for state legislative seats, 12 of whom received 20% or more of the total votes in their race, 8 candidates for Congress, one candidate for US Senate, and Harry Brown/Art Olivier for President/Vice-President.
By the 2004 election all statewide Libertarian candidates failed to reach 5% of the statewide vote. Ruth Bennett, in the race for Governor, finished the third recount with 63,464 (2.3%) of the statewide total. The party ran 3 Congressional candidates and one US Senate candidate, none of whom received higher than 2.5% of the total votes in their respective races. Twenty-five state legislative candidates ran under the Libertarian banner, with one receiving above 10% total votes, and with an average result below 4%.
In 2006, the Libertarian Party nominated Bruce Guthrie for US Senate, who mortgaged his home to raise $1.2 million in order to qualify for the Seattle debates. The Seattle PI stated the Guthrie won the debate 'just by being there', as he had the opportunity to share his platform with a wide audience, a feat not many third party candidates get to achieve. Guthrie finished the race with 29,331 total votes, representing 1.4% of the statewide total. No state legislative positions were contested by the Libertarian Party as a demoralizing result of the Blanket Primary law passed through the legislature by the two major parties, and supported by the voters as Initiative 872 with 59% approval. This effectively ended the success of a strong third party in Washington State.