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Michelle Kwock is running for public office, but you wouldnt know from talking to her. Sometimes even she forgets.

My chance of winning is extremely slim, she says.

Shes not wrong. Kwocks running as a nonpartisan, meaning shes not affiliated with any political party in Hawaii.

Looking back to 1992, the earliest available data, no independent candidate in Hawaii has won office while running in a partisan race.

I dont have to win, said Kwock, whos a candidate for Senate District 13, covering Chinatown and Pacific Heights. Im throwing out a few ideas out there for consideration.

Shes up against Democratic incumbent Karl Rhoads, whos represented the area as a senator since 2016 and was the House member for the area for a decade beforehand. Matthew Tinay is the Republican in the race and Kapono Souza is on the ballot for the Green Party.

Kwock is one of two nonpartisan candidates who survived Hawais primary and will be on the ballot for the Nov. 8 general election.

The other isBrian Ley, a candidate in House District 4, which covers a chunk of the Big Island including Leilani Estates and Hawaiian Paradise Park.

He has a different goal: Winning, he said.

Leys running against Rep. Greggor Ilagan, the incumbent Democrat who won his seat in 2020, Republican Kekilani Ho and Libertarian Candace Linton.

Its a high hurdle. Nonpartisan candidates run in Hawaiis primaries each election cycle, with varied levels of success. This year, two of the nine hopefuls made it to the general, about the same as 2020 when two out of seven advanced. Actually winning office remains a challenge but however short their time in the limelight, nonpartisan candidates are keen to use it.

In Hawaii, candidates run without party designation for mayor, prosecuting attorney, county councils and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

But in partisan races for governor, lieutenant governor, and the state and federal legislatures candidates dont do well with voters unless theyre affiliated with a party.

This is because Hawaiis election rules say you can only advance to the general election as an independent candidate if you get at least 10% of the total votes, or if you get more votes than the least popular partisan candidate.

Kwock only got 61 votes in the primary, but that was more than the 42 votes received by Green Party candidate Kapono Souza. And Ley only got 45 primary votes, but the Libertarian candidate in his race, Candace Linton, did worse with only 22 votes.

The only reason I made it this far is because of the Green Party, Kwock said.

Now shes headed to the general.

The rules make it hard to advance evenIlagan, the incumbent who Leys challenging, gives Ley big respect for managing to do it.

But Ley wasnt surprised at the result. Linton is his ex-wife, and she ran as a Libertarian, as a favor, to help him advance.

This wasnt Leys first run as a nonpartisan candidate for the district.

Hes a passionate hunter and serves on the Big Islands Game Management Advisory Commission, focusing on issues related to animal habitats and advocating for the use of feral pigs to help stem Hawaiis food insecurity.

Ley explained that hed contacted legislators to express some of these opinions, but was frustrated when he didnt hear back.

And I just said, You know what, if theyre not even going to talk to me, Im just going to run for office, he said.

Most of the time Im in the middle. Brian Ley

His first attempt in 2020 didnt get very far.

Ley mistakenly believed that hed automatically advance to the general, since he was the only nonpartisan candidate in his race, so he told people to feel free to vote for another partys candidates in the primary. He was surprised when his name didnt appear on the general ballot.

I didnt read the fine print on nonpartisan, he said.

Different states take different approaches in handling nonpartisan candidates, and Ley had misunderstood Hawaiis rules.

In Illinois, for example, independent and third party candidates must pass a threshold of petition signatures, which automatically puts them on the ballot for the general. In California and Washington, jungle primaries are used to advance the top two candidates regardless of party.

Despite the challenges nonpartisanship brings, Ley decided to try again in 2022.

He describes his views as sometimes left, sometimes right, though most of the time Im in the middle, he said.

In his view, party politics make it hard to maintain this independent streak. Politicians, he said, are not answering to the people anymore. Theyre answering to the party.

As an example, Ley pointed to Democratic efforts to abolish cash bail, which passed the Legislature earlier this year before being vetoed by Gov. David Ige.

And Republicans?

Theyre the same thing as the Democrats, just the other end of the spectrum, he said.

Kwock, 30, said her motivation was to give voters the option to vote for a younger candidate.

If you look at all the candidates, theyre mostly middle-aged males, she said.

As a younger, female, Asian candidate one who gets around her urban district without a car, opting instead for a folding bike she feels she represents a different demographic than Rhoads, the incumbent.

Rhoads, who also doesnt own a car and has introduced pedestrian-friendly legislation, congratulates Kwock for advancing, and said that hell see her on the campaign trail.

Other than a few years at Boston University, where she studied biology and public health, Kwock has spent most of her life in the district.

She works for the Hawaii Department of Health as a national strategic stockpile planner, andis a strong proponent of car-less alternatives and health.

The victim of 10 bike thefts, by her estimate, Kwock has written guest essays for Civil Beat that argue for better bike parking options, as well as embracing telework as a new normal. One of her biggest priorities as a candidate is advocating for a better long-term care system, where caretakers dont need to be employed 30 hours per week to qualify for state aid.

She doesnt jibe with the Republican party Donald Trumps policies caused too much chaos, she said. Meanwhile, Democrats are always elected in Hawaii, and she wanted to represent something new.

I am pretty sure my chance is really slim. Michelle Kwock

Im not too familiar with any of the other minor parties, so thats why I decided, why not run as a nonpartisan? she said.

Her decision to run was mostly spontaneous, though commenters on her pieces had also encouraged her to run, which helped.

Both candidates declared that theyd collect and spend no more than $1,000 for their campaigns, so theyre exempt from submitting regular finance reports to the Campaign Spending Commission, other than a final report at the end of the election cycle.

Previous election results show that nonpartisans who make it this far typically end up polling no more than 15% in the general.

Leys hoping to overcome these odds, but while Kwock said itd be great if she wins, shes not really considering it a possibility.

She was surprised she made it this far at all. And anyway, if she were to win, she doesnt know what shed do with her job at the health department.

Ill have to think about it, after November, she said. I am pretty sure my chance is really slim.

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It's Tough To Win An Election As An Independent Candidate In Hawaii - Honolulu Civil Beat

The political arena is often characterized by left wing and right wing, originally derived from discourse after the French Revolution between fans or foes of the monarch. Fans sat on the right side of the French Assembly and foes sat on the left side. Over the years various labels have been attributed to these sides, with conservatives, reactionaries, and fascists on the right and progressives, socialists, communists, and radicals on the left. In the libertarian view, they all represent high degrees of governmental control for varying purposes.

In American politics, the Republican Party is associated with the right wing and the Democratic Party with the left wing. Until the year 2000, the color red used to be associated with the left wing because of red flag symbolism of the Communist Party and the Red Guard. Then the color red was redefined by the media as associated with rural American states, rednecks, and Republican party politics. The color blue became associated with the Democrats.

The word liberal originated as a libertarian term advocating all forms of freedom, as it is still used in Europe today as classical liberal. But in the U.S., the word liberal came to be associated with the left wing in the 20th Century. As the term became unpopular with voters, the left wing abandoned it for the progressive, a term that took root in the early 20th Century under the Progressive Party of Sen. Robert LaFollett and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Libertarians are neither right nor left, though they might occasionally identify with either side on particular issues. For instance, the right wing sometimes, though not consistently, favors less government control over business and the economy with lower taxes and less commercial regulation. The left wing frequently favors more government control and taxes on business and commercial regulation.

On the other hand, the left wing sometimes, though not consistently, favors less government control over personal lifestyle decisions. Conversely, the right wing frequently favors the imposition of more government controls on personal lifestyle behavior such as sex, drugs, and gambling.

In the absence of principle to guide their behavior, right-wing and left-wing advocates can be found vacillating on important issues. For instance, in the 19th Century gun control was opposed by many on the left and favored by many on the right. Then in the 20th Century, their relative positions on gun control flipped. Libertarians are consistent on the issue of self-defense by applying the NAP.

The right wing and left wing have both favored aggressive military interventions abroad. Most American wars in the 20th Century have begun under Democratic administrations while Republicans have enthusiastically supported them. The reverse occurred in 2001 with recent wars in the Middle East. Libertarians tend to support only strictly defensive military action and prefer behavior that keeps the nation out of foreign affairs.

Peace,commerceand honestfriendshipwithallnations, entangling alliances with none.Thomas Jefferson

By subscribing to the nonaggression principle (NAP), libertarians remain consistent in championing all forms of personal freedom, at home and abroad, at any given time or with any particular issue.

Read more here:
What Is a Libertarian? | The Advocates for Self-Government

Its one of the questions we get most often: What is a Libertarian?Someone who believes you own yourself. Someone who believes using violence against peaceful people is wrong, even if youve got a badge. Someone willing to stand up for your civil rights, because they are also his own.

Individuality is kind of our thing, and people have different priorities and values. Libertarians are often most passionate about the violence and damage caused by government actions, because theyve realized, deep down, that its just wrong.

A libertarian who has experienced the brutality of war, or buried a child in a flag-draped coffin, will tell you first that Libertarians are anti-war.

A libertarian whose civil rights were trampled will say Libertarians believe everyones civil liberties must be protected. All of them. Every time.

A libertarian who saw his family or community gutted by the racist, violent War on Drugs will tell you Libertarians believe peaceful people should be left alone. No victim? No crime.

A libertarian whose family business was destroyed by ever-higher taxes, licensing, and lobbyist regulations will tell you Libertarians oppose taxes, and government deciding what customers can buy.

A libertarian whose home was seized by the city and sold to a powerful developer will tell you Libertarians believe in property rights, and due process before search or seizure.

So what do libertarians really believe? To know what we all (mostly) agree on, you can check out our national party platform.

But libertarian policy positions are just practical extensions of our core philosophy.

Libertarians believe:

People own themselves. Its wrong to use violence against peaceful people. Human interactions should be voluntary: if consenting adults agree, its no one elses business. Moral government is limited to protecting people from force and fraud by others.

Most people, even people who dont think of themselves as libertarians, go about their daily lives treating other people well and staying out of other peoples business. But non-libertarians will draw a box around government police, politicians, regulators and assume that the force government uses must be different, and somehowokay.

A libertarian believes all people, even ones with badges, Senate seats, or powdered wigs, have the same responsibility to leave peaceful people alone.

Police abuse is increasingly caught on video. Unjust wars abroad drag on. Regulators and tax collectors, aided by lobbyists, find ever more ways to limit how Americans can use their own property and earn a living.

Libertarians believe that as more people notice the way power is abused, theyll stop drawing that box of moral exemption around government actors. A badge doesnt give you special rights, and it doesnt grant permission to violate someone elses rights. If you believe that, you might already be a libertarian.

Libertarians have some overlap with both the political left and the political right, and we are happy to work with allies of all stripes to defend our shared values. We are allies of the right when we oppose high taxes, advocate for school choice, and support the second amendment rights of each peaceful person to defend himself. We are allies of the left when we oppose war, defend everyones civil rights from abuse by government, and fight to decriminalize peaceful adult choices like sex work and drug use. Were not a centrist party, nor are we extremists. Were just honest about what we stand for, and were willing to stand alongside others who share some, if rarely all, of our core beliefs.

Libertarians are the party of peace, people, and principles. And if you believe in these principles too, wed love to count you no matter who you are among our ranks. Join us today?

See the article here:
What is a Libertarian? - Libertarian Party of Georgia

UBET, WIThe United States of America will never be unified by the Republican and Democratic parties, said Jake VandenPlas, the Libertarian Congressional candidate in Wisconsins 8thUS House District. If they could, they would have done it by now. VandenPlas has steadily gained voter support with his messages of more individual liberty and freedom and less government coercion via force in his challenge to unseat the Republican incumbent, Michael Gallagher of Green Bay.

With adherence to the Libertarian Party principles of non-aggression and consent, we can focus on unity and self-governance, continued VandenPlas in a statement released this week.

In that statement, VandenPlas, who also chairs the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin (LPWI), reflected on the unstable discord in the country around the intense, and useless, partisanship of the other two parties. That division has, in effect, produced no effective action to address an endless number of issues facing the country and Wisconsin, from domestic policy to foreign policy. Furthermore, the two-party partisanship has damaged essential rights to, and protections for, individual property, free speech, and personal choices, all rights which the LPWI wants to restore and strengthen.

Based on two guiding rules of conductfirst, do no harm to others; and then, do not steal from anyoneLibertarians in Wisconsin in a separate statement this week called on the public to unite with them to work peacefully for a prosperous future, and solve the dismay of division nation-wide, for a better future for all.

For more info on the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, visitwww.lpwi.org.

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Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: Libertarians offer unity with them - WisPolitics.com

Democratic and Republican candidates for statewide office in Pennsylvania garner nearly all the attention, especially this year, but there are minor-party candidates angling for those seats, too.

The Libertarian, Green and Keystone parties have candidates on the general election ballot for U.S. Senate, governor and lieutenant governor.

If the Keystone Party doesnt sound familiar, dont feel bad.

The party just had its first convention on a small farm in York County in April after some members became disenchanted and left the Libertarian Party because they felt it was tilting too far right, particularly on social issues.

Gus Tatlas, the chairman of the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania, said members consider themselves a coalition of independents. The former Libertarians, he said, did not like hateful rhetoric coming from some Libertarian leaders.

In good conscience, they said they could no longer be affiliated with an organization that doesnt renounce that type of rhetoric, Tatlas said.

So far, Tatlas said the Keystone Party is getting a lot of great feedback and quickly managed to gather enough signatures to field statewide candidates.

Keystones website lists its party platform as government reform, including a part-time Legislature and term limits, an independent redistricting commission, open primaries, ranked choice voting, and school choice.

First, lets take a look at the candidates for U.S. Senate.

Libertarian

Erik Gerhardt, a Montgomery County resident who owns a carpentry business, is the Libertarian candidate for the open seat left by the retirement of Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.

On his campaign website, Gerhardt details a platform focused on jobs and the economy, social injustice, police reform, and ending the war on drugs.

Gerhardt, who sports a Philadelphia Phillies cap in his photo on the website, says, Most taxes are nothing short of theft. He supports cutting taxes to their absolute minimum, implementing a flat tax on sales and eliminating property taxes, though thats a state, not a federal, tax.

With fewer taxes, more of the money you work for will stay in your pocket, Gerhardt says.

Gerhardt agrees that police reform is needed, but opposes defunding the police, saying it hurts communities.

Instead, he said reform should begin with police recruits training, such as teaching them jujitsu to subdue suspects and avoid deadly force, and completing community service before graduating from the academy.

Gerhardt says he wants to end the war on drugs, beginning with decriminalizing marijuana, which Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, the states lieutenant governor, also supports.

However, Gerhardt also backs legalizing many other non-addictive drugs, and insisted decriminalization would also stop smuggling across the countrys southern border.

Green Party

Allegheny County resident Richard Weiss, an attorney, is the Green Party candidate for Senate. He ran for attorney general in 2020.

Weiss recently released a statement outlining a platform aimed at ending fracking, passing universal health care, pursuing peaceful resolutions in Ukraine and in other global conflicts, protecting abortion rights, legalizing marijuana and implementing police reform.

Fracking is ruining the water and health of Pennsylvania, Weiss said of the process to extract natural gas.

Weiss supports a just transition to renewable energy, which, he said, offers more jobs than the fossil fuel industry, protection for the environment and cheaper energy for consumers.

Universal healthcare is vital to help Americans as COVID-19 continues and victims experience prolonged medical problems.

Current health insurance has too many deductibles, co-pays and limitations on coverage, Weiss said. Employers who provide healthcare will benefit from Medicare-for-All by having costs reduced. Employers who do not provide healthcare will benefit from Medicare-for-All by having healthier workers. Medicare-for-All costs less for better care.

Keystone Party

Keystone candidate Daniel Wassmer is a Pike County resident who ran for attorney general in 2020 under the Libertarian banner. Wassmer finished third in that race just ahead of Weiss.

According to Ballotpedia.com, Wassmer said in 2020 that he worked as an adjunct professor, attorney and business owner.

Now, lets meet the minor party candidates running for governor and lieutenant governor.

Libertarian

Matt Hackenburg of Northampton County is the Libertarian candidate for governor. He described himself as a computer engineer and former National Guardsman in his Twitter account bio.

Hackenburgs issues on his website include repealing all gun control laws, allowing parents to decide how to educate their children, ending the theft of taxation and opposing the action of the Wolf administration during the height of the COVID pandemic.

Timothy McMaster of York County is the Libertarian candidate for lieutenant governor. An auditor, McMaster ran unsuccessfully in a special election for the 48th Senatorial District seat last year.

Keystone Party

Keystone gubernatorial candidate Joseph Soloski of Centre County ran for state treasurer in 2020 as a Libertarian. He is a certified public accountant and owned his own firm near Pittsburgh for 30 years before moving to Centre County in 2013.

Soloskis lieutenant governor running mate is Nicole Shultz of York County. She and her husband own a small business selling jams and other items.

Green Party

Christine PK DiGiulio of Chester County is the Green candidate for governor. She is a former analytical chemist for the U.S. Department of Defense and co-founded the Watchdogs of South-Eastern Pennsylvania and the Better Path Coalition.

DiGiulio opposes the Mariner East pipeline and the fossil fuel industry and supports abortion rights.

Earlier this year, DiGiulio told cityandstatepa.com, Its time to focus on the people 100 percent. We need basic human rights. There are people without clean water in 2022 in Pennsylvania. Thats pretty pathetic.

In an interview with The Daily Local of West Chester in April, DiGiulio said abortion access is part of womens general healthcare and made the case that the country should move away from fossil fuels.

Michael Bagdes-Canning, a Butler County resident, is the Green candidate for lieutenant governor. A teacher, Bagdes-Canning has served as vice president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and was a founding member of the Better Path Coalition.

Our economy is set up to keep us fighting against each other rather than for each other, he said in a Labor Day statement. The same forces keeping us as wage slaves are also destroying the very climate we depend on for survival, pitting us against each other, using race, gender, immigration status, and our ZIP codes to divide us. When we in the working class unite, that will all change.

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Major party candidates get the attention, but Pa. voters have third party options, too - Williamsport Sun-Gazette