Chase Oliver broke into liberal politics two years ago by forcing a runoff election in Georgia’s Senate election, an outcome that ultimately determined the U.S. Senate majority.
Now he aims to leave an even bigger mark.
Oliver won the Liberal party’s presidential nomination in dramatic fashion on Sunday night, winning on the seventh ballot after finishing second in each of the first five. Oliver received 60.6% of the vote in the final round, ultimately clearing the 50% victory threshold over “none of the above,” which was the only option left on the ballot after Oliver’s narrow victory Sixth round showdown Professor-turned-podcaster Michael Rectenwald led the count through the first five rounds.
“I’m extending my hand,” Oliver said in his victory speech. “Take it, be my partner in freedom.” There were differences on strategy and principle.
It was a fitting end to a fiery convention in which liberal delegates loudly booed former President Donald Trump during the Republican presidential nominee’s unorthodox appearance.
Oliver, a 38-year-old gay man from suburban Atlanta, posted an impassioned response After Trump’s speech Appearing at the convention on Saturday, he will now spend the next six months competing directly against Trump and President Joe Biden, two men who will be more than twice his age. After Sunday’s victory, Oliver pledged to continue delivering a message that neither major party candidate is likely to deliver.
“I will continue to bring a hopeful and positive message of freedom to those who consider themselves liberals and to those who don’t know they are liberals yet,” Oliver promised in his victory speech.
“Chase is a hard worker, a talented messenger and not even an octogenarian,” said former Liberal Party president Joe Bishop-Henchman, who is not this year’s Representatives of the General Assembly.
Oliver’s victory on Sunday night was a blow to the Mises caucus, the right-leaning faction that controls the Liberal Party at the 2022 convention and orchestrated Trump’s appearance at the convention. The faction’s preferred candidate is Rettenwald.
For much of Sunday’s lengthy voting process, Rettenwald seemed likely to win by a narrow margin – even after giving Incoherent, somewhat incoherent Saturday night and later admitted he had eaten something and got drunk.
No candidate received close to an absolute majority in the first round of voting, which concluded Sunday afternoon. Rettenwald led with 28.2% of the vote, followed by Oliver with 19.7% and Mike ter Maat with 15.3%. Eleven votes were cast for “none of the above” in the first round, plus write-in votes from former President Donald Trump (6) and Stormy Daniels (1), among others. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran as an independent and also made a last-minute bid for the Libertarian Party nomination, received just over 2 percent of the vote and was ultimately eliminated.
Second, third and fourth rounds of voting narrowed the field but were hardly decisive. Rettenwald maintained his lead over Oliver, who distanced himself from the rest of the field as Rettenwald’s clear rival.
The fifth round gave the first indication of the final outcome. With tech entrepreneur Lars Mapstead eliminated, Oliver and ter Maat gained dozens more votes, while Rettenwald (Rectenwald’s) momentum was also beginning to falter.
After being eliminated in that round, Tel Mat offered his support to Oliver at the convention in exchange for Oliver’s choice for vice president. (Unlike the Republicans and Democrats, the Libertarian Party chooses both offices through separate votes. But the winner of the presidential nomination often has a major influence on the outcome of the second race.)
After Thelmat announced his support for Oliver, members of the Mises caucus said they also offered Thelmat the vice-presidency. Competing offers complicated the final round of voting, but Telmat’s embrace of Oliver seemed to change the outcome.
In recent weeks, the media has focused extensively on whether the liberal party will nominate prominent illiberals such as Kennedy or even Trump.
Neither man came close to victory. Kennedy was eliminated after the first round of voting, while Trump did not even qualify for the first round of voting and only received six write-in votes.
It’s a tall order at times, but Oliver has campaigned in all 50 states and is the Libertarian Party’s 2024 standard-bearer.
