On Tuesday, June 29th, the Libertarian Party of Georgia’s candidates officially entered the election season of 2010, as the party qualified their first full slate of statewide candidates, assuring a Libertarian appears on the November General Election ballot in every statewide office. Unlike the Democrats and Republicans, who qualified in April, candidates campaigning under the banner of the Libertarian Party of Georgia must wait until independent, political body, and non-partisan candidate qualifying to officially enter their respective campaign races. Also unlike the Democrats and Republicans, Libertarian Party of Georgia candidates are nominated via the party’s state convention, which took place on April 24th of this year.
Among those qualifying, gubernatorial candidate John Monds, the largest vote getter in the history of the Libertarian Party in his stellar showing in 2008’s Public Service Commission (District 1) race, qualified to become the first African-American to appear on a General Election ballot for Governor in the state of Georgia. Additionally, the Libertarian nominee for Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Rhonda Martini, qualified to become the first female Lieutenant Governor candidate to appear on a General Election ballot in the Peach State. The rest of the slate includes:
- Chuck Donovan, U.S. Senate
- David Chastain, Secretary of State
- Don Smart, Attorney General
- Kira Willis, State School Superintendent
- Kevin Cherry, Commissioner of Agriculture
- Shane Bruce, Commissioner of Insurance
- William Costa, Commissioner of Labor
- Dr. James Sendelbach, Public Service Commission – District 2
“This year’s election season looks to be quite interesting, as we see grassroots movements support candidates that challenge the establishment status quo,” says Brett Bittner, Operations Director for the Libertarian Party of Georgia. “In addition to the momentum our candidates are seeing due to the distaste for business as usual, the historical aspect of our party’s candidates makes this year an especially exciting one for Libertarians.”
