The Libertarian Party has never lacked ideas, passion, or principled advocates. What it has often lacked is sustained institutional focus, the kind of disciplined, coordinated, long-term effort required to transform a philosophical movement into a durable political organization. After years of service within the Party, engagement with activists across the country, and reflection on both successes and setbacks, I have become convinced that the path forward is neither mysterious nor unattainable. It is simply demanding.

The moment before us is not one of existential crisis, but of organizational maturation. Voters dissatisfied with the two major parties continue to search for alternatives. Liberty-oriented ideas permeate public discourse more than at any point in recent memory. Yet opportunity without capacity yields little impact. The question before the Libertarian Party and the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) is therefore straightforward: how do we build a political institution capable of meeting this moment?

What follows is a framework for what I believe must happen next.

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Cultural Reform as Strategic Necessity

Every organization possesses a culture, whether intentionally cultivated or emergent from behavior over time. For the Libertarian Party, culture has often been characterized by intense independence, passionate debate, and a strong resistance to centralized authority. These qualities are understandable given our philosophical roots. However, when unmanaged, they can also produce reputational harm, internal fragmentation, and barriers to collaboration.

Cultural reform is not about suppressing disagreement or diluting principle. Rather, it is about recognizing that political organizations operate in a competitive environment where perception, professionalism, and cohesion influence outcomes. Public displays of internal conflict rarely persuade new supporters; they instead signal instability. Volunteers and donors are less likely to invest in organizations perceived as perpetually divided.

Future leadership must therefore cultivate norms that allow vigorous internal debate while maintaining external message discipline. This includes encouraging constructive disagreement, reinforcing shared goals, and ensuring that conflict resolution occurs in spaces that preserve institutional credibility. A Party capable of managing its differences without undermining itself gains a significant strategic advantage.

Culture, in this sense, becomes infrastructure.

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Understanding the Libertarian Ecosystem

A recurring strategic error within the Party has been treating “Libertarians” as a singular category. In reality, the movement is an ecosystem composed of distinct yet overlapping groups: voters, members, activists, and donors. Each group engages with liberty through different motivations, constraints, and levels of commitment.

Libertarian voters may consistently support our candidates but never formally join. Members may maintain financial support without engaging in activism. Activists often contribute substantial time while lacking financial resources. Donors may support liberty causes broadly while remaining organizationally detached from the Party.

Recognizing these distinctions changes how we measure success and design outreach. Instead of asking why voters are not members, we should ask how to create pathways that make membership a natural next step. Instead of viewing donors solely as revenue sources, we should view them as long-term partners in building capacity. Instead of expecting activists to self-organize indefinitely, we should equip them with tools that increase effectiveness and reduce burnout.

Growth emerges not from collapsing these categories, but from connecting them.

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Individual Agency as Organizational Infrastructure

One of the Libertarian Party’s greatest assets is the initiative of its members. Across the country, individuals host events, recruit candidates, build affiliate organizations, design outreach materials, and introduce neighbors to liberty, often without formal direction or recognition. This decentralized activity reflects our philosophical commitment to voluntary action, but it also represents untapped organizational potential.

The success of the Party ultimately depends on individuals acting. National leadership cannot substitute for local initiative. However, leadership can either amplify or hinder that initiative depending on whether it provides supportive infrastructure.

The role of the LNC should therefore be understood as enabling distributed leadership. This means investing in training, documentation, communication channels, data systems, and best-practice sharing that allow members to act effectively without reinventing processes. When individuals can plug into a supportive framework, their efforts compound rather than dissipate.

In this model, leadership does not command activity, it multiplies it.

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Radical Empathy and Humanized Messaging

Liberty is not merely a set of policy positions; it is a moral framework centered on human dignity, autonomy, and peaceful cooperation. Yet our messaging has often emphasized intellectual argumentation at the expense of emotional resonance. While principled consistency remains essential, persuasion requires connecting those principles to lived experience.

Radical empathy, the deliberate effort to understand and communicate the human impact of policy, offers a pathway to more effective advocacy. When we tell stories about individuals affected by overregulation, criminalization, economic barriers, or institutional failure, liberty becomes tangible rather than theoretical.

This approach does not dilute our philosophy; it demonstrates its relevance. It invites people into a conversation grounded not only in ideas but in shared concern for human flourishing. Candidates, activists, and communicators who integrate empathy into their work strengthen the Party’s ability to build broad coalitions without compromising principle.

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Long-Term Strategic Ambition and the Parity Project

Political institutions are not built overnight. The major parties benefit from decades, in some cases centuries of accumulated infrastructure, donor networks, candidate pipelines, and media relationships. Expecting episodic breakthroughs to substitute for sustained development misunderstands the nature of political growth.

The concept behind the Parity Project is simple but ambitious: commit to building the Libertarian Party’s capacity to compete structurally with the major parties over the next decade. This does not imply identical scale but comparable functionality, the ability to recruit candidates consistently, support campaigns effectively, grow membership predictably, and maintain organizational continuity.

Achieving parity requires strategic persistence. It demands leadership transitions that preserve progress rather than reset priorities. It requires committees aligned around shared long-term objectives. Most importantly, it necessitates members who view their contributions as part of a cumulative institutional project.

Parity is not a single milestone. It is a trajectory.

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Governance: Transparency, Effectiveness, and Accountability

Institutional growth depends on trust. Members must believe that decisions are made transparently, resources are used effectively, and leaders remain accountable to the organization’s mission. These governance principles are not abstract ideals; they are operational necessities that influence engagement, fundraising, and volunteer retention.

Transparency fosters understanding and reduces speculation. Effectiveness ensures that effort translates into measurable progress rather than performative activity. Accountability reinforces the reciprocal relationship between leadership and membership.

For the LNC, embodying these principles means prioritizing clear communication, outcome-oriented planning, and consistent evaluation of initiatives. An organization that demonstrates competence internally strengthens its credibility externally.

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Urgency Paired With Patience

The Libertarian Party exists within a political environment characterized by volatility, dissatisfaction, and realignment. Opportunities for growth appear regularly, yet seizing them requires readiness. Organizational capacity cannot be improvised in moments of opportunity; it must be cultivated beforehand.

This creates a dual imperative: act with urgency while thinking in decades. Urgency motivates effort, recruitment, and innovation. Patience sustains long-term projects and prevents discouragement when progress is incremental. Together, they produce steady advancement rather than episodic bursts of activity followed by stagnation.

The Party’s future will be shaped not by singular events but by sustained collective effort.

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Building an Institution Worth Inheriting

The Libertarian Party’s mission extends beyond any individual campaign, committee, or convention cycle. We are participants in an intergenerational project: building a political institution capable of advancing liberty long after our current roles conclude. This perspective changes how we evaluate decisions, measure success, and approach leadership.

Institution-building requires cultural maturity, strategic clarity, and a willingness to invest in systems that outlast personalities. It requires recognizing that every volunteer recruited, every process documented, every candidate supported, and every donor cultivated contributes to a foundation others will inherit.

The question before us is not whether the Libertarian Party can succeed, but whether we are willing to undertake the disciplined work success requires.

I believe we are.

And now is the time.

The Libertarian Party’s Parity Project is a strategic initiative launched by the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) aimed at growing the party’s size, visibility, and electoral competitiveness to “match” or reach parity with the two major U.S. parties within a ten-year time frame.

Core Objective

The Parity Project seeks to elevate the Libertarian Party from limited visibility into a national political force comparable to the Democratic and Republican parties in terms of:

Number of libertarian voters and self-identified supporters

Donors and financial resources

Visibility in media and public awareness

Electoral success at various levels of government

Strategic Approach

The project’s strategy emphasizes what we describe as “discovery before persuasion”:

Instead of primarily trying to convert non-libertarians, the initiative focuses first on finding and activating people who already self-identify as libertarian, libertarian-leaning, or libertarian-curious.

The plan starts with an existing database of roughly one million contacts, which the party intends to expand by appending updated contact information and engaging individuals with targeted questions about their political alignment.

Respondents who express interest would be added to the party’s outreach lists and engaged through regular updates, reports, and fundraising appeals.

Tactics and Tools

Key elements of execution include:

Database expansion and data enhancement using commercial sources and ad targeting.

Email campaigns and social media advertising to identify and engage libertarian-aligned individuals.

Leadership and Resources

The project is led by strategist Perry Willis, with advice from Jim Babka, and uses data and advertising services provided by a firm called Iron Light.

Initial fundraising goals are modest, with plans to secure tens of thousands of dollars to start enhancements and outreach efforts.

Broader Rationale

The underlying premise of the Parity Project is that a significant segment of the U.S. population already holds libertarian-aligned views or identifies as libertarian; by systematically discovering and organizing these individuals, we believe we can build the momentum, resources, and visibility necessary to operate as a truly competitive third party.

The Libertarian movement in the United States is not a monolith. It is an ecosystem made up of distinct but interrelated constituencies, each with its own motivations, behaviors, and expectations. Effective strategic planning begins with understanding the differences among these groups: Libertarian voters, Libertarian Party members, Libertarian activists, and Libertarian-aligned donors who may not belong to either of the first three categories. While these constituencies overlap substantially, they are not interchangeable. Each requires a different form of outreach, engagement, and support to draw them further into the organization.

Libertarian Voters

Libertarian voters represent the broadest circle in the political ecosystem. These individuals express their ideological alignment primarily through electoral behavior. They may cast ballots for Libertarian candidates, support ballot initiatives that limit government power, or split their votes across parties based on issue alignment.

Characteristics include:
High ideological diversity within the broader liberty spectrum.
Limited time for political involvement.
Often distrustful of formal political organizations.
Motivated more by policy impact than party identity.

Many Libertarian voters are philosophically aligned but not organizationally connected. They may not follow internal party developments, and few regularly engage with state or county affiliates. Their engagement tends to be transactional: they support candidates or causes when those efforts align with their personal priorities.

Libertarian Party Members

Party members form a narrower but more committed group. These individuals take an affirmative step to join the Libertarian Party, often paying dues or signing a pledge.

Distinctive attributes include:
Organizational loyalty and continuity of engagement.
Interest in governance, policymaking, and party development.
Higher receptivity to messaging that emphasizes infrastructure, accountability, and growth.
Greater stability in participation across election cycles.

Membership typically reflects a stronger identification with the Party as an institution rather than with libertarianism as a purely philosophical concept. However, not all members are active; many participate primarily through dues and occasional convention attendance.

Libertarian Activists

Activists constitute the smallest but most energetic segment. These individuals volunteer regularly, petition, canvass, run events, serve on committees, or seek elected office.

Activist traits include:
High time and energy investment.
Strong internal networks and relationships.
Movement-centered identity that extends beyond electoral politics.
Intense commitment to the mission of building liberty through sustained action.

Activists are regularly the bridge between casual supporters and deeper organizational involvement. However, activism intensity varies, and burnout risk is substantial. Their needs differ from those of voters or passive members, requiring consistent support, recognition, and leadership opportunities.

Libertarian Donors Who Are Not Members or Voters

A less discussed but strategically important group is Libertarian-oriented donors who may not vote Libertarian or join the Party. These donors often behave like investors funding a cause rather than participants in a political organization.

They may include:
Individuals who support liberty-related legal challenges, think tanks, or single-issue campaigns.
Donors who prioritize policy impact rather than party loyalty.
Supporters who value ideological outcomes without wanting direct involvement in internal processes.

This group may be substantial in size but largely invisible unless properly cultivated. Their contribution patterns follow philanthropic logic more than partisan engagement.

How These Groups Overlap

The intersections among these groups form the operational core of the Libertarian movement.

Voter-Member Overlap: Some members vote Libertarian consistently, but many Libertarian voters are not members.
Member-Activist Overlap: Many activists are dues-paying members, though some activists participate without formal membership.
Voter-Activist Overlap: Activists almost always vote Libertarian, though not all Libertarian voters have the time or capacity to become activists.
Donor Overlaps: Donors may overlap with any of the groups, but a significant number sit outside all three categories.

The smallest overlap, where all these groups converge, represents individuals who vote Libertarian, pay dues, volunteer, and donate. These individuals form the backbone of sustained organizational capacity, but they are only a fraction of the overall liberty-aligned population.

Where These Groups Diverge

The differences matter because strategic assumptions often blur these categories, leading to weak recruitment, muddled messaging, and misallocated resources.

Voters may be ideologically aligned but organizationally disconnected. They need simple, policy-focused outreach.
Members may not be activists. They require structured on-ramps and meaningful ways to participate.
Activists may not be donors. Their primary contribution is time, not funding.
Donors may not vote Libertarian. Their participation is mission-driven rather than electorally motivated.

Understanding these divergences is critical to designing a scalable organizational strategy.

Tailoring Targeting and Engagement Strategies

Each constituency responds to different forms of messaging, incentives, and organizational pathways.

Engaging Libertarian Voters

Best approaches include:
Issue-based campaigns tied to real local or national concerns.
Clear contrasts with major-party policies.
Low-friction calls to action such as signing a petition or joining a mailing list.
Messaging focused on impact rather than internal processes.

Voters need a narrative about why Libertarian candidates matter, not a deep dive into committee structures.

Converting Voters into Party Members

Membership-focused outreach should emphasize:
Organizational credibility and transparency.
Tangible benefits such as influence, representation, and shaping the platform or bylaws.
A clear explanation of how dues sustain ballot access, infrastructure, and candidate support.

The objective is to shift supporters from passive ideological alignment to active institutional alignment.

Developing Libertarian Activists

Successful activist recruitment requires:
Personalized invitations.
Peer mentorship and integration into local teams.
Leadership development pipelines.
Appreciation, community, and recognition.

Activists thrive in environments where their contributions are visible and meaningful.

Engaging Libertarian Donors Outside the Membership Base

Donor engagement is most effective when it mirrors nonprofit fundraising:
Highlighting measurable outcomes and strategic priorities.
Offering structured giving programs.
Demonstrating organizational stewardship and transparency.
Avoiding assumptions that donors must become members or voters.

These donors want results, not meetings.

Conclusion

The Libertarian ecosystem is diverse, multilevel, and often misunderstood. Voters, members, activists, and donors each play distinct roles in the movement’s strength and sustainability. Only by recognizing their differences, appreciating their overlaps, and tailoring outreach accordingly can the Libertarian Party build an effective, durable, and scalable organization.