The Libertarian Party has selected its nominee.  Governor Gary Johnson won his second nomination from the Libertarian Party this weekend in Orlando, Florida.  He had many great contenders for that nomination and I want to take a moment to recognize one of those battling against him for the nomination.

Austin Petersen ran a spirited and grassroots level campaign.  He inspired a new wave of liberty loving voters that now have a strong understanding of what it means to be a Libertarian.  Austin grabbed my attention years ago when he was active at Fox News and in the national Libertarian Party.  Not endorsing him for President was one of the hardest decisions I had to make.  I was torn between him, the freedom ninja, and the experienced Governor.  I was battling with myself for a long time that I even contributed money to the Petersen campaign a few months ago.  I ultimately made the decision to publicly endorse Gary Johnson, but keep my eye on Petersen.  Even after the Bill Weld pick for VP I flirted with the idea of switching my endorsement to Austin, but decided to just wait until the convention was over, and prepared to go to battle for him if he were able to win the nomination.

The Libertarian Party is in a unique position to really change the status quo in this country and Austin Petersen deserves a lot of credit in that regard.  He was able to capture part of the electorate that felt lost when Donald Trump was the presumed nominee of the Republican Party.

Even in the midst of the campaigning taking place in the Libertarian Party I can say with confidence that I always stood behind Austin Petersen when others felt it necessary to throw mud and dirt his way, and vice versa from some of his supporters.  What they all fail to miss is that we are in this together.  The Libertarian Party is a special place where people are passionate about issues and  the people involved.  Keeping it classy is essential to growing the party and furthering the cause of personal and economic liberty.

I look forward to the day that Austin Petersen decides to try this again.  If he does run in 2020 for the Libertarian nomination I can safely say that I will be behind his campaign 100%. He showed that he is a spirited campaigner and master of the Libertarian principles.  He has the youth appeal and the ability to really change the status quo in the Libertarian Party and in the United States.

My hat is off to you sir! Job well done!