With the exit of Rand Paul from the presidential race, the libertarian vote has began shopping for a mainstream candidate.
To that end, Ted Cruz has vied for their attention, though Ron Paul has warned against trusting him.
Cruz, nor Republicans, are the natural party for libertarians. A surprising twist might pull them toward Bernie Sanders, according to Andrew Kirell at The Daily Beast.
“While Sanders’ economic policies deeply conflict with libertarians—single-payer health care, government-funded college tuition for all, etc.—he is their only remaining ally on a slew of other big issues,” Kirell writes.
In a 2016 election that lacks any promise for libertarians, harm reduction dictates voting sympathies. And, as it’s likely that Republicans will control Congress, a Democrat in the White House could forestall the worst excesses of both parties. However, criminal-justice reform and civil liberties issues could gain some ground with a President Sanders.
That’s a long shot, however. Libertarians rarely give optimistic predictions for what Congress and the president can accomplish. The Libertarian Party is trying to attract libertarians, saying that their candidate will be “the only presidential choice for liberty still standing.” For those who think a third party vote does little to advance their interests, however, they might be out of luck.
The libertarian vote has been estimated around 13 percent of the electorate. For those who self-identify as fiscally responsible and socially tolerant, the number is smaller. It’s still a figure that could swing a close election, but libertarians remain politically homeless among the Republican and Democratic Parties.
