The Libertarian Party of Wyoming announced Thursday that it nominated one Republican and one Democrat for state legislative offices at its convention this year — both of whom it considers Libertarian.
They are Lander-based Republican Sen. Cale Case, and Laramie-based Democratic Rep. Karlee Provenza.
State law bars this move, specifically statute 22-4-303.
And the Secretary of State’s Office rejected the nominations, Wyoming Libertarian Party Chair Zachary Padilla said in a Thursday phone interview.
But for the party, the gesture is about the freedom of association, and of people to choose their representation, he said.
“I believe our goal in particular, is to make sure voters have the right to vote for the right candidate, not just the party,” said Padilla.
Padilla acknowledged there are only two ways to overcome the law: in the Legislature, or in court.
“Hopefully the Legislature hears what we’re trying to say - or we end up in court,” he said.
The party also sought to nominate a third state lawmaker, Republican Sen. Bob Ide, but Ide could not be reached, says a statement the party released Thursday.
Ide, who lost his bid for GOP nomination Tuesday and might have benefitted from the safety net, did not immediately return a late-day voicemail Thursday.
Case, conversely, won the Republican Party’s nomination to retain his seat Tuesday. He fought off GOP challenger Lisa Wilson and doesn’t have a Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 general election.
Provenza won an unopposed primary election, and faces a GOP challenger, Ross Davenport, in the general.
Both Provenza and Case expressed gratitude for the Libertarian Party’s gesture, and said they support the party’s end goal. They also said they plan to remain on their own party tickets.
But, said Case, if he had lost his Republican nomination bid, he would have run as a Libertarian in the general election.
“I don’t really need (the nomination now) and I’m not going to change parties, but I’m honored,” he said. “But I have been nominated by the Republican Party against their will.”
He broke off with a chuckle. The Fremont County Republican Party had departed from tradition, and possibly state law, to endorse Wilson against Case.
Case defeated Wilson soundly anyway, through what he called “the grassroots” of the party: the voters.
“I will not leave (the Republican ticket). I earned it, because I went to the grassroots and they voted for me,” he said.
Case added that he wanted to be “very clear” that he supports the Libertarian Party’s message about being able to nominate anyone regardless of party. He also opposes what he calls restrictive election laws, like a Wyoming law barring people from changing party after the candidate filing period opens.
“Those are all just phony restrictions by these phony categories,” he said. “And the First Amendment of the Constitution says I can petition my government; I have the right to assemble.”
Provenza also said she wouldn’t leave her ticket, though she conceded she tends cross the aisle, not just to Libertarian ideals but Republican ones, while voting on the House floor.
“I think that parties should be able to associate with who they want; I think the two-party system right now is broken and people feel like their parties don’t represent them,” she said. “I’m grateful a group of folks sees me as a strong leader for their party.”
She said she’s committed to remaining a Democrat on the ballot.
Why These People?
The party’s Thursday announcement to Facebook calls Case “a firm defender of the Constitution!”
“He has been a consistent ‘no’ vote on all budgets, endorsed Ron Paul in 2008, votes to repeal the death penalty, and to limit government authority,” says the statement, also calling Case a “maverick.”
He’s not as “fiscally prudish” as the Libertarian party leaders, but “has always been a voice of civil libertarianism in Wyoming," the statement adds.
Of Provenza, the statement says she is “economically NOT the most libertarian. But Karlee Provenza is a champion of civil rights and is genuinely a civil-libertarian.”
Provenza has battled government civil-asset forfeiture and pushes for cannabis decriminalization, and restoration of rights, among other liberty-oriented goals.
“Bob Ide is your traditional Libertarian, who fell off his horse apparently and doesn’t know how to recognize authoritarianism,” the statement says.
But the gesture isn’t about the lawmakers’ policies, says the statement. It’s about the party’s assertion that it should be able to nominate whom it chooses.
The party’s Thursday statement references the 1986 U.S. Supreme Court case of Tashjian v Republican Party, in which the court upheld the party’s associational right over a Connecticut state law.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
