Remembering 2012 in Arizona When Libertarians Elected Kyrsten Sinema
We have received some friendly pushback from some of our libertarian friends because of our contention that more often than not, the Libertarian Party rarely elects anyone but Democrats.
Now frankly we have not examined every race that has been conducted over the past 40 years so we could be wrong. However, we have a more recent and relevant case to be examined.
In 2010, the new census data lead to the creation in Arizona of the 9th Congressional district, which included areas of Mesa and Tempe and parts of Phoenix. As such, it is a pretty good blend of conservative Mormon Mesa and the more liberal areas around ASU. It looks a lot like suburban Arizona and hence is instructive.
Featured in the race was the first openly bisexual running for Congress, former State Representative, and State Senator Krysten Sinema versus a Tea Party Black conservative, Vernon Parker.
The race was so close, it could not be called on election night but was delayed until November 12th. According to Wikipedia, here are the following results:
Democrat Kyrsten Sinema 121,881 or 48.66%
Republican Vernon Parker 111,630 or 44.46%
Libertarian Powell Gammill 16,620 or 6.63%
The remaining tiny fraction of .14% was write-ins.
Now, you can see that what divided the Democrats from the Republicans was only about 4% while the Libertarians took over 6 1/2% of the vote. So, if roughly two-thirds (a reasonable assumption) of the Libertarians had voted for the Republican Black conservative Vernon Parker, he would have been elected. History would have been different.
Sinema went on to win again, and you might remember a few weeks ago, was the key vote in the Senate putting Biden’s wild spending agenda across the line.
Elections have consequences and close elections make no difference. We doubt she has voted any differently than if she has won by a wider margin.
So, it is not silly to say Libertarians often elect socialist-oriented candidates, people opposed in almost every way to the principles of limited government and personal liberty.
Here is a real-life, current example of what we are talking about. This is not theory, but an actual consequential example to drive home our point.
As for the educational importance of the campaign, does anyone remember Powell Gammill? Do you remember what he said? Did his presence in the race make Vernon Parker any more dedicated to his principles? I am sure he was a decent fellow, but really, Gammill’s lasting legacy insofar as politics is Krysten Sinema, not his ideas and principles.
The race between Mark Kelly and Blake Masters is a close one. While there are reasons to suspect the recent poll that gave 15% to the libertarian Marc Victor, other polls show it in the 3% range, within the margin of error. Whatever it really is, it likely is quite close.
To our libertarian friends we say, your vote has consequences in close elections. Don’t let your egos get in the way of the cause of liberty. We all have suffered because of your errors in 2012. Please, do not do it again in this critical election cycle giving the victory to Democrat Mark Kelly for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat.
