Libertarian replacement candidates fall to GOP challenges in Iowa

Party weighs options after judge upholds Iowa secretary of state’s call to throw Libertarians off ballot in close House, governor races  

DES MOINES – A cascade of Republican challenges that began in June against Libertarian candidates hit a wall when a district court judge supported the secretary of state’s call to remove candidates for a U.S. House seat and the governor ticket.

The Libertarian Party Central Committee held an emergency meeting Aug. 12, as they lacked time to give legal notice for a convention before the Aug. 19 candidate-replacement deadline. They unanimously nominated Jacob Heard to fill the candidacy for House District 3 seat, and Charles Aldrich as the lieutenant governor candidate to run with Nicholas Gluba, whose candidacy was imperiled when his running-mate was disqualified. 

The three candidates tried a writ of mandamus to force Paul Pate, the Republican secretary of state, to place them on the ballot. 

Pate rejected the replacement nominations, arguing that because the original Libertarian candidates qualified by petition, the party could not automatically use the vacancy-filling procedures available to candidates nominated through a party convention. Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin supported Pate’s argument in an Aug. 27 ruling.

After the decision, LPIA Chair Stephanie Berlin told media that the party was exploring its legal options.

Candidates running for the Libertarian Party of Iowa have faced challenges from the start, with four candidates thrown off the ballot. 

Initial Libertarian candidates Rick Stewart (House District 2) and Marco Battaglia (District 3) faced challenges from Republicans who claimed the candidates could not use a nickname (Stewart) or a changed name (Battaglia). Berlin noted that there is no Iowa law defining legal names.

The argument seemed dubious, as both had run on those names previously, and Sen. Chuck Grassley has run under a nickname for eight terms. 

“For nearly two decades, they just ignored me. So, I didn't expect anything. I expected the same thing. Like, we were just ready to talk about the issues and now they want to talk about me.” Marco Battaglia told us in a recent interview.

Also concerning, both Libertarians received phone calls from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy urged Stewart to drop out, while Battaglia said Kennedy similarly encouraged him to leave his race.Kennedy urged Stewart to drop out, while Battaglia said Kennedy similarly encouraged him to leave his race, which The Washington Post and Des Moines Register covered.

House District 2 is currently rated as leaning Republican by The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill; House District 3 received three toss-up ratings and one leans Democratic. 

Stewart survived his challenge and remains on the ballot in District 2, which Inside Elections currently rates Lean Republican. Battaglia lost and has filed an appeal in the Polk County District Court. Battaglia ended his campaign, citing medical concerns. 

Another appeal was filed for the Libertarian governor ticket. Jules Cutler, candidate for lieutenant governor, said she tried to file a candidate affidavit at the secretary of state office, but a staffer did not take the form, calling it unnecessary. Without the affidavit, the secretary of state declared the candidacy was not properly filed, which forced governor candidate Nicholas Gluba off the ballot. 

Both local polling and those analysts listed previously assess the governor’s race in a range from toss-up to leaning Democratic.

“We are like Schrödinger's Party. We are both not important, and we’re exceptionally important at the same time,” Berlin said. 

Throwing third-party and independent candidates off the ballot happens each election. The fights have been particularly sharp in U.S. House races. Pundits expect Democrats could become the majority party in the House, and both parties are maximizing their opportunities to get their preferred outcomes.

Removing grassroots candidates from the ballot is the follow-up to last year’s redistricting strategy, more accurately called gerrymandering. However, gerrymandering only works for legislative offices that have districts; the only way to end candidacies of races for governor and other non-legislative seats is to toss them out of the race. 

“When the two-party system cannot rig the ballot by gerrymandering, they lean on independents and third parties to drop out, or they throw them off the ballot,” said Lars Mapstead, former candidate for president and founder of Ballots Without Barriers. “Voters lose either way.”