There are millions of self-identified libertarians in America, but a significantly smaller number of libertarians who are members of the Libertarian Party (LP). Over at the independent Cato Institute, David Boaz has a post, “Libertarian Voters and the Libertarian Party,” describing the number of libertarians in America and in the LP.
Boaz notes that the LP has never received more than about 900,000 votes in a presidential election (in 1980); by contrast, as many as 15-20% of Americans hold what Boaz describes as “broadly libertarian views.” (Boaz has an excellent analysis of the libertarian vote available online at Cato.)
Boaz holds out the possibility of more voters for the LP than ever before:
So the challenge for this year’s Libertarian nominee is this: There’s widespread disillusionment with both parties. Ron Paul tapped into some of that in the Republican primaries and demonstrated that a libertarian candidate could raise a lot of money. Some 15 to 20 percent of the voters — 18 million to 24 million voters in 2004 — hold libertarian views. Those libertarian voters have previously demonstrated their willingness to vote for third-party candidates. In 2006, they swung sharply away from Republican candidates, yet the leading Democrats aren’t offering much to libertarian-minded voters….So there would seem to be a huge potential audience for a Libertarian candidate who could raise money, get media attention, create online buzz, and present a compelling and articulate case for peace, freedom, and limited government.
It’s a tall order for a party that has not won over 1% of the presidential vote, but this may be a year for a significantly greater share for the LP.