Michael Heise, Bret Weinstein, and others seem to favor persuading Congressman Thomas Massie to run for President outside the two major parties. They also seem to believe that the only feasible way to put Massie on 2028 ballots is to seize the Libertarian Party. See this news story.
They appear to be overlooking the existence of many other minor parties that are ballot-qualified, and which might be more amenable to a possible Massie candidacy. They also seem to exaggerate the Libertarian Party’s success in being universally ballot-qualified. The Libertarian Party is currently on the 2028 ballot in 32 states, which is far from 51.
Massie is conceivably a better fit for the Constitution Party than he is for the Libertarian Party. He is pro-life, and an opponent of birthright citizenship. The Constitution Party is ballot-qualified in ten states: Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. It is halfway through its North Carolina petition.
In addition, there are other ballot-qualified parties in other states that plausibly could be brought into the Massie movement. The No Labels Party is on the ballot in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, and Oregon. The Arizona party has its own officers and had candidates this year, but the other three are completely bereft of officers and activists. They only remain on the ballot because their registration is sufficient to keep them qualified.
In addition, there is the American Independent Party in California, the Natural Law Party in Michigan, the America First Party in Nebraska, and the Independent American Party in Utah.
It should be emphasized that Massie has not decided to run for President in 2028, and even if he does decide to run for President, it would probably be as a Republican.
Thomas Massie can run for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination the same as a bunch of people have in the past. Thomas Massie’s issue stances and record as an election official are well within the libertarian quadrant of the Nolan Chart and I would argue that he is more libertarian than anyone who was on the Libertarian Party’s presidential ticket between 2008-2016.
There is no need to change the name of the Libertarian Party, which would be very difficult and expensive to do due to the ballot access laws, or change the Libertarian Party’s platform or bylaws to do this.
If Thomas Massie decides to run for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination I think it would be a good thing. He has the potential to be an excellent candidate for President.