List of Liberty-minded Candidates for US Congress

[Crotale]

Stand out candidate is Karen Kwiatowski. She is perfect. Neat website too.

Steer WELL CLEAR of Kevin Cramer, he endorsed Frothy over Ron Paul. His platform is not something liberty-minded people should get behind.

Matt, do you want to update the OP with my ratings?

[Crotale]

By the way, that vetting process took me bloody ages so I expect lots of +rep for my trouble.

[LostNFoundNTx]

Sheriff Richard Mack is running against Lamar Smith in TX-21, primary proponent of SOPA. I'd be voting for him if I wasn't stuck in TX-20 just west of it.

[harikaried]

I have gone through the platform of all the candidates and given a score out of ten based on how true the candidate is to a "Ron Paul Republican". The higher the mark, the closer the candidate's policy proposals to Ron Paul's. That is my knowledge of Ron Paul's views from reading Revolution: A Manifesto, End the Fed, Liberty Defined and A Foreign Policy of Freedom. I haven't read The Case for Gold, however, I know Ron Paul supports the gold standard and I am well-read in the Austrian perspective.

Curious, do candidates start at 10 or 0 or it's just an overall estimate? Could you break down a candidate, say John Dennis and how he didn't get 10? Or additionally point out what's needed for a perfect 10?

[Crotale]

Curious, do candidates start at 10 or 0 or it's just an overall estimate? Could you break down a candidate, say John Dennis and how he didn't get 10? Or additionally point out what's needed for a perfect 10?

It's an overall assessment. If they propose something that contradicts with Ron Paul's views their score goes down. Likewise, if their platform is lacking a fundemental issue for liberty, they lose marks. For instance, if I can't find any mention of auditing the fed, a constitutional foreign policy and lower taxes/balanced budgets, then they won't score as high.

As for John Dennis, he was perfect in pretty much all areas, apart from I couldn't find too much about civil liberties (e.g. legalising drugs, opposing the TSA, repealing NDAA, repealing all gun control legislation. He's one of the best though, without a doubt.

[jeremiahj13]

Mark Neumann of Wisconsin Supports the Afghanistan/Anti-Terror wars.

[BuddyRey]

Don't we have anyone to run for Sue Myrick's House seat here in NC-9? She's an electoral power house, but she's decided not to seek reelection. It's a perfect opportunity!

[Wooden Indian]

+rep for both of you. I was just suggesting somethng like this yesterday. GREAT JOB!!

[tbone717]

Don't we have anyone to run for Sue Myrick's House seat here in NC-9? She's an electoral power house, but she's decided not to seek reelection. It's a perfect opportunity!

There are a ton running in the primary. Copy and pasted from ballotpedia

Dan Barry: Mayor pro tem of Weddington[20]
Andy Dulin: Charlotte councilman[21]
Jim Pendergraph: Former sheriff, ICE Executive Director of State and Local Coordination [22]
Robert Pittenger: Former state senator[23]
Michael Steinberg, North Carolina: Businessman[24]
Michael Shaffer: Real estate broker
Jon Gauthier [25]
Edwin Peacock: former councilman[26]
Ric Killian: State Rep. [27]
Ken Leonczyk: Christian pastor and evangelist[28]

[matt0611]

Mark Neumann of Wisconsin Supports the Afghanistan/Anti-Terror wars.

Well, I think Rand endorsed him. Almost no one is going to be perfect unfortunately :/

Getting a good candidate for the senate that can actually win is a lot harder than a representative.

[jeremiahj13]

Well, I think Rand endorsed him. Almost no one is going to be perfect unfortunately :/

Getting a good candidate for the senate that can actually win is a lot harder than a representative.

Yes, but being in the army national guard, foreign policy is a major contributing issue to determine who my vote goes to

[Danan]

I'll add a few negative or at least interesting facts to those candidates. What I leave out is basic stuff like "I want to lower taxes.", "I support the 2nd ammendment" and so on, since everyone of them says that. If there's something stunningly positive (like ending/auditing the FED, ending the drug war, repealing NDAA, Patrio Act) I'll add that too.

There are a ton running in the primary. Copy and pasted from ballotpedia
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______
Dan Barry: Mayor pro tem of Weddington[20]

http://www.electdanbarry.com/
Only basic stuff.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Andy Dulin: Charlotte councilman[21]

Can't find a page other than http://voteandydulin.wordpress.com/issues/ and that's not very informative. But what's funny is this here: http://www.ncdp.org/news/entry/repub...rlotte-voters/

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Jim Pendergraph: Former sheriff, ICE Executive Director of State and Local Coordination [22]

I believe:
...
In Developing a national strategy to deal with the rise of homegrown terrorism

http://www.jimpendergraphforcongress...t/page/issues2

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Robert Pittenger: Former state senator[23]

The Website doesn't say too much. The most interesting stuff I found is maybe:

Robert Pittenger knows how to raise money. As an organizer with the Charlotte Foreign Policy Forum and the Mecklenburg County Republican Party, he held fundraisers with Mikhail Gorbachev, Shimon Peres and William Bennett, among other notables

http://projects.newsobserver.com/und...bert_pittenger

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Pittenger isn't altogether against corporate incentives.
Some incentives make sense, such as the package for R.J. Reynolds and for David Murdoch, owner of Dole Foods, he said.

http://www.jdnews.com/articles/democ...pittenger.html

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Michael Steinberg, North Carolina: Businessman[24]

Millions of Muslims have lived in the United States peacefully for hundreds of years. Religious liberty is probably the highest virtue that we hold as a nation. That being said, there is no denying that radical factions of Muslims believe that killing "infidels" is their religious duty (jihad), and they consider the U.S. infidels. As a person who was born and raised Jewish, bar mitvah'ed and accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior at age seventeen (later baptized in the Jordan River in Israel), I know full well about the conflict between Israel and the Arabs. It was prophesied thousands of years ago and continues to this day. Our country should continue its unwavering support for the nation of Israel, and should absolutely continue to be pro-active in our defense against radical Muslims that would seek to cause us harm.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Michael Shaffer: Real estate broker

I believe in peace by strength. By maintain a strong military force, we detour those factions that oppose our way of life. Contrary to popular belief, I do not subscribe to the fact that you must lose your freedoms in support of Defense.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Jon Gauthier [25]

As State Director for the Fannie Mae NC Community Business Center from 1996-2006, Jon spent ten years advocating responsible home ownership and rental opportunities. Jon joined Fannie Mae before they purchased subprime loans and worked with industry partners to fight predatory lending practices. Jon left the company in 2006 as this became increasingly difficult.

http://www.jongauthiernc.com/ Maybe the most interesting part, the rest is quite meaningless.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Edwin Peacock: former councilman[26]

Not long ago, this city's halls of power were filled with people like Edwin Peacock III, the moderate Republican from Myers Park. Tuesday, the incumbent Peacock was swept off the City Council and out of office by little-known, poorly funded, first-time-candidate Democrats.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...r-peacock.html

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Ric Killian: State Rep. [27]

http://www.rickillian.com/issues.htm

Major Legislation 2011 Session (Primary Sponsor): H149 – Make Terrorism a Crime

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...-State-Offense
Should be the same law. Also:

Homeland Security – “Our Duty is to Protect our Citizens”
North Carolina is a large, geographically and culturally diverse state with several Homeland Security issues. As the tenth largest state in the nation with Charlotte as the twentieth largest MSA and the second largest banking center in the United States, major eastern ports, petroleum tank farms, nuclear plants, international airports, etc. North Carolina has many potential targets. This is why I started the Homeland Security Caucus in the North Carolina General Assembly. The purpose of the caucus is to educate members on Homeland Security issues and build support for legislation that will ensure the safety of our citizens.

Could be fearmongering, dunno.

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______

Ken Leonczyk: Christian pastor and evangelist[28]

Hm... http://kenleonczyk.com/bio/index.html

In 2004, Ken became one of the first American ministers to travel to Sudan's war-torn, rebel-controlled Nuba Mountains. There, he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to thousands. He worked with local church officials and the United Nations to transport aid into Sudan through Kenya, thereby avoiding Khartoum's hostile Islamicist regime.

A year later, on September 11, 2001, Ken watched on television as the first tower of the World Trade Center went down. He answered the call for all law enforcement and crisis personnel in the area to head to the scene, and he worked in the wreckage at Ground Zero for days, as the task changed from search and rescue, to bucket brigade, to counseling and trying to make sense of such unthinkable evil inflicted on our country. This experience shaped his understanding of humanity, tragedy, and grace in a fallen world. It also informed his commitment to a strong national defense and robust counterterrorism policies to protect America from those who would harm us.

He practiced corporate and banking law and defended companies under investigation by House and Senate committees and other government entities. [...] After Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives in 2010, Ken was asked to serve as Counsel to the House Financial Services Committee.

As Counsel to the Committee, Ken served on a team responsible for congressional oversight of Dodd-Frank rulemaking; the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission); SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission); FIO (Federal Insurance Office); Federal Reserve Board; Treasury Department; CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau); FSOC (Financial Stability Oversight Council); and OFR (Office of Financial Research). Ken led committee investigations on a range of topics impacting the financial services industry, including the collapse of MF Global, and provided policy and regulatory advice to Chairman Spencer Bachus, Chairman Randy Neugebauer, and other Committee members.

Well, don't know what to think about that. o_O

[neverseen]

Not a single reply on these three threads of liberty candidates...

Peter Richter
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...-Peter-Richter

Calen Fretts
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...ts-US-Congress

Dan Stojadinovic
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...ovic-US-Senate

[Shane Harris]

great list

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Liberty bump!

[Shane Harris]

I have gone through the platform of all the candidates and given a score out of ten based on how true the candidate is to a "Ron Paul Republican". The higher the mark, the closer the candidate's policy proposals to Ron Paul's. That is my knowledge of Ron Paul's views from reading Revolution: A Manifesto, End the Fed, Liberty Defined and A Foreign Policy of Freedom. I haven't read The Case for Gold, however, I know Ron Paul supports the gold standard and I am well-read in the Austrian perspective.

I am not taking candidates' personal views on abortion into account (provided the candidate supports the states' rights to decide as in the constitution), as this is a conentious issue for libertarians and isn't the be all and end all. I have ignored by own views (I'm ancap myself) in making this list, I'm only judging it against Ron Paul's stance on the issues. I don't know anything about the candidates' backgrounds, track record or character. The rating is soley based on the positions listed on their campaign site.

[US House
----------------------------------
California

Gary Clift (R) CA-3

8/10

John Dennis (R) CA-8

9.5/10

Jenny Worman (R) CA-28

6/10

Christopher David (R) CA-33

7/10

Colorado

Tisha Casida (I) CO-3

9.5/10

Florida

Calen Fretts (L) FL-1

8/10

Indiana

Kristi Risk (R) IN-8

7/10

Kentucky

Thomas Massie (R) KY-4

7/10

Maryland

Peter James (R) MD-6

9/10

Gus Alzona (R) MD-8

7/10

Michigan

Justin Amash (R-incumbent) MI-3

Website isn't working.

Kerry Bentivolio (R) MI-11

7.5/10

Missouri

Jason Greene (R) MO-5

8.5/10

Bob Parker (R) MO-8

7/10

New York

Dan O'Connor (D) NY-12

8/10

North Carolina

Dan Eichenbaum (R) NC-11

Couldn't access website.

North Dakota

Kevin Cramer (R)

0/10. Supports (and endorsed) Rick Santorum over Ron Paul.

Eric Olson (L)

Issues not up on website yet.

Ohio

Richard Ehrbar (L) OH-3

Website not live yet.

Bill Yarbrough (R) OH-12

9/10

Oregon

Art Robinson (R) OR-4

8.5/10

Pennsylvania

Mike Koffenberger (L) PA-4

7.5/10

Evan Feinberg (R) PA-18

8/10. Endorsed by Rand Paul.

Texas

Patrick Hisel (L) TX-12

10/10

George Harper (R) TX-14

9.5/10

Sheriff Richard Mack (R) TX-21

9/10

Steve Susman (L) TX-22

Can't locate his platform on his website.

Wes Riddle (R) TX-25

7/10

Bill Tofte (R) TX-34

8.5/10

Michael Cole (L) TX-36

8/10

Utah

Jacqueline Smith (R) UT-1

8.5/10

Mia Love (R) UT-4

5/10. Background research throws up a lot of questions.

Virginia

Karen Kwiatowski (R) VA-6

10/10. Absolute perfection.

Ken Vaughn (R) VA-11

6.5/10

Washington

Bob Sauerwein (R) WA-6

Site offline.

I'll do Senate candidates some other time, it's taken hours to vet all the congressional candidates so far.

major +rep! did you do the senate candidates as well?

[shelskov]

+1 for Zach Poskevich in Tennessee!

[tbone717]

Possible additions to the list. All of these came from the Republican Liberty Caucus site.

RI: Barry Hinckley (Sen) - http://www.hinckleyforsenate.com
CT: Brian K HIll (Sen) - http://briankhill.com
OH: John Anderson (CD10) - http://johnandersonforcongress.com
TX: Jessica Puente Bradshaw (CD34) - http://www.texansforjessica.com/
AZ: Frank Antenori (CD8) - http://www.antenori.com/
CA: Tom McClintock (CD4) - http://www.tommcclintock.com/ (Incumbent)
MD: Roscoe Bartlett (CD6) - http://www.bartlettforcongress.org/ (Incumbent)
MN: Chip Cravaack (CD8) - http://chipcravaack.com/ (Incumbent)
NE: Adrian Smith (CD3) - http://adriansmith.house.gov/ (Incumbent)
NJ: Scott Garrett (CD5) - http://www.garrettforcongress.com/ (Incumbent)
OH: Jim Jordan (CD4) - http://jimjordanforcongress.com/ (Incumbent)
OH: Steve Chabot (CD1) - http://www.stevechabot.com/ (Incumbent)
SC: Mick Mulvaney (CD5) - http://www.mulvaneyforcongress.com/ (Incumbent)
TN: Jimmy Duncan (CD2) - http://duncan.house.gov/ (Incumbent)
UT: Jason Chaffetz (CD3) - http://www.jasonforcongress.com/ (Incumbent)

Something I noticed when I was researching this was that Bartlett is going to have a fight in Nov due to redistricting. It would be a shame to lose him, so let's win it for him.

[qh4dotcom]

Here's another one...my friend and veteran Marcus Rivchin Jr

http://www.facebook.com/groups/250392771701717/

Here's a speech me made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maPNmMgmo_Q

To everyone who does not know me and want to know why I am running for public office again:I ran for Fl State House District 117 back in 2009-2010 with a strong desire to reign in the federal government through state rights (10th Amendment). It was a highly rewarding experience but, I was burnt out because campaigning does take an emotional, personal, and financial toll especially, if you don't win your election.
I honestly did not want to run for public office for awhile but, the whole Miami-Dade delegation voted for the creation of a super committee on financial issues was a move that prompted me to run again. This move by Congress took away our representation and this is not to add the whole litany of grievances that is moving this county away from our liberties and our Constitution...and closer to bankruptcy and war.
The REASON why I am running will be kept short an sweet:
I SWORE an oath and fidelity to the U.S. Constitution and I will PROTECT it to the best of my ability.
I BELIEVE in personal Liberty and the responsiblity that comes along with it.
I BELIEVE in sound money, fiscal and monetary sanity by living within your means.
I BELIEVE in free markets and not crony capitalism or corporate welfarism.
I sincerely BELIEVE in a sensible foriegn policy where we are not the policeman of the world and not buying or peddling for influence/friendship through foriegn aid.
If you have taken the time to read this, I thank you. A detailed platform will be posted soon as well as a website of my campaign.
In Liberty,
Marcus Rivchin Jr

[tbone717]

Here's another one...my friend and veteran Marcus Rivchin Jr

http://www.facebook.com/groups/250392771701717/

What state and CD?

[qh4dotcom]

What state and CD?

FL-18

[speciallyblend]

Tisha in Colorado freaking Rocks!!!!!!!

[tbone717]

FL-18

I PM'd the guy that started the thread to update the OP with the new names

[WilliamShrugged]

Here is Rob Oates in Idaho running as a libertarian. http://roboates.com/

[tbone717]

Here is Rob Oates in Idaho running as a libertarian. http://roboates.com/

The incumbent in that election, Raul Labrador, has a rating of 95% on JBS's Freedom Index scorecard. He is ahead of Amash (94%), only Ron Paul ranks higher than him.

[Crotale]

This is offtopic. But like Ron always says, congress is supposed to be the most powerful branch of the federal government, we can't forget it!

I know it sucks that this race isn't turning out as good as we all wished, but like Ron says, revolutions are long term projects!

Do you think the neo-cons took over the party in one election? Hell no!
Do you think the progressives took over the democrats in one election? Hell no!

This is long term people, us liberty minded patriots are out there and we are growing the fastest out of all of em!
Remember, if only people age 18-30 were allowed to vote we would be winning!

There are many good candidates that we have a shot at getting into congress.
Sheriff Mack, Karen Kwiatowski, and Thomas Massie are some of my favorites, but there are a lot more!

Here's just some of the liberty-minded candidates that I've found:
(let me know if you know of any more too!)

US House
----------------------------------
California
Gary Clift (R) CA-3
John Dennis (R) CA-8
Jenny Worman (R) CA-28
Christopher David (R) CA-33

Colorado
Tisha Casida (I) CO-3

Florida
Calen Fretts (L) FL-1

Indiana
Kristi Risk (R) IN-8

Kentucky
Thomas Massie (R) KY-4

Maryland
Peter James (R) MD-6
Gus Alzona (R) MD-8

Michigan
Justin Amash (R-incumbent) MI-3
Kerry Bentivolio (R) MI-11

Missouri
Jason Greene (R) MO-5
Bob Parker (R) MO-8

New York
Dan O'Connor (D) NY-12

North Carolina
Dan Eichenbaum (R) NC-11

North Dakota
Kevin Cramer (R)
Eric Olson (L)

Ohio
Richard Ehrbar (L) OH-3
Bill Yarbrough (R) OH-12

Oregon
Art Robinson (R) OR-4

Pennsylvania
Mike Koffenberger (L) PA-4
Evan Feinberg (R) PA-18

Texas
Patrick Hisel (L) TX-12
George Harper (R) TX-14
Sheriff Richard Mack (R) TX-21
Steve Susman (L) TX-22
Wes Riddle (R) TX-25
Bill Tofte (R) TX-34
Michael Cole (L) TX-36

Utah
Jacqueline Smith (R) UT-1
Mia Love (R) UT-4

Virginia
Karen Kwiatowski (R) VA-6
Ken Vaughn (R) VA-11

Washington
Bob Sauerwein (R) WA-6



US Senate Candidates
-------------------------------------
Arizona: Jeff Flake (R) http://www.jeffflake.com/

Indiana: Richard Mourdock (R) http://www.richardmourdock.com

Pennsylvania: Marc Scaringi (R) http://scaringiforsenate2012.com/
Sam Roher (R) http://www.rohrerforsenate.org/

Nebraska: Don Stenberg (R) http://stenbergforsenate.com/

Texas: Ted Cruz (R) http://www.tedcruz.org/

Wisconsin: Mark Neumann (R) http://neumann2012.com/

Virginia: Jaime Radtke (R) http://radtkeforsenate.com/

Michigan: Scotty Boman (R) http://boman12.org

California: Rick Williams (R) http://www.rickwilliamsforsenate.com/

Florida: Dan Stojadinovic (R) Back2Liberty.org

Tennessee Zack Poskevich (R) http://www.zachforsenate.com/



There is much work left to do in the cause for liberty! We all must do what we can.

Can we please remove Kevin Cramer from the OP, he endorsed Santorum over Ron Paul. He is NOT a liberty candidate. Can you also update it with their scores out of ten. Cheers.

[Crotale]

major +rep! did you do the senate candidates as well?

It's on my to-do list. It'll be done by the end of the weekend.

For the record, all those ratings are based on what's written on their site. I have only assessed their platform. I don't know any details about these candidates background or track record. So if anyone has some knowledge about these candidates which raises questions, please let it be known.

[8ClicksPerSecond]

Do any of those Libertarian Party candidates have a realistic chance of winning? It would be cool to have a Libertarian in Congress.

[Nathan Hale]

//

[Nathan Hale]

Can we please remove Kevin Cramer from the OP, he endorsed Santorum over Ron Paul. He is NOT a liberty candidate. Can you also update it with their scores out of ten. Cheers.

I disagree. If you have a policy reason why he shouldn't be on the list, that's cool, but we can't go around judging their candidates for their loyalty to Ron Paul's presidential race.