19th chair of the Libertarian National Committee
Nicholas Joel Sarwark [ 1] (born August 27, 1979) is an American attorney and businessman who served as the 19th chair of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC), the governing body of the Libertarian Party . Prior to his election in 2014,[ 2] he served on several LP national committees and as chair of the Libertarian Party of Maryland State Committee and vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Colorado State Committee.[ 3] [ 4] As of 2020[update] , he is the only LP chair to have served three consecutive terms.[ 5]
Sarwark declined to run for another term as LNC chair in 2020, and was succeeded by Joe Bishop-Henchman .[ 6]
Early life and education
Sarwark was born on August 27, 1979,[ 7] [ 8] in Phoenix, Arizona .[ 9] He graduated from Washington Adventist University in 1998 with a BS in computer science and a minor in philosophy, later receiving his juris doctor from American University Washington College of Law in 2008.[ 9] While attending law school, Sarwark clerked for the libertarian law firm Institute for Justice .[ 10]
In the early 1990s, Sarwark's father brought him to Maricopa County Libertarian gatherings, and Sarwark subsequently joined the party in 1999.[ 9] [ 11]
Political career and campaigns
Sarwark was chairman of the Libertarian Party of Maryland from 2001 to 2003,[ 12] [ 13] holding numerous LP officer and local-level roles there.[ 14] Prior to being elected chairman of the Libertarian National Committee in 2014 ,[ 2] [ 4] Sarwark served as a deputy public defender in Colorado and as vice-chairman of the Libertarian Party of Colorado .[ 15] He was re-elected in 2016 ,[ 16] [ 17] and again in 2018 .[ 18] [ 19]
While serving as LNC chair, Sarwark made appearances on multiple national media outlets, including MSNBC and NPR , to discuss libertarian perspectives on various topics.[ 20] [ 21] [ 22] [ 23]
Sarwark ran in the 2018 Phoenix mayoral special election .[ 24] His campaign platform included opposition to light rail , addressing the city's pension debt, and working with Republicans and Democrats on the city council.[ 25] He garnered 10.5 percent of the vote, placing fourth among four candidates,[ 26] [ 27] and did not advance to the 2019 run-off.[ 28]
After moving to New Hampshire, Sarwark ran for Hillsborough County Attorney in 2020 under the Libertarian Party. His major issues included clearing the criminal case backlog.[ 29] He received 5.6 percent of the vote, placing third among three candidates.[ 30] Sarwark ran for the same office in 2022 under both the Libertarian and Democratic parties.[ 31] [ 32] [ 33] He placed second in a two-candidate race with 45.25 percent of the vote.[ 34]
Personal life
Sarwark married his wife, Valerie in 2009. After building a family in Denver , he returned to Phoenix in 2014 to join his family's independent car dealership, where he served as vice-president.[ 35] [ 36] Sarwark and his wife have four children.[ 8] [ 37] In 2019, Sarwark and his family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire , to become a part of the grassroots libertarian movement the Free State Project .[ 38]
Electoral history
References
^ "122nd Commencement Program, Washington College of Law, Spring 2008" . AU Digital Research Archive .
^ a b Harper, Jennifer (June 30, 2014). "Inside the Beltway: Libertarians shift into aggressive mode" . The Washington Times . Retrieved July 3, 2014 .
^ "Libertarians elect new leadership" . Westmoreland Times . July 3, 2014. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014 .
^ a b Doherty, Brian (May 27, 2016) "The Libertarian Party's National Committee Chair Race: Meet the Contenders" , Reason .com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
^ "Sarwark wins unprecedented 3rd consecutive term as Libertarian national chair" . Libertarian Party . 3 July 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2021 .
^ Winger, Richard (July 11, 2020). "Libertarian Party Elects New National Chair" . Ballot Access News . Retrieved July 12, 2020 .
^ Libertarian Party [@LPNational] (27 August 2018). "Happy birthday to our Chairman, @nsarwark" (Tweet ). Retrieved 8 September 2021 – via Twitter .
^ a b "Nicholas Sarwark" . Libertarian Party . Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2021 .
^ a b c Chartier, Gary (April 17, 2015). "Libertarian Party Chair and WAU Grad TalkS About Freedom" . Spectrum . Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
^ Pyeatt, Jill (May 17, 2014). "Nicholas Sarwark: I Would Like to Be the Next Chair of the Libertarian National Committee" . Independent Political Report . Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
^ Flaherty, Joseph (February 6, 2018). "Libertarian Candidate for Phoenix Mayor to City Council: Get Out of the Way" . Phoenix New Times . Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
^ "Central Committee Minutes, 4 August 2001" . Libertarian Party of Maryland . August 4, 2001. Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
^ "Free? State Libertarian: 2003 MdLP Annual Convention" , LPMaryland.org. August 2003.
^ "Free? State Libertarian: MdLP 2007 Convention" , LPMaryland.org. November 2007.
^ VanDyke, Stephen (June 28, 2014). "Nicholas Sarwark elected to lead Libertarian Party" . HammerOfTruth.com . Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
^ Weissmueller, Zach (May 31, 2016) "National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark on the Libertarian Party's Plan for 2016" , Reason .com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
^ Peal, Wayne (May 31, 2016). "Libertarian stripper has long Livingston history" . Livingston County Daily Press & Argus . Retrieved May 29, 2019 .
^ "Sarwark wins unprecedented 3rd consecutive term as Libertarian national chair" . LP.org . July 3, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
^ Welch, Matt (July 4, 2018) "Libertarian Party Rebuffs Mises Uprising" , Reason .com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
^ "Life As A Libertarian" , 1A . WAMU , NPR . February 1, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
^ "Nicholas Sarwark" , Cato Unbound . October 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
^ "Dem candidates in the home stretch in South Carolina" , Morning Joe on MSNBC . February 27, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
^ "How to balance public health, civil liberties in time of coronavirus" , Morning Joe on MSNBC. March 17, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
^ Boehm, Jessica (January 23, 2018). "Libertarian Nicholas Sarwark running for Phoenix mayor" . The Arizona Republic . Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
^ Flaherty, Joseph (2018-02-06). "Libertarian Candidate for Phoenix Mayor to City Council: Get Out of the Way" . Phoenix New Times . Retrieved 2021-06-29 .
^ a b Maricopa County Elections Department (November 20, 2018). "Final Official Results – November 6, 2018" (PDF) . City of Phoenix . Retrieved June 11, 2021 .
^ Welch, Matt (December 12, 2018) "Is the Libertarian Party Glass Half Full or Half Empty?" , Reason .com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
^ "AP: Phoenix mayor will be a runoff between Kate Gallego and Daniel Valenzuela" . The Associated Press . November 6, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2019 .
^ "Nicholas Sarwark, Hillsborough County Attorney Candidate" . Nashua, NH Patch . 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2021-06-29 .
^ a b New Hampshire Secretary of State . "November 3, 2020 General Election – Hillsborough County Offices" (PDF) . Retrieved 12 June 2021 .
^ Schinella, Tony (September 1, 2022) "NH Libertarian Candidates For Governor, Senator File Signatures: Watch" , MSN.com . "Nicholas Sarwark of Manchester, who is running for Hillsborough County Attorney, who also ran in 2020"
^ Winger, Richard (September 15, 2022) "Libertarian Nominee for Hillsborough County Attorney Wins Democratic Nomination by Write-ins" , Ballot Access News .
^ Green, Rick (October 17, 2022 ) "Your ballot might list the same candidate under two parties. That's allowed under N.H. law." , The Keene Sentinel via New Hampshire Public Radio . Retrieved November 1, 2022.
^ Full 2022 New Hampshire county-level general election results#HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY ATTORNEY" , WMUR .com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
^ "Dealership Information | Sarwark's Consolidated Auto Sales Inc. | Phoenix Arizona" . www.consolidatedauto.com .
^ "Nick Sarwark for Chairman" . chair.sarwark.org .
^ "My husband, Nick" . SendPulse .
^ "There's a new Porcupine in town: Libertarian National Committee chair moves to Manchester from Arizona" . Manchester Ink Link . August 26, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019 .
^ Blau, David (13 December 2014). "2014 Libertarian Party Convention Minutes" (PDF) . LPedia. p. 35. Retrieved 30 August 2021 .
^ Mattson, Alicia (15 April 2017). "2016 Libertarian Party Convention Minutes" (PDF) . LPedia. p. 34. Retrieved 30 August 2021 .
^ Mattson, Alicia (29 September 2018). "2018 Libertarian Party Convention Minutes" (PDF) . LPedia. p. 30. Retrieved 31 August 2021 .
^ Full 2022 New Hampshire county-level general election results#HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY ATTORNEY" , WMUR .com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
External links