LPF Candidates Committee Report, May 2024
Chair: Hector Roos (until replaced per policy of one person can be chair of only one cmte)
Next Meeting: Monday, April 27, 2024 at 8:00pm (Every 2nd and 4th Monday at 8pm)
Membership: Eric Wiklendt (when status is updated he will be chair), Hector Roos, Eric Cordova (resigned), Jeremiah Swoveland, Joshua Krakow, Tub Rorabaugh (Ex-Officio)
Meetings are held through Zoom (every :
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85318667163?pwd=bE9XbkV1VDBEVDdmWnVFZnVnWlViZz092022-2023 Action Plan:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1coIzJlRQicBCs7naWNZRMGy2-kW8J3xA/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100421007467880575709&rtpof=true&sd=trueTOP UPDATES:
Ralph Groves, US House District 11, Nov. 5, 2024 has moved his campaign to 2026. Nathaniel Snyder was recruited for US House District 14 this year and has raise enough money to qualify for November ballot. Feena Bonoan for US Senate still needs $3,000 as (of Thursday, April 18, 2024) for qualifying fee. The LP National program has a new candidate platform to inform candidates to introduce themselves through X to a national audience that is currently meeting doing this every Tuesday night (contact nathan.fatal@lp.org). David Agosta for City of Callaway in Bay County had his election day last week and put up a great effort but fell short.
Upcoming training:
Brian Nichols on Crafting Your Message to Reach Voters hosted by Mises Caucus on Apr 27, 2024 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) on Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/99118782596?pwd=K2grY1lCT0FwaFNISnlZay92eUg2QT09(Meeting ID: 991 1878 2596; Passcode: 922067)
Committee Objectives Summary:
- Grow the committee to at least 10 volunteers; recruit more members to the Candidate Cmte from the areas of Tampa Bay, SWFL, Panhandle and Central Florida.
- Record a Florida-oriented election and electioneering rights presentation with worksheets and publish to VoteLPF.org
- Recruit at least 100 candidates for public office in Florida
- Candidate Pipeline (list development): Take any interest from people to run for office and assign them to 3 paths (one at a time or concurrently): operation first step (join civic boards), run for something (less than 1 year), and parachute (at least 2 years out).
Continuing Actions:
- Coordination with Carla Howell and candidates for continuing follow-up (in addition, we have consulted with Wes Benedict on recruiting candidates; see link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LC9PJXSvyQM52QduqbL4yKtdiiKuq1JkwXlJycvg8Bc/edit?usp=sharing)... there is a proposal to be considered for a recruitment program. We are told by the ExCom to do our best with the budget we have.
- Meeting to discuss results of general election 2024, outlook to 2023 municipal election cycle (not complete), campaign in a box kit / resources.
- Vote LPF website as a repository of candidate support and recruitment funnel beyond the 2024 election cycles.
- Working on semi-annually or quarterly training events
Assisting LPF State House candidates to qualify by petition. Collecting 100 petitions per week from February to June 14th will accomplish this goal. Suggesting to text registered LP and NPA voters if they will sign the qualifying petition, then send a link to the petition they fill out and drop off at a pre-designated location (could be a business or home) or schedule a pick up.
Candidate recruitment: Establishing a website around our US Senate candidate to recruit as many candidates for the November ballot as possible. Partisan candidate only. Suggested candidates are for state house, particularly 10 swing districts (Spoiler Strategy) or where there is only a candidate from one political party running (2nd Party Strategy). We will be using Nationbuilder email and text and direct mail to recruit candidates or alternatively solicit donations.
In 2024 election cycle, the LPF candidates committee will be seeking a budget of $12,000:
$6,000 direct to candidates who are actively fundraising (1:1 matching funds only).
$2,000 for support to a Libertarian candidate statewide tour (10-12 cities)
$4,000 for electioneering support (Vote Libertarian signs, literature, mailing costs, communications)
The goal is to work with communications committee to recruit and manage volunteer efforts.
It is also suggested to organize a volunteer program through Political Science departments for the Summer/Fall for college credit or High Schools (School Districts) for volunteer hours towards graduation. Can we do this on our own?
LPF Candidate Support Program, the party provides candidate support in the form of:
Web hosting and fundraising tools through Nationbuilder (which also provides internal email and text messaging to prospects, volunteers and donors)
Voter gravity, a canvassing and phone bank software (Josh has the ability to create new accounts with the discount for our candidates)
Political consultation (to help define issues, campaign plan, etc.)
Volunteer management, among other forms of support to help candidates run complete breakthrough campaigns (such as staffing)
And in some cases, direct financial support and fundraising services are provided.
Current Candidates:
Nathan Slusher, Brevard County Commission, District 1, Aug. 27, 2024
Eric Montgomery, Osceola County County Commission
Anthony Stebbins, US House District 3, Nov. 5, 2024
Joseph Hannoush, Florida House District 28, Nov. 5, 2024
Matt Johnson, Florida House District 29, Nov. 5, 2024
Grover Bentley, Florida House District 33, Nov. 5, 2024
Joshua Krakow, Florida House District 77, Nov. 5, 2024
Joshua Hlavka, Florida House District 105, Nov. 5, 2024
Nathaniel Snyder, US House District 14, Nov. 5, 2024
Feena Bonoan, US Senate, Nov. 5, 2024
Past Candidates:
David Agosta, City of Callaway Commission, Ward 4, April 2024
Laurence Gillis, Cape Coral City Council, Nov. 5, 2024 (Non-partisan, Top 10 City Election) (withdrawn)
Prospective candidates:
Scott Jewett, Florida Governor in 2026
Ralph Groves, US House District 11 in 2026
Amado Gonzalez, Florida House District 105, Nov. 5, 2024 (Tentative)
Terrance Nolan, US House District 10 in 2024 (Orange County)
Josh Fabean, Flagler County (office TBD)
Anthony Illiano, Polk County (office TBD)
Ryan Gallagher, Florida House District 35, Nov. 5, 2024
Mark Balenger, US House District 4 (Duval/St. Johns)
Issa White, US House District 10 (Orange County)
