Chase Russell Oliver (born August 16, 1985) is an American political activist and politician who was the nominee of the Libertarian Party for the 2024 United States presidential election.[1][2][3] According to preliminary results, Oliver finished fifth in the popular vote with 0.4%.[4] Oliver was the Libertarian candidate for the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia and the 2020 Georgia's 5th congressional district special election.[5] The Gazette described him as a "pro-gun, pro-police reform, pro-choice Libertarian" who is "armed and gay."[6]
In Georgia's 2022 Senate election, Oliver received over 2% of the popular vote. Supporters of both major parties characterized him as a spoiler candidate who forced Raphael Warnock into a run-off against Herschel Walker.[7]
Oliver was born on August 16, 1985, in Nashville, Tennessee.[8] He worked in the restaurant business for 13 years prior to his involvement in political activism.[9]
On May 15, 2023, Oliver spoke at the Atlanta City Council meeting to oppose Cop City. During his speech, Oliver highlighted the growing distrust between people and governments and their police forces. Oliver spoke out against the over-militarization of police and qualified immunity. He also advocated for the Atlanta City Council to improve existing training facilities instead of clear-cutting forests that had previously been designated by the City Council as public open space.[10][11][12]
On September 5, 2023, Oliver spoke at the Columbia, South Carolina City Council meeting in opposition to regulatory hurdles that prevent people from feeding the homeless. He advocated for the Columbia City Council, and other city councils across the country, to address regulatory barriers to feeding and supporting homeless Americans.[13][14]
Oliver supported Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential election but ended his support after Obama continued the Iraq War. Oliver joined the Libertarian Party in 2010 after meeting several members of the party at an Atlanta Pride Festival.[15][16]
Oliver first ran for public office in 2020, as the Libertarian nominee for the 2020 Georgia's 5th congressional district special election to replace John Lewis, who had died from pancreatic cancer earlier that year. He won 2% of the vote and was eliminated during the blanket primary.[17]
After becoming the Libertarian nominee for the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Georgia, Oliver faced off against the incumbent Democratic Raphael Warnock and Republican Party challenger Herschel Walker.[1][18] Oliver was the first openly gay Senate candidate in Georgia.[19]
On October 16, 2022, Oliver attended a debate hosted by Georgia Public Broadcasting and debated against Warnock, as well as an empty podium representing Walker, who had declined to attend the debate.[20]
On election day, Oliver received over 2% of the popular vote. Opponents contended that he was a spoiler candidate and that his votes forced the Georgia senate race into a run-off.[7] In the runoff election, he declined to endorse either Warnock or Walker, while offering to host an internet forum between the two candidates.[21] Rolling Stone called him the most influential Libertarian of the year.[15]
On December 2, 2022, Oliver announced his formation of an exploratory committee to inquire into a possible run for the Libertarian presidential nomination in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.[23] He formally declared his candidacy on April 4, 2023.[24][25]
Oliver campaigned extensively in Iowa during the summer of 2023.[26][27] On August 19, 2023, he spoke at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, becoming the first-ever third-party presidential candidate to speak at the event.[16][28]
Oliver filed to run in Oklahoma's "first Libertarian presidential primary election since the party was formally recognized in 2016". Alongside fellow Libertarian primary candidate Jacob Hornberger, Oliver achieved ballot access by collecting signatures from voters in each Congressional district.[29][30] He won the Oklahoma primary, which was held on Super Tuesday, on March 5, 2024, with 61% of the vote.[31]
In January 2024, Oliver and fellow Libertarian presidential primary candidate Lars Mapstead successfully worked together to secure major party status and ballot access for the Libertarian Party of Maine.[32] Afterwards, Oliver went to Iowa in order to campaign ahead of the 2024 Iowa Libertarian presidential caucuses.[33][34] He won the Iowa Caucus with 42.7% of the vote.[35]
On February 29, 2024, Oliver participated in a presidential candidates debate hosted by the Free & Equal Elections Foundation, alongside Party for Socialism and Liberation nominee Claudia De la Cruz, Green Party candidates Jill Stein and Jasmine Sherman, and fellow Libertarian candidate Lars Mapstead.[36][37]
Oliver won the Libertarian nomination on the seventh ballot at the National Convention,[3] defeating Michael Rectenwald.[38] Oliver designated Mike ter Maat as his preferred choice of running mate.[39]
John Stossel has expressed support for Oliver over Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump in 2024.[40][41]
Oliver is considered part of the traditional wing of the Libertarian Party, and is a member of the more left-leaning Classical Liberal Caucus.[2][3][42][43]
Oliver is pro-choice, although he is opposed to taxpayer funding of abortions and supports the Hyde Amendment.[44] He believes that abortion should be legal nationwide, and he has said he would support legislation to make it so.[45]
Oliver supports letting the free market find the solution to climate change. He contends that if businesses are left alone, they will be incentivized to develop technologies that will eventually replace current carbon-based fuels.[46]
Oliver supports ending qualified immunity for law enforcement at the federal level.[6] Oliver also supports ending the death penalty and federal mandatory minimum sentencing.[47]
Oliver supports free trade, and opposes tariffs. He also supports a balanced federal budget and reducing inflation.[6]
Oliver supports abolishing the United States Department of Education, and advocates "for more choice in the education marketplace on a state-by-state basis".[5] Oliver also opposes the federal backing of student loans, and supports allowing student loan debt to be dischargeable in bankruptcy.[47]
Oliver is a strong supporter of ranked-choice voting in the United States, which he has said would have prevented the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Georgia from going to a run-off by allowing voters to rank their preferred candidates when they voted the first time. He has also stated that ranked-choice voting would save millions of taxpayer dollars by allowing run-offs to be instant, while ensuring that winning candidates always get above 50% of the vote.[21]
Oliver opposes American military aid to Israel and Ukraine. He has labeled the Israeli offensive in Gaza as a genocide. Oliver also supports the closure of American overseas military bases.[12][48] John Stossel called Oliver, "...the most anti-war candidate" in the 2024 presidential election.[41]
During a 2022 debate with Warnock, Oliver expressed his support for gun rights, stating: "Armed gays are harder to oppress, and they're harder to bash."[46] Oliver opposes bans on bump stocks.[47] John Stossel has further affirmed that, "Oliver supports gun rights."[40]
Oliver has said the Affordable Care Act did not lower the rise in health insurance costs "and never will".[49][self-published source] He wants to phase out Medicare for younger Americans.[50]
Oliver supports removing regulatory barriers that prevent people and organizations from feeding homeless people.[14]
Oliver supports an "Ellis Island-style immigration" system, stating: "If you're coming here to work and be peaceful, it's not my business."[27] He supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.[51]
Oliver opposes the government interfering with certain transgender health care decisions made by a parent, child and doctor.[52] However, he has expressed opposition to gender-affirming surgery for those under the age of 18.[53]
He opposes laws targeting drag shows, calling drag an "art form" that "can range from completely family friendly to something quite explicit — just like cinema, music, visual arts" and making the argument that if a parent can take their child to see The Passion of the Christ, they can take their children to see drag if they choose to. He believes that existing obscenity laws, along with parental supervision, are sufficient to protect children from objectionable content. He also opposes state mandates related to the participation of transgender girls in women's sports, believing that such decisions should be made by individual sports leagues and not the government.[54]
Oliver supports abolishing the Transportation Security Administration along with repealing the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.[47]
Oliver has called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme".[55] He wants to phase out Social Security for younger Americans.[56]
Oliver was a contributing author in the September 23, 2023, article "Do Third Parties Help or Harm Democracy?", published by the nonprofit news organization Divided We Fall. In the article, Oliver discussed the strategic position the Libertarian Party holds for the 2024 election season, third-party ballot access, and how the Libertarian Party platform parallels important issues of other third-party platforms, namely the Green Party of the United States and Forward Party, such as ranked choice voting, immigration, cannabis legalization, and LGBTQ+ rights.[57]
Oliver advocates for ending the war on drugs and supports the legalization of marijuana.[58][59] Oliver also supports repealing the Controlled Substances Act and supports decriminalizing all drugs by passing the Drug Policy Reform Act.[47]
As of 2023[update], Oliver resides in a suburb of Atlanta.[1][16][60] He said he has a "deep faith in the gospel".[61] He is openly gay.[62][63]
THIRD-PARTY CORNER — Libertarian Chase Oliver, who ran for Georgia Senate last year and earned 2 percent of the vote, pushing the contest to a runoff, filed to run for president. He announced his bid last week.
Aligned with the more left-leaning Classical Liberal Caucus, he took aim at Mr Trump and Mr Kennedy in his acceptance speech.
Oliver is against state mandates on whether transgender girls should be allowed to compete with cisgender girls in female athletics. ... And in keeping with the Libertarian Party's maximal positions on the Bill of Rights, Oliver is opposed to laws targeting drag.