Jorgensen's positions are typically described as being consistent with the Libertarian Party's platform.[11][12][13] Her campaign has received less media coverage than those of
Gary Johnson, former
Republican governor of
New Mexico and Jorgensen's predecessor as the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee in
2012 and
2016. Her name recognition upon entering the race is also widely considered to have been lower than Johnson's.[12][13][14][15][16][17] Although Jorgensen is often described as appealing to the Libertarian Party's base, some in the party, such as her main primary opponent Future of Freedom Foundation founder
Jacob Hornberger, have criticized her for perceived departures from
libertarian ideology in exchange for mainstream appeal.[18]
The Libertarian Party experienced a
competitive primary.[19] On May 23, at the virtual
2020 Libertarian National Convention, Jorgensen was selected as the party's 2020 presidential nominee after four rounds of voting by delegates.[20] She is the party's first female presidential nominee.[15] Podcaster
Spike Cohen—
Vermin Supreme's original running mate—was selected to be Jorgensen's running mate the next day, despite Jorgensen having expressed a preference for fellow presidential candidate
John Monds.[21][22]
Background
In 1996, Jorgensen was nominated by the Libertarian Party as its candidate for vice president in the
1996 election. The party's presidential nominee was
free market writer and investment analyst
Harry Browne.[23] The Browne/Jorgensen ticket received 485,798 votes (0.5% of the popular vote) in the general election, which was won by
incumbent president
Bill Clinton.[24][25] Jorgensen had previously run for South Carolina's 4th congressional district in 1992, receiving 4,286 votes (2.2% of the popular vote).[26]
Jorgensen supports a
free-market healthcare system financed by individual spending accounts that could keep any savings, which she believes would increase healthcare providers' incentive to compete by meeting consumer demand for low-cost services.[27][28][29] She opposes
single-payer healthcare, calling it "disastrous".[29]
Jorgensen supports replacing
Social Security with individual retirement accounts.[30] In the final debate of the 2020 primaries, candidate
Jacob Hornberger accused Jorgensen of "support[ing] the
welfare state through
Social Security and
Medicare". In response, she called Social Security a "
Ponzi scheme". She then expressed the desire to allow people to opt out of the program on her first day in office, while emphasizing the
constitutional inability of a president to unilaterally end the program without
Congress's support, as well as the need for the government to fulfill existing Social Security obligations.[31][32] Under Jorgensen's plan, those who opt out would put 6.2% of their payroll taxes in individual retirement accounts and receive prorated Social Security benefits for existing contributions as
zero-coupon bonds for retirement.[33]
Jorgensen calls for
deregulation, arguing that it would reduce poverty.[39] She supports cutting government spending to reduce taxes.[40]
Jorgensen supports the freedom of American citizens to travel and trade, calls for the elimination of
trade barriers and tariffs, and supports the repeal of quotas on the number of people who can legally enter the United States to work, visit, or reside.[41] In a Libertarian presidential primary debate, Jorgensen said she would immediately stop construction on President
Donald Trump's
border wall. During another primary debate she blamed anti-immigration sentiment on disproportionate media coverage of crimes by immigrants. She argued that immigration helps the economy and that the blending of cultures is beneficial.[42][43][44][45]
Jorgensen opposes government
mask mandates, considering mask-wearing a matter of personal choice. She argues that mask-wearing would be widely adopted without government intervention because
market competition would drive businesses to adopt either mask-required or mask-optional policies, allowing consumers the
freedom to choose their preferred environment. Jorgensen has invoked the analogy of
dollar voting to argue that consumer preferences would shape businesses' policies on face masks in the absence of a government mandate.[47]
In the Libertarian primaries, Jorgensen placed second in terms of overall votes cast, behind Future of Freedom Foundation founder Jacob Hornberger. Jorgensen won a single primary prior to the Convention, in
Nebraska, on May 12, 2020.[48] After Justin Amash entered and then exited the race Jacob Hornberger lost a significant number of votes and on the fourth round of balloting Jorgensen was nominated. She did not endorse anybody to be her running mate and after three ballots Spike Cohen was nominated. After her nomination, she went on to win the
New Mexico primary on June 2, 2020, which had been postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[49][50]
Jorgensen raised $3,442,156 on her presidential campaign, loaning $9,784 of her own money to her campaign and raising $3,415,793 from individual contributions. She spent $3,420,928 and has $106,132 in outstanding debts with $21,228 of ending cash in hand.[53]
Jo Jorgensen received 1,865,535 total votes and 1.2% of the national vote, coming third in the nation. She achieved the Libertarian Party's second strongest historical result to date behind Gary Johnson's 2016 presidential campaign. The highest percentage of votes received by Jorgensen was in South Dakota, where she received 2.63% or 11,095 votes.
^"Annual Report: 1992–1993"(PDF). South Carolina Election Commission. p. 82. Archived from
the original(PDF) on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.