The Libertarian Party of Colorado (LPCO) is the Colorado affiliate of the
national Libertarian Party (LP).
As of April 2023, elected Libertarians in Colorado include
Keenesburg mayor Aron Lam and
Craig city councilman Paul James.[2]
In 2016, the party's voter registration exceeded one percent of registered voters[3] entitling the party's
Senate candidate, Lily Tang Williams, to participate in the debates.[4] Colorado has the second highest percentage of registered Libertarians in any state, behind
Alaska.[5]
In 1994, the party's name was changed from the Colorado Libertarian Party to the Libertarian Party of Colorado. This was done so that candidates could appear on the ballot as Libertarian rather than Colorado Libertarian.[7]
The party became a recognized minor party after legislation was passed changing the requirements to being at least 1,000 registered voters or 5% of the vote in a statewide election.[8][9]
The party had statewide primaries during the 2010 election, the first third-party to do so in Colorado since the
Progressive Party in 1916.[10]
The party was the only third party in the United States to run candidates in a majority of state legislative districts during the 2012 election.[11]
In 2016, the party became the second Libertarian affiliate, after the
Alaska Libertarian Party, to have at least 1% of the voters registered in it. This qualified their candidate for the
U.S. Senate election to appear in debates.[12][13]
Elected officials
Doug Carlsten served on the
Brighton, Colorado city council in the 1990s.[14] Doug Anderson, a member of the party, was elected to the Denver election commission in 1987, and Lakewood city council in 2005, in nonpartisan elections.[15] Bob Dempsey was elected the San Miguel County Coroner as a Libertarian.[16]