In American politics, a Libertarian Republican is a politician or
Republican Party member who has advocated
Libertarian policies while typically voting for and being involved with the Republican Party.
The Republican Party has historically been divided into factions. In 2012, the libertarian branch of the party was described as smaller than other branches, including
Tea Party voters (the "
populist, Pro-limited government Tea Party wing" of the party), pragmatic "Main Street" Republicans, and
evangelicalChristian conservatives.[1]
According to a 2012 New York Times analysis, libertarian Republicans have a variety of motivating issues. On economic and domestic policy, they favor
deregulation and tax cuts, repeal of the
Affordable Care Act, and protecting
gun rights.[1] On social issues, they favor privacy and oppose the
USA Patriot Act and oppose the
War on Drugs.[1] On foreign and defense policy, libertarian Republicans are
non-interventionists.[1] Some libertarians favor abortion rights, while other libertarian Republicans
oppose almost all abortions.[1] Two-thirds of libertarian Republicans are males.[1]
In a 2014
Pew Research Center survey on political typology and polarization, 12% of Republicans described themselves as libertarian.[2] In a 2023
New York Times poll of the Republican coalition, 14% of Republicans consider themselves Libertarian conservatives. As of August 2023, 38% support providing additional support to
Ukraine, 34% support cutting
corporate taxes over raising
tariffs, 19% consider themselves very conservative, 45% believe
abortion should be mostly or always legal, 51% are against comprehensive immigration reform, 73% say they favor the "protection of individual freedom over traditional values", and 13% want a candidate who would "fight corporations that promote woke left ideology." In the
2024 Republican Party presidential primaries, 43% would vote for
Donald Trump and 12% would vote for
Ron DeSantis.[3]
Organizations
The
Republican Liberty Caucus, which describes itself as "the oldest continuously operating organization in the Liberty Republican movement with state charters nationwide," was founded in 1991.[4] In the 1990s the group's chairs included
Chuck Muth,
Roger MacBride, and Congressman
Ron Paul; in the 2000s, the group's chairs included
Dave Nalle.[4] The group's statement of principles affirms "the principle that individual rights and liberties are unlimited" and calls for
free trade; the "
privatization of all government assets"; the abolition of many
federal agencies; the repeal of most current federal taxes in favor of a single
flat income tax or
national sales tax; and the phase-out of "compulsory government retirement, disability, and health programs."[5]
The
House Liberty Caucus is a
congressional caucus formed by
Libertarian Representative
Justin Amash of Michigan, at the time a Republican. In 2014, the group "consisted of about 30 libertarian-inclined Republicans (and occasional Democratic visitors like
Jared Polis)."[6] In February 2019, Politico reported that the House Liberty Caucus had eight members.[7] The list of congressional member organizations (CMOs) for the 118th Congress indicates that
Warren Davidson is the leader of the Congressional Liberty Caucus.[8]
Representative
Thomas Massie of
Kentucky – described as "a Northern Kentucky Republican with libertarian leanings,"[11] Massie is a "self-styled libertarian"[12] who has received libertarian support, although he has also described himself as a "'constitutional conservative' within the Republican Party."[13]
Representative
Matt Gaetz of
Florida – self-describes as a "libertarian
populist" and described by media as having a "strong libertarian streak".[14][15]
Former Representative
Justin Amash of
Michigan – Chairman of the
Liberty Caucus; left Republican Party in 2019 to become an Independent. He is now a registered member of the
Libertarian Party and thus became the first Libertarian member to hold a seat in Congress.[18] In 2024, however, he announced he would run for U.S. Senate as a Republican.[19]
Rand Paul,
U.S. Senator from
Kentucky (2011–present) – is sometimes regarded as libertarian-leaning,[32] and has on multiple occasions described himself as such when discussing matters like the national debt and other economic issues, domestic surveillance, foreign military intervention, and the war on drugs. However,
David Boaz of the
Cato Institute notes that "Paul doesn't claim to be a libertarian, and he takes positions that many libertarians disagree with."[33]
Gary Johnson, 29th
Governor of New Mexico (1995–2003) – served two terms as governor as a Republican and ran for President as a Republican in 2011,[42] but switched from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party later that year,[43] serving as the Libertarian nominee for president in
2012 and
2016 and running for the U.S. Senate as a Libertarian in 2018.
William Weld, 68th
Governor of Massachusetts (1991–1997) – As a Republican governor of Massachusetts, Weld self-identified as a libertarian Republican.[44] Later, Weld drifted toward the Libertarian Party. In 2006, Weld unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for New York governor; he gained the Libertarian Party endorsement that year before dropping out of the race.[45] In 2016, Weld joined the Libertarian Party to run for vice president as the running mate of Gary Johnson.[46] In 2019, Weld rejoined the Republican Party to launch a primary challenge to President
Donald Trump.[47]
Paul LePage, 74th
Governor of Maine (2011–2019) – according to Politico "an insurgency of libertarian activists" supported LePage for
Governor in 2010 and LePage has called for a return to Austrian economics.[48]
Kurt Bills, former
Minnesota state representative (2011–2012) – describes himself as a "libertarian-leaning constitutional conservative"; Reason magazine writes that "most of his positions align with mainstream libertarian ideas. He is hostile to the drug war, favors a non-interventionist foreign policy, and embraces Austrian economics."[51]
Laura Ebke, former
Nebraska state senator (2015–2019) – elected to the legislature in 2014 and advanced libertarian positions. She described herself in early 2015 as "a Republican and a conservative libertarian,"[53] In 2016, Ebke switched to the Libertarian Party.[54][55]
Clint Eastwood, actor, filmmaker – describes himself as a libertarian and says that he has "always been a libertarian," but is associated with the Republican Party.[62][63][64]
Jack Hunter, radio talk show host ("The Southern Avenger"), political commentator, former aide to
Rand Paul, editor of
Rare Politics[65][66] – has written of his "attraction to libertarianism."[66] Hunter formerly expressed
neo-Confederate views, which libertarian commentator and law professor
Ilya Somin criticized in 2013 as inconsistent with libertarianism.[66]
Dennis Miller, television personality – described himself as a "conservative libertarian" in the 1990s, although "his commentary always contained a streak of
right-wing populism."[70] After the
September 11 attacks, Miller's views, particularly on foreign and defense policy, drifted further to the right.[71]
P. J. O'Rourke, humorist, author – libertarian-conservative Republican, although he endorsed Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign.[74][75]
^"Senate Democrats split over legalizing weed". Politico. April 20, 2021. Libertarians like Republican Sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Rand Paul of Kentucky signaled openness to descheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act
^Dennis Miller, Los Angeles Times (2016): "Miller's generally libertarian politics took a sharp right turn shortly after Sept. 11. Now with his material falling on the consistently conservative side, Miller makes regular appearances on Fox News staples..."
^Jonathan Chait,
Should Liberals Be More Grateful to Grover Norquist?, New Republic (February 28, 2011): "[L]ibertarianism has many variations. Grover Norquist is a libertarian, and he has also decided to work entirely through the Republican Party and the conservative movement...The Kochs, like Norquist, define libertarianism primarily in economic terms. And they define economic libertarianism as support for supply-side economics and skepticism about climate science."