The 2016 election cycle has presented a challenge to those who were otherwise certain of their political identities and stances.
Junior political science major Dalton Smith has always identified as a Republican, but for the first time, he finds himself in complete disagreement with the party’s nominee, Donald Trump.
“A Republican should be for people making choices in their own lives,” Smith said. “The things that he says and advocates, he’s just not what a Republican should be.”
After discovering third-party candidate and Libertarian Gary Johnson this summer, Smith became a registered Libertarian. With a fiscally conservative and socially tolerant agenda, Smith said he felt Gary Johnson embodied what he hadn’t found in Trump.
“When people think about Libertarians they think of radical dudes on the Internet who want to secede again,” Smith said. “The basic principle is letting individuals make choices for themselves and their own life, like how they want to spend their money, or if they want to marry somebody. As long as what they’re doing doesn’t affect anybody else in an adverse way then it’s totally acceptable.”
After donating to Johnson’s campaign, Smith soon received an email searching for high school, college and any other individuals interested in creating a local chapter for an organization in support of the Libertarian candidate. Smith emailed back right away.
A day later, he received a phone call and underwent background checking before being permitted to charter a group. After signing a form, gathering a group of supporters, writing a constitution and finding a faculty advisor, the rest was history.
And as president of Ole Miss’ chapter of Students for Gary Johnson, Smith said he plans to remain a Libertarian until there are changes within the Republican Party and he is motivated to switch again.
However, Smith said he does doubt Johnson can win the election.
“A lot of people tell me that I’m wasting my vote by voting for Gary Johnson,” he said. “I think that people that say that don’t really care what you have to say. The more people that vote for him in this election, the more traction the Libertarian party will have going forward. Like Ted Cruz says, ‘Vote your conscience’.”
Smith said voting for Trump because of past Republican affiliations or voting for Clinton, despite disagreeing with her policies, is the wrong way to look at things.
“I think you have to just vote for who you think is the best person,” Smith said. “But voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil.”
Senior marketing major and treasurer of Ole Miss College Republicans Sam Rhodes said the rise of Libertarian ideals is a good thing on the whole, but that their organization is in full support of Trump.
“I believe Libertarians fall closer in line with Republican values than those of our liberal counterparts,” Rhodes said. “We welcome people all over the political spectrum, but as a member of the Republican Party, I doubt I would vote outside of the party. But this is an interesting political cycle and you never know what could happen.”
Sophomore history major and president of Ole Miss College Democrats Arin Kemp said he understands the frustration of the two-party system, but that voting third party doesn’t help tip the odds in favor of a candidate most people might find more reliable and a better option.
“It often does feel like the two-party system has a stranglehold and that there’s no way out of it but I feel like people who [vote third party] really need to weigh their options heavily,” Kemp said. “This election cycle we have a choice between someone who is highly qualified who might not be very likable, versus someone who has absolutely no qualification and is also not very likable.”
Vice Chairman of the Lafayette County Libertarian Party Matt Johnson said some people find both Hillary and Donald Trump unlikable and are looking for alternatives.
Johnson, who became vice chairman of the organization years ago when members of the campus organization Young Americans for Liberty decided to form their own group in the Oxford community, said Libertarians believe the government that governs least governs best.
This idea is apparent in many libertarian positions on issues such as eradicating military presence in foreign countries, gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana usage.
However, Libertarians are in support of a free market economy and lower taxes, ideas that align the party with Republican policies.
“Some claim Libertarians take the best of Republicans and the best of Democrats,” Johnson said.”That’s an oversimplification but there’s something to it. We simply oppose government making decisions for people. We’re not socially liberal, just socially ‘mind our own business’.”
Johnson said the traction the Libertarian party is receiving has been increasing since 2008 with the campaign of presidential candidate Ron Paul, which “jump started interest.”
“There’s a growing sentiment in favor of Libertarians with millennials – a generation not interested in the concerns of older generations,” Johnson said. “They’re not as concerned about hot button social and moral issues.”
Like Smith, Johnson dismisses the idea of voting for a candidate just because they are the nominee of the party you identify with, as well as the idea that a third-party vote is a wasted vote.
“If everyone who said that would vote third party, third parties would start to win,” Johnson said. “If I don’t agree with someone and I vote for them anyway, that’s a wasted vote.”
