Jo Jorgensen Weighs 2028 Run as Libertarians Debate Their Future

Six years after carrying the Libertarian Party banner in one of the most unusual presidential elections in American history, Jo Jorgensen is once again considering a run for the White House. The 2020 Libertarian Nominee for President has near-universal name ID among Libertarian voters, with a clear path to secure the nomination once more.

Credit: Jo Jorgensen Facebook Page

Jorgensen recently announced the formation of an exploratory committee to evaluate a potential 2028 presidential campaign. While she has not announced her candidacy for president, the first step is forming an exploratory committee to test the waters before going all in. She told American Liberty Media that the decision to take this step now was influenced by changes within the Libertarian Party itself.

“I wanted to make sure the support was there after the changing party leadership,” Jorgensen explained.

For most Americans, the Libertarian Party appears from the outside to be a relatively simple political movement advocating smaller government and greater individual liberty. Inside the party, however, a fierce debate has been taking place for years over what libertarianism should look like in practice and how the party should present itself to voters. The divide is not necessarily about principles. Most libertarians agree on the broad goals of reducing government power and expanding individual freedom. The disagreement is about how to get there.

One side believes the party should focus on communicating libertarian ideas in a way that appeals to ordinary Americans, even if that means talking less about ideological purity and more about everyday concerns. Another faction argues that libertarians should unapologetically advocate libertarian principles, regardless of whether those positions are immediately popular.

Jorgensen clearly falls into the first camp.

During the interview, she repeatedly returned to the idea that political movements succeed when they speak to the concerns of voters rather than the concerns of activists.

“We should address issues that are important to the voters as opposed to us,” she said.

To Jorgensen, that means abandoning the tendency some libertarians have to focus on niche issues that resonate within the movement but fail to connect with the broader electorate.

“You can’t just pick out what you don’t like or what you even think that people don’t like,” she said. “You have to look at what they’re talking about.”

A salesman who focuses on his own interests instead of the customer’s interests usually doesn’t make the sale. Jorgensen believes political parties operate much the same way, drawing from her background in sales and as a psychology professor at Clemson University in South Carolina.

That philosophy extends beyond messaging and into how she views the future of the Libertarian Party itself.

For years, libertarians have debated whether the party should focus on recruiting large donors, courting media attention, or building grassroots support from the ground up. Jorgensen’s answer is straightforward.

“I would much rather have 10,000 new members and have them each donate a dollar as opposed to one donor who would write a check for $10,000.”

The goal, she said, is not simply raising money. The goal is building a movement.

The election of a new national chairman, Evan McMahon, appears to have reassured many party members who worried that internal battles had begun overshadowing efforts to grow the movement. Jorgensen indicated that McMahon’s election was one of the factors that convinced her the party may once again be moving in a direction she can support.

Unlike Republicans and Democrats, Libertarians face an obstacle that most voters rarely think about: simply getting on the ballot.

While major-party candidates automatically appear before voters in every state, third parties often spend years fighting legal battles, collecting signatures, and navigating complex election laws. The Libertarian Party failed to achieve ballot access in all 50 states during the 2024 election cycle, something Jorgensen views as a major setback.

“In order to be treated seriously, we need to be on the ballot in all 50 states,” she said. “Whether or not I’m the candidate, we should be on the ballot in all 50 states.”

As the country begins looking toward 2028, Americans are entering a political environment unlike anything they have experienced in years. For the first time since 2016, Donald Trump will not be the dominant figure on the ballot. Both parties face uncertain futures, and voters across the political spectrum appear increasingly frustrated with their options.

Jorgensen believes that frustration is creating an opportunity.

“People are no longer voting for who they want. They’re voting against who they don’t want.”

It is a sentiment that extends far beyond libertarian circles. Republicans frequently describe Democratic candidates as unacceptable. Democrats say the same about Republicans. Elections increasingly resemble exercises in preventing the other side from winning rather than supporting a preferred candidate.

Jorgensen sees an opening for a candidate who offers voters something positive rather than simply asking them to reject the alternative.

“I want to give a message that people don’t have to hold their nose or really talk themselves into voting for,” Jorgensen said.

Whether the Libertarian Party can capitalize on that opportunity remains an open question.

Historically, the party’s greatest influence has not come through electoral victories but through shaping public debate. Libertarians spent decades advocating for marijuana legalization, school choice, criminal justice reform, and other policies long before they entered mainstream political discussions. Jorgensen argues that influence matters, even when it doesn’t immediately translate into electoral success.

At the same time, she insists that influence alone is no longer enough. “I think the future is to actually get elected.”

That ambition raises an important question as the 2028 election cycle begins to take shape.

Most political observers assume the Libertarian Party’s role is simply to act as a spoiler. In close elections, even one or two percent of the vote can prove decisive. The debate over whether Libertarian candidates hurt Republicans or Democrats has existed for decades, and the answer often depends on the election, the candidates involved, and the issues dominating the political landscape.

The political environment emerging ahead of 2028 may complicate that traditional analysis.

The Republican Party is experiencing growing divisions between establishment conservatives, populists, libertarians, and America First voters. Democrats face their own tensions between moderates and progressives. Meanwhile, trust in institutions continues to decline and voter identification with either major party has weakened considerably over the past generation.

In that environment, a Libertarian candidate does not necessarily need a realistic path to 270 electoral votes to influence the outcome of the race. Pulling even a small percentage of disaffected voters from one coalition could prove decisive in key battleground states.

But there is another possibility.

American political history is filled with examples of parties that began as fringe movements before becoming major players. Few observers believed the Republican Party could win a presidential election when it was founded in the 1850s. Within a few years, Abraham Lincoln was in the White House.

The Libertarian Party is nowhere near that level of support today. Yet the conditions that often fuel political realignments are becoming increasingly visible: widespread dissatisfaction, declining trust in institutions, and a growing number of voters who no longer feel represented by either major party.

Whether Jorgensen ultimately runs remains to be seen. The exploratory committee exists in part to answer that question. What is already clear is that her potential candidacy represents more than another presidential campaign. It is a reflection of a larger debate about what the Libertarian Party should become, how it should communicate its message, and whether a growing number of Americans are finally willing to consider an alternative to the Republican-Democrat duopoly.

“My passion is there to move the party to the next level,” Jorgensen said. The next few years may determine what that level actually looks like.