Libertarian candidates are seeking to give voters an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties in the midterm elections, with Kentucky congressional candidate Jeremy Todd arguing that the GOP has abandoned its commitment to limited government. Todd told Fox News Digital this week that "the Republican Party has abandoned… true conservatism, small government principles," adding that Republicans "may be more conservative than Democrats, but, to us true conservatives, that's not good enough."
Todd, who describes himself as "right of MAGA," entered the race for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District after Rep. Thomas Massie lost the Republican primary to Trump-backed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. Democrat Melissa Strange is also running in the contest. Todd said his campaign is welcoming conservatives who favor small, limited government, and framed it as the foundation of a broader movement that "is probably gonna need to exist post the downfall of the Republican Party." Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, who resigned earlier this year over his opposition to the Iran war, and former Rep. Ron Paul have both endorsed Todd.
Polling suggests there is some appetite for third-party options, though it remains limited. In a Pew Research survey of U.S. adults released earlier this month, 5% of registered voters said they would vote for a candidate other than the Republican or Democratic nominee in their House race, while 15% were not sure how they would vote. The poll was conducted Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 and had a margin of error among registered voters of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
Todd is not the only Libertarian seeking to make an impact this cycle, but no Libertarian Party candidate has ever been elected to Congress. Former Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who moved from Republican to Independent and then to Libertarian during his final term, became "the first LP member to serve in Congress," according to the Libertarian National Committee. Amash, however, won all of his House elections as a Republican.
Libertarian Ted Brown is also on the ballot in the 2026 Texas U.S. Senate race, which pits Trump-backed state Attorney General Ken Paxton against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. Brown received about 2.36% of the vote in the 2024 Texas Senate contest won by incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. He rejected the criticism he regularly hears from Republicans that he is simply spoiling Paxton's chances. "They could avoid that problem by nominating a better candidate," Brown said, adding that he delivers the same message to Democrats. "You can't spoil a system that's already rotten," he said.
In Ohio, former Libertarian National Committee chair Bill Redpath, now an at-large LNC representative, is running in the special U.S. Senate race in which Trump-backed Republican Sen. Jon Husted faces former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. Redpath earned less than 2% of the vote in a 2022 Illinois Senate bid.
Todd urged voters not to "buy into the lesser of two evils talk," arguing that a Libertarian can win. His economic message centers on what he calls the affordability crisis, which he says is "not a hoax" and hits younger Americans hardest. He called for cutting government spending to halt money printing and currency devaluation, and said the government could save money by ending foreign military commitments. "We should not be paying billions of dollars to Ukraine to fight Russia," Todd said, adding that the U.S. should also stop paying to defend Israel and "just leave" the conflict in Iran.
Todd supports Massie's push to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth and the congressman's effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. In a post on X on Sunday, Todd called President Donald Trump "a warmonger." He nonetheless credited Trump with building "the greatest coalition we've maybe ever seen in politics," and recalled that Trump addressed the Libertarian National Convention in 2024, saying the military's job is "to defend America from attack and invasion here at home" rather than waging "endless regime-change wars." Todd said Trump has since broken nearly all of those promises, with border security the exception, and that deportations have not reached the levels he wanted.