Iowa Libertarians nominated new candidates for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District and lieutenant governor after both candidates were booted from the Nov. 3 general election ballot and lost their court appeals.
Members of the Libertarian’s State Central Committee on Wednesday, Aug. 12, nominated Charles Aldrich and Jacob Heard to appear on the November ballot for lieutenant governor and Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, respectively.
Libertarian Party of Iowa Chair Stephanie Berlin said the committee opted for this path because of the approximately 8,000 people who signed petitions to place governor candidate Nick Gluba on the ballot.
“It’s a huge miscarriage of justice to disenfranchise that many Iowans,” Berlin said. Because governor candidates need a lieutenant governor candidate to run, Berlin said, “this will hopefully close that gap for us to move forward.”
Aldrich lives in Clarion and is a longtime Libertarian activist and engineer.
He has run for other offices, including as a write-in candidate for northwestern Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in 2018 and 2024, U.S. Senate in 2016 and Iowa House District 56 in 2022.
“I’m ready to run as lieutenant governor,” he told the group.
Heard was not present for the meeting but Berlin said he “is ready and happy to move forward with this nomination.”
Heard is a Des Moines-based criminal defense attorney who entered into private practice in 2023. Before practicing law, Heard spent six years working in the Iowa Legislature, including as chief of staff to the Iowa Senate president.
He ran unsuccessfully for the Urbandale-based Iowa House District 44 seat in 2024 and defended Gluba and Cutler in their ballot-access dispute this year.
Aldrich received nine votes from the party’s State Central Committee and Heard received 10. One member was absent for Aldrich’s vote. The committee is comprised of 10 members, plus one alternate.
Gluba and Aldrich will face Republican Zach Lahn and running mate Derek Wulf as well as Democrat Rob Sand and lieutenant governor nominee Dave Muhlbauer in November.
The 3rd District, which includes Des Moines and rural south-central Iowa, is expected to be highly competitive this year. Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott, a state senator from West Des Moines, will appear on the ballot.
Why are the original candidates off the Nov. 3 ballot?
A Polk County judge in July ruled against reinstating the Libertarian gubernatorial ticket on the ballot, siding with a state panel that said the candidates failed to qualify. But the judge left open the possibility that candidate Nicholas Gluba could replace lieutenant governor candidate Jules Cutler with another running mate and still make the ballot.
“As a dedicated, longtime member of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, including multiple time former chair, (Cutler) played an important role in getting the Gluba campaign on the ballot and stood with the ticket throughout the challenges to its candidacy,” Berlin said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for everything Jules has done, and we look forward to continuing to have her as part of the Libertarian movement in Iowa.”
Libertarian Marco Battaglia on Aug. 3 ended his candidacy for the 3rd District following an unspecified medical emergency.
Another Polk County judge ruled on July 29 that a state panel was correct to remove Battaglia’s name from the Nov. 3 general election ballot for failing to run using his legal name, Mark T. Andersen.
Battaglia had submitted nominating petitions to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office before his eligibility was challenged and the State Objection Panel voted to remove his name. He withdrew from the race before the Aug. 14 deadline for federal candidates, allowing the Libertarian Party to hold a convention to nominate a replacement.
“Our thoughts are with Marco and his family during this time, and we wish him the very best as he focuses on his health,” Berlin said in a statement. “We appreciate his commitment to our party and his willingness to serve. We are confident Jake Heard will continue this campaign with the same commitment to individual liberty, constitutional rights and accountable government that Iowans expect from Libertarian candidates.”
Iowa law allows non-party political organizations, such as the Libertarian Party, to nominate candidates either by submitting nominating petitions with the signatures of eligible voters or by holding a nominating convention.
By going this route and given Battaglia’s personal situation, Libertarians are not appealing either ruling. Should any objections be filed to the State Objection Panel over the new candidates, the matter could land back in court.
What’s next?
Libertarians paved the way for this change in an Aug. 9 meeting, adopting a change to the party’s bylaws adding a temporary non-political party organization vacancy protocol and then submitting the change to the secretary of state earlier this week. Berlin said during that meeting this change would make the process more “legally defensible.”
The maneuver allowed the party’s State Central Committee to fill ballot vacancies when a candidate withdraws, dies or is disqualified, or when time constraints prevent the party from holding a convention. The committee may nominate a replacement candidate by a three-fourths vote and must submit the required certification paperwork to election officials.
This measure will only be in effect until the Libertarians’ next business convention in 2028.
Berlin said the new candidates will have to file their affidavit of candidacy with the Iowa secretary of state, along with the meeting minutes documenting the committee’s vote and members’ signatures, early next week.
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X at @marissajpayne.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Libertarians reboot November ticket after ballot-access defeats
Reporting by Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
