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WEIRTON -- This may be the libertarian moment, according to John Buckley, the Libertarian candidate for West Virginia Secretary of State..
"I think it's more than a moment," Buckley said during a recent stop in Weirton. "It's not necessarily going to be the year of libertarian victory. It's going to be the year when Libertarians got on the map in every state as a viable political entity -- and the third party in the American political system."
Libertarian "victory" in the United States has more to do with being able to field candidates in important races, registering more voters, polling in the double digits, getting some friendly media coverage and getting people talking about libertarian ideas, he said.
People like libertarian ideas, Buckley said, but they have a hard time taking the small party seriously.
"We need to run more candidates. We need to be more visible," he said. "The more we become players, the more people are going to flock to our banner (and) the more we become players for the next cycle."
The Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014, Buckley, 63, of Mathias, W.Va., said he decided to run for secretary of state this year so that there would be a full Libertarian ticket among statewide offices. Gubernatorial candidate David Moran leads that ticket and has been polling at about 5 percent -- after Democrat Jim Justice (46 percent), Republican Bill Cole (32 percent) and Mountain Party candidate Charlotte Pritt (8 percent).
Moran got 1.3 percent of the vote when he ran for governor in 2012, and Buckley got 1.6 percent when he ran to replace U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller in 2014.
Buckley believes the Libertarians will do better in West Virginia this year and predicts at least a 5 percent showing in each statewide race. The state party also is running candidates for county sheriff, the statehouse and the 3rd Congressional District -- about 20 candidates in all.
In the last two years, the West Virginia Libertarian Party has grown from 1,400 registered voters to just shy of 4,000 voters, he said. This year's state convention had 112 delegates, compared to 14 in 2014.
"That's an indication that … we've laid the groundwork for significant growth in the state party," he said. "We're a growing political party, and we've got a good message."
Two words give Buckley reason for hope -- Gary Johnson.
The former New Mexico governor's Libertarian candidacy for president has received favorable coverage and endorsements, mostly as a viable alternative to two major party candidates -- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton -- who are widely seen as unpopular.
Among millennials, Johnson has been polling ahead of Trump, although he still has not crossed the polling threshold (15 percent) to qualify him for the presidential debates.
When Buckley talks to young people, he compares libertarianism to Mountain Dew and contrasts it with the two "colas" of Democrats and Republicans. He tries to get them to think outside the binary framework of American politics.
"Millennials are more libertarian than any age cohort in the voting populace," he said. "I tell young people, 'Look, Republicans and Democrats are still largely the same: They get into office and they want to stay in office because they get addicted to power. … We're better than choosing one cola over the other cola. Have a real choice: Choose something different.'"
As for Johnson's definition of libertarianism as "economically conservative, socially liberal," Buckley would tweak that to be "economically conservative, socially tolerant or open-minded."
"There are people with lifestyles that I don't agree with, and I'm happy for them to live their lives as they see fit, as long as they don't step on my toes or steal my property. If they will respect my sphere of autonomy, I will respect theirs," he said.
Libertarians, he said, are "pro-liberty," which makes them a good fit for a state whose motto is "Montani Semper Liberi (Mountaineers Are Always Free)."
"The people who vote for Republicans or Democrats have given up on freedom. They're voting for local parties that keep enabling more and more government and less and less freedom," he said. "We're coming in and saying, 'Let's deregulate, let's decriminalize, let's allow more freedom.'"
Buckley traces his political beliefs to being part of the "Texas branch" of the Buckley family -- his father's first cousin was conservative commentator and author William F. Buckley Jr. -- and an early involvement in politics, especially the candidacy of Ronald Reagan.
A native of New Orleans, Buckley got involved as a high school freshman with Young Americans for Freedom, a national conservative youth organization. His family moved to northern Virginia when Buckley's father took a job with the U.S. Justice Department.
Buckley attended the University of Virginia and got his law degree from the College of William and Mary, becoming the national chairman of Young Americans for Freedom. At age 25, he ran as a Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates. He was elected in 1979 and served a term in the statehouse.
After practicing law for several years, Buckley pursued a career in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims -- as chief of staff, senior law clerk to the chief judge, and acting clerk of court. His retirement allowed him and his partner -- he was the first openly gay candidate to run for statewide office in 2014 -- to settle permanently in Hardy County.
As secretary of state, Buckley said he would seek to be a neutral referee in the sometimes contentious arena of electoral politics. The secretary of state is the chief elections officer, as well as the keeper of business records, corporate filings and state rules and regulations.
"A neutral, third party in that office can give confidence to the voters that the elections process is not being manipulated to the advantage or disadvantage of one of the major parties," he said. "It's important for the public to know that elections are fairly administered, that voter registration is completely neutral, that voter registration drives go out to all of the public, that the rules on Election Day are fairly administered."
Buckley supports voter ID requirements and believes the secretary of state should set the tone for fairness in elections across the state. The system, he said, should not benefit the major parties to the detriment of third parties.
For example, in the May primary, some Libertarians were told either that they had to vote Republican or Democratic or that they could not vote at all, he said. In truth, Libertarians or other third-party voters should be able to ask for a nonpartisan ballot in the primary, he said.
As an administrator, the secretary of state should see to it that the system is not stacked in favor of the major political parties, he said.
"Independents and other third-party candidates jump through ridiculous and onerous hoops of paperwork and filing fees just to be on the ballot to offer the voters a choice. I think that needs to be addressed," he said. "I think the secretary of state's office needs to work more effectively with county clerks and local election officials to make sure that everybody understands what the rules are."
Buckley is running against Democratic incumbent Natalie Tennant and Republican Mac Warner.
(Huba can be contacted at shuba@reviewonline.com)