Going into the next presidential election, Iowa will have three major political parties listed on the ballot. 

The Libertarian Party of Iowa regained its major party status after the gubernatorial candidate Rick Stewart received over two-percent of the total vote this past November, which is the threshold for a political party to achieve major party status. Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn is the highest elected Libertarian in Iowa and recently won re-election as county attorney and was unopposed this past November.

Laehn says they had major party status in 2018 when he was first elected as county attorney but then lost that status in 2020 when the Libertarian presidential candidate failed to get at least two-percent of the total vote in Iowa. Laehn believes the political system is set up to keep the two major political parties, Republicans and Democrats, in control and not allow candidates from other parties a fair shot.

“I don’t think the public is fully aware of the extent to which the two major parties have used the law to entrench themselves in our political system. There is nothing in the (US) Constitution about there being two parties, nothing at all. And yet if you look at our statues there are all kinds of legal barriers that have been erected to prevent third parties from ever gaining third party status.”  

Laehn points out Iowa’s law changed this year when the Libertarian Party challenged in court that third party candidates had to have their signatures submitted by March to be on the ballot, whereas the Republican and Democrats had until August to call a convention to put their candidate on the ballot and the court sided with the Libertarians. 

Laehn shares his thoughts on the future of third party candidates.

“I think the two party system is on the verge of collapse. Often people think, ‘Well they’re raising millions of dollars, that shows how strong they are.’ And I think precisely the opposite, it shows how weak they are. They can’t hold power unless they raise millions of dollars every election cycle. So I think the time is ripe for the emergence of a third party to shake up the two party system.” 

Laehn adds Libertarians will be able to caucus and call conventions as a major party ahead of the 2024 presidential election.