Nine people stood in front of the Alamo hoping to change the status quo of the state as the Libertarian Party of Texas announced its candidates for statewide office. The list included those for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state, county and congressional delegations.
Kathy Glass, as Houston lawyer who was not at the event, is the party's candidate for governor. She ran previously in 2010 and came away with 2 percent of the vote. She said she believes the state has been run by a single party for too long.
“We’ve had 20 years of every statewide office being a Republican, a majority in the House and Senate – super majorities at times – yet we have more debt, more spending [and] our property rights are more in danger," said Glass by phone. "We have a federal government that is violating the constitution unchallenged daily.”
The Libertarians stand on platform of easier border crossings, and keeping government out of marriage among other issues. Robert Butler is a Round Rock marketing consultant running for lieutenant governor. He said he would favor a relaxed marijuana policy.
“The momentum is moving in the direction of legalization," Butler said. "If you see in Colorado, California, Washington state, many places are legalizing marijuana use. Texas will be next. The numbers are already there, the politicians will follow eventually."
The Libertarian Party does not have a primary election similar to the Republican and Democratic Parties, instead it uses a party convention to select candidates. To date, a Libertarian has not been able to secure an executive statewide office position in Texas.
