Jacob Hornberger

Jacob George Hornberger (born January 1, 1950) is an American attorney, author, and politician who was a Libertarian candidate for president in 2000 and 2020. He is the founder and president of the Future of Freedom Foundation.[1]

Jacob Hornberger
Jacob Hornberger speaking at the 2011 CPAC in Washington, D.C.
Personal details
Born (1950-01-01) January 1, 1950
Laredo, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Political partyLibertarian (2003–present, before 2002)
Other political
affiliations		Independent (2002)
EducationVirginia Military Institute (BS)
University of Texas (JD)
OccupationAuthor, activist, trial attorney
Websitehttps://www.fff.org/author/jacob-hornberger-2/

Early life

Hornberger grew up on a farm on the Rio Grande near Laredo, Texas. He was born to a German-American father and a Mexican-American mother.[2] He received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Virginia Military Institute, and a law degree from the University of Texas.[3]

Professional career

Hornberger was an attorney in the state of Texas for twelve years. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, teaching economics and law. Hornberger stopped practicing law in 1987 to become the director of programs for the Foundation for Economic Education. Since then, he has been an advocate for free markets and founded the Future of Freedom Foundation.[3]

Political campaigns

2000 presidential campaign

Hornberger ran for the Libertarian party's nomination for the American presidential elections in 2000, finishing in third place.[4] After losing the nomination, Hornberger was part of the effort by the Libertarian Party of Arizona to drop Harry Browne from their ballot line.[5]

2002 senate campaign

Hornberger ran as an independent in the 2002 Virginia U.S. Senate election, against Republican incumbent John Warner and independent Nancy Spannaus.[6] Hornberger received 106,055 votes and 7.1% of the popular vote.[6] Hornberger accused the Libertarian Party of Virginia of preventing him from running for their nomination, to which the Party countered by showcasing that he had spent a considerable of time criticizing the LPVA, and had violated the party's rules by asking for signatures to get on the ballot before he was the nominee.[5] It was also reported by The Libertarian Republic that Hornberger withdrew from consideration for the Libertarian nomination and ran as an independent when it became clear he would lose to “None of the Above” for the right to be the Libertarian Party's nominee.[5] Hornberger's performance in the senate election was widely considered extremely disappointing, as he finished not only far behind Warner, but also behind Spannaus, a member of the LaRouche movement.[5]

2020 presidential campaign

Hornberger began to express an interest in running for the 2020 Libertarian nomination in late March 2019.[4] On November 1, 2019, he declared his candidacy for the Libertarian presidential nomination, expressing a view that the candidates in the race before him were insufficiently committed to abolishing Medicare.[7][8] Hornberger began his campaign by focusing on the North Carolina primary, declaring his intent to win the vote on March 3.[9] Hornberger was considered an early front runner for the Libertarian Party nomination.[10] Hornberger conceded that him winning the presidency was not "realistic" but hoped his campaign could "make the case for freedom" and "fight for a free society".[11]

Hornberger finished 5th in the New Hampshire primary, which was won by Vermin Supreme.[12] He later won the Iowa caucus.[13] On February 25, 2020, Hornberger won the Libertarian Party Minnesota Caucus with 38.5% of the vote.[14]

On "Super Tuesday" Hornberger received the most votes in all but one of the contests (finishing behind "Uncommited" in North Carolina) solidifying his status as the front-runner.[15][16] Hornberger has received the endorsement of the Libertarian Party Mises Caucus.[16] Hornberger made a specific effort to win the California primary, organising robocalls to help win the contest.[17]

At the beginning of March, the Libertarian Party of New York announced that Hornberger would be the only candidate to qualify for the ballot. Following this announcement, allegations arose, claiming that Hornberger had rigged the primary. The campaign denied the accusations, stating that "The Hornberger campaign did not file any lawsuits, challenges, or paperwork to keep any other candidate off the New York Libertarian Primary ballot." However, in an analysis by The Libertarian Republic, while there was no concrete evidence Hornberger's campaign rigged the primary, there was substantial evidence that the New York Libertarian Party held a bias towards Hornberger and gave him preferential treatment with regards to information about ballot access.[18]

Upon the entry of Justin Amash into the race for the Libertarian nomination, Hornberger was widely considered to have immediately lost his frontrunner status.[19] Hornberger responded to Amash's entry to the race with an 8-part series on why he considered Amash unsuited to be the Libertarian nominee,[20] and by critiquing Amash's stance on abortion.[21] Upon Amash's exit from the race on May 16, Hornberger was widely seen as regaining his frontrunner status.[22] However, his position was seen as far weaker than it had been before Amash had entered the race, due to hostility from many former Amash supporters towards his candidacy. Hornberger had lost the Libertarian Nebraska primary to Jo Jorgensen on May 12,[23] and in a poll of 305 delegates to the Libertarian national convention taken 3 days before the convention began, Hornberger again lost to Jorgensen.[24] On May 23, 2020, at the 2020 Libertarian National Convention, Hornberger lost the nomination to Jorgensen, coming in second place with 28% of the vote to her 51% of the vote on the fourth ballot.[25] After losing, Hornberger proceeded to endorse Jorgensen for the presidency.[26]

Electoral history
United States Senate election in Virginia, 2002[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Warner (Incumbent) 1,229,894 82.6% +30.1%
Independent Nancy B. Spannaus 145,102 9.7%
Independent Jacob Hornberger 106,055 7.1%
Write-ins 8,371 0.6% +0.4%
Majority 1,084,792 72.8% +67.8%
Turnout 1,489,422
Republican hold Swing

References
  1. Hornberger, Jacob. "Jacob Hornberger Biography". The Future of Freedom Foundation. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  2. Minto, William and Karen (January 31, 2001). "Full Context Interview with Jacob G. Hornberger". The Future of Freedom Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  3. Hornberger, Jacob. "Jacob Hornberger Biography". The Future of Freedom Foundation. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  4. Winger, Richard (March 29, 2020). "Jacob Hornberger Signals Intent to Seek Libertarian Presidential Nomination". Ballot Access News. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  5. Howman, David (May 5, 2020). "The "Malignant Dishonesty" of LP Presidential Candidate Jacob Hornberger, Then and Now". The Libertarian Republic. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  6. Trandahl, Jeff (May 1, 2003). "STATISTICS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 5, 2002" (PDF). Clerk of the House of Representatives: 55 – via MICROCOMP.
  7. Winger, Richard (November 2, 2019). "Jacob Hornberger Declares for the Libertarian Presidential Nomination". Ballot Access News. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  8. Welch, Matt (November 7, 2019). "Candidates Vie to Represent the Libertarian wing of the Libertarian Party". Reason.
  9. Carolina Focus (December 11, 2019). "Jacob Hornberger, Libertarian Presidential Candididate". WBT Radio.
  10. Fitzpatrick, Edward (January 6, 2020). "Lincoln Chafee expected to announce another run for president, this time as a Libertarian". Boston Globe.
  11. Doan, Gary (February 4, 2020). "LP Presidential Candidate Jacob Hornberger on Socialism, Freedom and Reform vs. Repeal". The Libertarian Republic.
  12. Shields, Brian (January 14, 2020). "Results – 2020 Libertarian Presidential Preference Primary". Libertarian Party of New Hampshire. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  13. McDaniel, Tiffany (February 10, 2020). "Low voter turnout at the Iowa Libertarian Party Caucus". The Oskaloosa Herald. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  14. Galvan, Jill (2020-02-25). "Libertarian Party Results for Caucus Night 2020". Libertarian Party of Minnesota. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  15. Welch, Matt (March 4, 2020). "Libertarian Super Tuesday: Big Night for Jacob Hornberger, NOTA; John McAfee drops out and endorses Vermin Supreme". Reason.
  16. Welch, Matt (April 13, 2020). "Judge Jim Gray To Seek Libertarian Presidential Nomination". Reason. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  17. Winger, Richard (May 24, 2020). "Jacob Hornberger Campaigns for California Libertarian Delegate Support with Robocalls". Ballot Access News. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  18. Howman, David (April 1, 2020). "Did Jacob Hornberger Rig the New York Libertarian Primary". The Libertarian Republic.
  19. Coaston, Jane (May 4, 2020). "Justin Amash's first steps toward a third-party 2020 bid, explained". Vox. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  20. Saturn, William (May 2, 2020). "Jacob Hornberger: Justin Amash, LP Interloper, Part 8". Independent Political Report. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  21. Dean, Jamie (May 22, 2020). "Justin Amash bids adieu". World News Group. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  22. Gillepsie, Nick (May 20, 2020). "L.P. Presidential Candidate Jacob Hornberger Wants 'To Live in a Free Society'". Reason. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  23. "For President of the United States - Libertarian". Secretary of State of Nebraska. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  24. "LP Delegate Poll Results". Op A Vote. May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  25. Doherty, Brian (May 23, 2020). "Jo Jorgensen Wins Libertarian Party Presidential Nomination". Reason. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  26. Dawson, Noah (May 26, 2020). "How the Libertarian Party Nominated Jo Jorgensen and Spike Cohen". The Amarillo Pioneer. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  27. "2002 Election Statistics".
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