The start of 2019 saw changes to the list of candidates and potential candidates for the Libertarian Party nomination . Biomedical researcher and candidate for the party 's presidential 2008 nomination Mary Ruwart confirmed on Twitter that she was not planning on seeking the nomination on 2020 in order to focus on writing . On January 11 , erstwhile candidate for California governor Zoltan Istvan announced via his website that he had left the Libertarian Party some time before , and was no longer seeking its nomination for president in 2020 . The announcement of Istvan 's departure from the race was shortly followed by reports that presumptive front runner Bill Weld , who had served as Gary Johnson 's running mate in 2016 , had left the Libertarian Party and rejoined the Republican Party to challenge Donald Trump in the Republican primary . Weld had been the subject of fierce criticism from within the Libertarian Party for his soft approach to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election , as well as for his several positions that were out of step with libertarian activists . During the libertarian-oriented LibertyCon , U.S. Representative Justin Amash warned the Libertarian Party not to nominate a " squishy Republican " , a comment widely seen as directed at Weld . On January 22 , McAfee announced via Twitter that he would be continuing his campaign " in exile " , following reports that he , his wife , and four of his campaign staff were being indicted for tax-related felonies by the IRS . McAfee indicated that he was in " international waters " , and had previously tweeted that he was on his way to Venezuela . The IRS has not commented on the alleged indictments . On January 23 , McAfee confirmed on Twitter that he had docked in the Bahamas , where he would remain for the foreseeable future
2008 nomination
2008 Libertarian National Convention
2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries