How Libertarian is the Libertarian candidate for mayor of Evansville?
EVANSVILLE — How Libertarian is the Libertarian candidate for mayor of Evansville on what he calls his campaign's most important issue? Not very.
Like most mayoral candidates, Michael Daugherty says fighting crime is his top priority. His campaign website lists it No. 1 — "Work with rank-and-file police to address crime." Daugherty regularly decries millions of dollars in local government spending that he says should go to the Evansville Police Department instead.
"If you think the jails are full now, just wait until I'm elected mayor," he said at a recent campaign forum.
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But the Libertarian National Committee's own platform says laws should be limited "to violations of the rights of others through force or fraud, or to deliberate actions that place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm."
Then the kicker:
"Therefore, we favor the repeal of all laws creating 'crimes' without victims, such as gambling, the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes, and consensual transactions involving sexual services," the Libertarian platform says. It goes on to say Libertarians oppose the death penalty, too.
Daugherty admitted he doesn't agree with much of that.
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No, Daugherty said, prostitution should not be legal. And yes, for certain crimes he supports the death penalty.
The candidate disagrees with the recreational use of drugs, he said, but "my personal beliefs are that we follow the laws given by the state of our governor and the state of Indiana Legislature."
That one puts him at odds with the Vanderburgh County Libertarian Party, too. The local party's website doesn't address the death penalty, gambling or prostitution, but it does take a stand on drug use. Under the heading "War on Drugs," it offers a quote from free-market economist Milton Friedman: "It’s a moral problem that the government is making into criminals people, who may be doing something you and I don’t approve of, but who are doing something that hurts nobody else."
Daugherty wouldn't say he supports "all laws" against gambling. He said he should be allowed to gamble "in my own home, if I’m gambling with a family member or a friend or somebody that comes over to my personal home.”
Why is Daugherty running for mayor as a Libertarian?
Daugherty's voting history in Indiana indicates he cast ballots in Republican primary elections in 2008, 2014, 2018 and 2022. But he said he stopped identifying as a Republican in 2020, when Libertarian gubernatorial nominee Donald Rainwater's campaign captured his imagination and turned him into a party-switcher.
Daugherty also said voters need somewhere to go in elections other than to the Republican and Democratic parties, a common refrain of third-party and independent candidates. He believes all local elected offices should be nonpartisan.
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Why then did he join the Libertarian Party?
"The thing I love about the Libertarian Party is, there’s varying degrees of every person’s beliefs," Daugherty said. "And the Libertarians don’t chastise their own party members based on their beliefs. That’s what really drew me to the Libertarian Party.
"My beliefs may not line up perfectly with our national party. I still get the support from our local Libertarian Party."
What sets Daugherty apart from Rs and Ds?
Sometimes, Nicholas LaRowe said, candidates with lesser name recognition attach themselves to parties because it gives them a platform and perhaps a better chance to win than if they stood alone. LaRowe, a political scientist at the University of Southern Indiana, said he can't speak to Daugherty's own motivations.
Sometimes candidates who do have name recognition also switch parties for political advantage, LaRowe said. He pointed to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent in the U.S. Senate who candidly admitted in 2016 that he was running for president as a Democrat to get more "media coverage."
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There doesn't seem to be much in Daugherty's platform to set him apart from Republican mayoral nominee Natalie Rascher or Democratic nominee Stephanie Terry, said LaRowe.
"Improving the parks, public safety — those are all pretty baseline issues that any candidate in any party is going to be for," the USI political scientist said. "And usually when Libertarians talk about law enforcement, protecting civil liberties is the framing, or the angle, that they take.
"If you just look at (Daugherty’s) platform, I don’t think it would be obvious to most people that he’s a Libertarian candidate. His stances are different than most Libertarians that I’ve seen."
Election Day is Nov. 7.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: How Libertarian is the Libertarian candidate for mayor of Evansville?
