User:AmericanBaath/2024 Iowa Libertarian presidential caucuses

The 2024 Iowa Libertarian presidential caucuses were held on January 15, 2024, as part Libertarian Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 40 delegates to the 2024 Libertarian National Convention will be allocated on a proportional basis. The Iowa caucuses were the first-in-nation Libertarian presidential primary contest.

Chase Oliver won a strong victory with 40.7% of the vote, which is approximately 16 delegates. Michael Rectenwald trailed in a distant second place at 17.4%, earning an estimated 7 delegates. Mike ter Maat and Joshua Smith tied for third/fourth place at 14% each. Vivek Ramaswamy, despite running for the Republican nomination at the time of the caucuses, earned fifth place with 4.7%. Ramaswamy dropped out of the 2024 election cycle following the Republican Iowa caucuses and endorsed Donald Trump.

Campaign developments
In 2023, Chase Oliver became the first ever Libertarian candidate to speak at the Iowa State Fair, doing so at The Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox. He portrayed himself as an alternative to the two-party system and advocated for limited government.

Oliver returned to Iowa in January 2024 ahead of the caucuses. He spoke at a forum on January 14, the day right before the caucuses were held. He remained in the state to campaign during the caucuses.

On January 14, 2024, the Libertarian Party of Iowa hosted a debate featuring Lars Mapstead, Chase Oliver, Michael Rectenwald, Joshua Smith, and Mike ter Maat. Jacob Hornberger was not invited to attend the debate.

Results
Chase Oliver won a decisive victory at the start of the Libertarian presidential primary season, which is expected to boost his campaign going into Super Tuesday on March 5, 2024. Michael Rectenwald managed to strengthen his campaign, previously viewed as minor, with a distant second place finish. Mike ter Maat and Joshua Smith overperformed polling expectations, however tied for a low third/fourth place. Lars Mapstead, previously viewed as the frontrunner for the Libertarian nomination, suffered massively with a last place tie, signifcantly hurting his campaign.