As a Libertarian Party activist, Sharpe has outlined a vision to grow the party by encouraging
grassroots Libertarian Party campaigns across the country. Sharpe served on the
Libertarian National Committee as the Alternate for Region 8, until his resignation in February 2018 because of an internal LNC vote that failed to oust the party's then-vice chair, Arvin Vohra, following public controversial comments made by Vohra.
2016 vice presidential campaign Sharpe was a candidate for the
2016 Libertarian vice presidential nomination. During the
2016 Libertarian National Convention, he placed second on the first ballot with 30.4% of the vote. Because no one received a majority on that ballot, a second ballot vote was held. Sharpe received 46.9% of the vote on the second ballot, finishing second to former
Massachusetts governor Bill Weld.
2018 New York gubernatorial campaign On July 12, 2017, Sharpe announced his 2018 candidacy for Governor of New York, making him the first person to formally mount a challenge to incumbent governor
Andrew Cuomo in that election race. Sharpe received the Libertarian nomination on April 21, 2018, and Andrew Hollister was selected as the
Lieutenant Governor nominee for the ticket. Sharpe's campaign raised $102,596 prior to the first filing deadline, which was second to Andrew Cuomo's re-election campaign. As of October 10, 2018, Sharpe had raised $449,515 for his campaign, the highest amount ever raised by a Libertarian gubernatorial candidate in New York. Sharpe in addition was the only candidate in the race to have visited all 62 counties on the campaign trail. On Election Day, Sharpe received 95,033 votes (1.6%) and came in fourth place behind Cuomo, Republican challenger
Marc Molinaro, and
Green Party candidate
Howie Hawkins. Sharpe's vote total achieved
automatic ballot access for the
Libertarian Party of New York for the first time in the party's history.
2020 vice presidential campaign On April 13, 2020, it was announced that Sharpe would again seek the Libertarian Party's nomination for vice president, as the running mate of 2012 Libertarian vice presidential nominee
Judge Jim Gray. After Gray was eliminated during convention presidential balloting, Sharpe withdrew from the race.
2022 New York gubernatorial campaign On February 16, 2022, Sharpe announced his 2022 campaign for governor of New York. During the announcement, he stated that he was seeking to run on the party lines of the
Libertarian Party, the
Forward Party, and the Unite Party. The Forward Party endorsed Sharpe following his announcement. Sharpe received the Libertarian gubernatorial nomination on February 19, 2022. Andrew Hollister, Sharpe's running mate in 2018, was again selected as the lieutenant governor nominee. In July 2022, the
New York State Board of Elections disqualified Sharpe from the general election ballot. Sharpe continued his gubernatorial campaign as a write-in candidate. Sharpe received less than 10,000 votes.
2024 vice presidential campaign In 2024, Sharpe was the running mate of
Lars Mapstead, who sought the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. At the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, Mapstead finished in fourth place and
Chase Oliver became the Libertarian Party nominee. Sharpe then withdrew his vice-presidential candidacy.
2026 New York gubernatorial campaign On October 9, 2025, Sharpe announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party nomination in the 2026 New York gubernatorial election. He received the Libertarian nomination at the party's state convention on October 25, 2025. Sharpe is also running as the candidate of the
We The People Party. In February 2026, Sharpe announced that he would attempt to petition his way onto the Republican primary ballot in the gubernatorial election. ==Political positions==