In 2000, the Libertarian Party attained major party status in Washington after the success of Libertarian candidates in statewide races, many of whom received the required 5% of the total statewide vote. The party ran 43 candidates for state legislative seats, 12 of whom received 20% or more of the total votes in their race, 8 candidates for Congress, one candidate for US Senate, and Harry Brown/Art Olivier for President/Vice-President. By the 2004 election all statewide Libertarian candidates failed to reach 5% of the statewide vote. Ruth Bennett, in the race for Governor, finished the third recount with 63,464 (2.3%) of the statewide total. The party ran 3 Congressional candidates and one US Senate candidate, none of whom received higher than 2.5% of the total votes in their respective races. Twenty-five state legislative candidates ran under the Libertarian banner, with one receiving above 10% total votes, and with an average result below 4%. In 2006, the Libertarian Party nominated
Bruce Guthrie for US Senate, who mortgaged his home to raise $1.2 million in order to qualify for the Seattle debates. The Seattle PI stated the Guthrie won the debate 'just by being there', as he had the opportunity to share his platform with a wide audience, a feat not many third party candidates get to achieve. Guthrie finished the race with 29,331 total votes, representing 1.4% of the statewide total. No state legislative positions were contested by the Libertarian Party as a demoralizing result of the Blanket Primary law passed through the legislature by the two major parties, and supported by the voters as
Initiative 872 with 59% approval. This effectively ended the success of a strong third party in Washington State. In the 2008 elections, two Libertarian Party candidates qualified for the August 19 primary –
John Beck for U.S. Congress (5th C.D.) and Ruth Bennett for State Representative (37th Legislative District, Position 2). John Beck failed to survive the new Top Two Primary, while Ruth Bennett went on to receive only 10.5% of the votes in a head-to-head run against incumbent Democrat Eric Pettigrew. Bennett made a final statement on the inability for third party success under the new election laws, stating that the only way a Libertarian can survive is in otherwise uncontested entrenched districts. She cited her landslide loss as evidence. After the passage of
Initiative 872, instituting a Top Two General Election, and the 2008 US Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Initiative, the party reduced in rank and status across the state. From 2009 through 2013, the party loosely lobbied major party officials for proposed or supported legislation. No Libertarian appeared on the ballot in the 2010 elections. By 2011, there was little interest for remaining party members to hold a state convention, during a year in which officers would have been elected. A small group of individuals banded together for the purpose of electing officers at an abbreviated one day session in Olympia. Party affiliation waned and records of Party members became dated with little to no significant achievements of note. In 2012 the only Libertarian on the ballot was Gary Johnson for US president, who finished with 42,202 (1.4%) of the statewide total. In 2014, the Party leadership lost all seats during the annual convention during a mounted effort to ratify the party constitution and bylaws. The effort originated from party officer's supporting efforts of candidates from competing political parties. The ratification of the new rules was led by a slate of candidates and their volunteers whose intended purpose was to rebuild a permanent presence in Washington State politics and ready the party for a 2016 return to major party status. The most significant changes to the party rules allowed for the annual election of officers and a restructure of the board to include regional directors. The move called for the immediate dismissal of the chairman and moved directly into voting for replacement officers. The new officers immediately decentralized the power structure to a series of pre-defined regions in order to aid ongoing campaigns and recruit for county-level political leadership. By the 2016 state convention party leadership had recruited and vetted 32 candidates for state and local offices for the primary elections. The Libertarian Party of Washington sent a full delegation to National Convention and has been widely recognized as one of the most active and successful state affiliates in America. Following a significantly damaging position by the Secretary of State, Kim Wyman, to include with statewide vote totals for president unsubstantiated write-ins, the Libertarian Party received only 4.98% of the total statewide vote for president, falling shy of the necessary 5.00% to achieve major party status through 2020. Despite the most successful presidential effort in Washington State for the party, leadership and membership fell into odds resulting in the resignation of the entire executive slate. The spring 2017 state convention elected new leadership and reversed significant constitution and bylaws changes implemented in 2014. ==2012 Elections==