American software engineer, political figure, and former radio talk show host Michael J. Badnarik has died. His demise was announced on Thursday, August 11, 2022.
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Nick Gillespie, an American libertarian journalist who was editor-in-chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008 and editor-in-chief of Reason.com and Reason TV from 2008 to 2017 expressed his condolence to Badnarik’s family.
Gillespie tweeted;
Condolences to the friends and family of Michael Badnarik, the 2004
@LPNational presidential nominee. Via @scotthortonshow @LibertarianInst
Condolences to the friends and family of Michael Badnarik, the 2004 @LPNational presidential nominee. Via @scotthortonshow @LibertarianInsthttps://t.co/DqndGsssiq
— Nick Gillespie (@nickgillespie) August 11, 2022
Badnarik was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections.
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He placed fourth in the race, behind independent candidate Ralph Nader and the two major party candidates, George W. Bush and John Kerry.
However, in 2006, two years after his fourth placed finish, Badnarik ran as a Libertarian Party candidate in the congressional elections for Texas’s 10th congressional district seat near Austin.
Again, he was unable to emerge victorious. He came in third in a three candidate field, receiving 7,603 votes for 4.3% of the vote.
Badnarik’s political philosophy emphasized individual liberty, personal responsibility, and strict adherence to an originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and all of his positions arose from this foundation.
In economics, Badnarik believed in laissez-faire capitalism, a system in which the only function of the government is the protection of individual rights from the initiation of force and fraud.
He, therefore, opposed institutions such as welfare and business regulation.
Badnarik first ran for public office in 2000 as a Libertarian, earning 15,221 votes (17%) in a race for the Texas legislature district 47. In 2002 he ran for the district 48 seat receiving 1,084 votes, or 2%.
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