The Libertarian Party selected former Georgia Senate candidate Chase Oliver as their presidential nominee on Sunday, spurning appeals for support over the weekend from both Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The selection of Oliver, who has described himself as “armed and gay” and whose third-party candidacy helped force a runoff in the Georgia Senate race in 2022, came a day after Trump suggested he would be the best nominee for the party, drawing a sustained chorus of boos.

The Libertarian Party chair deemed the former president ineligible for the nomination, with Trump himself stating on social media that, as the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party, he couldn’t have accepted the nomination anyway. Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was eliminated in the initial voting round, receiving only 19 votes.

Despite rejecting Kennedy, members of the Libertarian Party expressed concerns that his candidacy could harm their party, which typically garners around 1 percent or less of the national vote share, with Gary Johnson’s 2016 campaign being a notable exception, securing over 3 percent.

Many party members feared that Kennedy, polling historically high for a third-party candidate, could erode the small share of the protest vote that the Libertarian Party typically relies on in presidential elections.

“We’re gonna lose ballot access in probably 22 states. We’re not gonna make more than half a percent,” remarked Larry Sharpe, a longtime member who unsuccessfully vied for vice president at the convention. “RFK sucks the money out of the room and he gets the ‘I’m mad at the system votes’ that we used to get because we’re the only other guy on the ballot.”

While delegates at the convention weren’t swayed by Trump or Kennedy, they recognized that their vote share isn’t solely dependent on party members. Additionally, most states require a minimum percentage of votes to maintain ballot access for the next election.

Oliver, aligned with the more traditionalist Classical Liberal Caucus faction of the Libertarian Party, secured the nomination after nearly 8 hours and seven rounds of voting. He narrowly defeated a candidate from the more hard-line Mises Caucus by less than 1 percent in the penultimate round before delegates had to choose between Oliver and no candidate.

“It’s pretty much Mises caucus versus everyone else,” noted Adrian Malagon, the Mises-aligned chair of the California Libertarian Party. “I think there has to be a better understanding of what the mission is going to be going forward and better organization. I just don’t think it’s sustainable.”

Outside of the Libertarian Party, Chase Oliver gained recognition for his involvement in Georgia’s Senate race, where he secured slightly over 2 percent of the vote. His candidacy contributed to a runoff election between Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Republican Herschel Walker. Oliver also ran as a congressional candidate in Georgia’s 5th district in 2020, where he similarly earned approximately 2 percent of the vote.

Chase Oliver, as a presidential contender, focused his efforts on expanding the Libertarian Party nationwide. He emphasized making campaign stops in all 50 states and having 500 volunteers to demonstrate the party’s commitment to growth in every state. Oliver’s entry into politics stemmed from his involvement as an anti-war protester in the early 2000s. He planned to target young voters, particularly those discontented with issues like the Israel-Hamas conflict, the immigration crisis, and the cost of living, with a focus on engaging them through platforms such as college campuses, Twitch, and TikTok.