Frank Torres
College professor Steve Edmonds told FloridaPolitics.com Monday afternoon he is leaving the Libertarian Party of Florida and will run under No Party Affiliation in House District 28.
“I’ve notified the County Supervisor of Elections of my intentions to switch from Libertarian to No Party of Affiliation” said Edmonds. “I’ve come to the conclusion that the state party’s mismanagement hurts its candidates. It’s not representative of its people. Even the smaller third parties have problems found in the bigger two parties.”
The announcement comes in a flurry of the negative news regarding the state Party.
Last week, Libertarian Party Chair Adrian Wyllie resigned in protest over one of the Party’s candidates for Senate, Augustus Sol Invictus, who admitted participating in a ritual that involved sacrificing a goat and drinking its blood.
On Monday, another Seminole County Libertarian House candidate, David Leavitt, announced he was withdrawing from the House 29 contest and joining the Republican primary. A few hours later, news broke that the Seminole Libertarian party had cut ties with the state party altogether.
Edmonds was previously in a Party primary with Franklin Perez, and the two were scheduled to debate later this month. That event will still take place, and Edmonds invited the other two candidates to participate: Democrat Julia Coakley and incumbent Republican Jason Brodeur.
“Run your government. Don’t let it run you,” Edmonds continued. “This creates a better opportunity. People are tired of the big parties. They want a real person with real experience. I can be that candidate.”
