Delaware Libertarians Endorse Green Party's Andrew Groff for Senate

This blog is devoted to establishing alliances between libertarians and progressives – something that I find very natural, but which is often viewed with suspicion by purists on either side. I am delighted, then, to be able to report on this ‘under-the-radar’ development in Delaware:

Delegates from all three counties in Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex) voted Saturday at the Libertarian Party of Delaware’s annual state convention in Dover to endorse Andrew Groff for US Senate. The party could not nominate Groff as its candidate because the Green Party has already nominated him, and the General Assembly recently abolished fusion nominations in Delaware. But the endorsement means that the Libertarians will not nominate a competing candidate, and will support Groff’s campaign.

Groff is the owner-operator of Avero Holdings LLC, a computer consulting business, and an adjunct instructor in Computer Information Systems at Delaware Technical and Community College. He decided to take the plunge and run for public office after doing organizational work in support of Occupy Delaware.

At the convention, Groff told the Libertarian Party, “I have always been one of you in spirit.” He opposes the Patriot Act and the Federal “war on drugs,” and supports marriage equality. “The government receives its power by consent of the governed,” Groff said. “States have no rights other than those consented to by the people.”

Groff also discussed the barriers that Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly have created to make ballot access and successful campaigning possible for “alternative candidates.” “Raising the number of members in a political party necessary to appear on the ballot nearly extinguished several independent parties,” Groff said. The Constitution Party has lost ballot access this year, and the Greens are scrambling to gather the final registrations necessary to assure that his name will appear on the November ballot. “I think we’ll be all right,” the candidate said.

Both the Libertarian Party of Delaware and the Independent Party of Delaware have sufficient registered members to guarantee their candidates will appear on this year’s ballot.

“I intend to give Tom Carper a good hard run,” Groff promised. “This year will be about a citizen against the corporate candidate.”

 For more information, or to donate (he really likes donations!), visit  Goff's Campaign Website