Austin Petersen

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Austin Petersen

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 7, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Missouri State University

Personal

Profession

CEO of Stonegait LLC; founder of The Libertarian Republic

Contact

Personal website

Personal Twitter

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Austin Petersen (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Missouri. He lost in the Republican primary on August 7, 2018.

Petersen is owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, founder and owner of The Libertarian Republic and was a 2016 Libertarian Party candidate for President of the United States.

Biography

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.

Petersen was raised on a farm in Peculiar, Missouri. After graduating from Missouri State University with a degree in the fine arts, Petersen moved to New York City to pursue a career in media. Today, Petersen is the CEO of Stonegait LLC, a for-profit consulting firm providing photo and video services for candidates and brands. He is also the founder and editor of The Libertarian Republic, an online news magazine. Petersen worked for the Libertarian National Committee in 2008 and later worked for the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Petersen is the former director of production at FreedomWorks, a service center for the grassroots freedom movement headquartered in Washington, D.C., and was an associate producer for Freedom Watch on the Fox Business Network.

Elections

2018

See also: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2018

General election

Josh Hawley defeated incumbent Claire McCaskill, Craig O'Dear, Japheth Campbell, and Jo Crain in the general election for U.S. Senate Missouri on November 6, 2018.

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Missouri

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Hawley (R)	51.4	1,254,927
		Claire McCaskill (D)	45.6	1,112,935
		Craig O'Dear (Independent)	1.4	34,398
		Japheth Campbell (L)	1.1	27,316
		Jo Crain (G)	0.5	12,706
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	7

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,442,289
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 7, 2018.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Missouri

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Claire McCaskill	82.6	500,162
		Carla Wright	6.8	40,971
		John Hogan	2.6	15,928
		David Faust	2.6	15,902
		Angelica Earl	2.6	15,453
		Travis Gonzalez	1.6	9,453
		Leonard Steinman II	1.3	7,634

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 605,503
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 7, 2018.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Missouri

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Hawley	58.6	389,006
		Tony Monetti	9.8	64,718
		Austin Petersen	8.3	54,810
		Kristi Nichols	7.5	49,554
		Christina Smith	5.3	34,948
		Ken Patterson	2.9	19,537
		Peter Pfeifer	2.5	16,557
		Courtland Sykes	2.1	13,862
		Fred Ryman	1.3	8,763
		Brian Hagg	1.0	6,913
		Bradley Krembs	0.7	4,885

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 663,553
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Camille Lombardi-Olive (R)
• Robert Marshner (R)

Green Party primary election

Jo Crain defeated Jerome H. Bauer in the Green primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 7, 2018.

Green primary election

Green primary for U.S. Senate Missouri

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jo Crain	57.5	902
		Jerome H. Bauer	42.5	666

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,568
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Japheth Campbell advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 7, 2018.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Missouri

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Japheth Campbell	100.0	5,357

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,357
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

U.S. Senate election in Missouri, 2018
Poll	Poll sponsor	Josh Hawley (R)	Claire McCaskill (D)	Other/Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Trafalgar Group (October 29-November 4, 2018)	N/A	40%	45%	15%	+/-2.3	1,791
Emerson College (November 1-3, 2018)	N/A	49%	46%	5%	+/-3.8	732
Remington Research Group (November 1-2, 2018)	Missouri Scout	47%	47%	6%	+/-2.6	1,424
Marist University (October 30-November 1, 2018)	NBC News	44%	47%	9%	+/-5.2	600
Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) (October 27-30, 2018)	Fox News	43%	43%	14%	+/-3.5	741
Cygnal (October 26-27, 2018)	N/A	49%	46%	5%	+/-4.38	501
Remington Research Group (October 24-25, 2018)	Missouri Scout	49%	45%	6%	+/-2.6	1,376
OnMessage Inc. (October 16-18, 2018)	Hawley campaign	49%	42%	9%	+/-3.46	800
Remington Research Group (October 17-18, 2018)	Missouri Scout	47%	46%	7%	+/-2.7	1,215
The Polling Company (October 11-13, 2018)	Citizens United	50%	47%	3%	+/-4.0	600
1st Tuesday Campaigns (October 5-6, 2018)	N/A	44%	42%	14%	+/-3.02	1,052
Reuters/Ipsos/UVA Center for Politics (September 27- October 7, 2018)	N/A	45%	44%	11%	+/-3.0	1,111
McLaughlin & Associates (September 29- October 2, 2018)	Missouri Rising Action	52%	44%	4%	+/-4.0	600
Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) (September 29- October 2, 2018)	Fox News	43%	43%	13%	+/-3.5	805
AVERAGES		46.5%	44.79%	8.64%	+/-3.43	953.43
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Click here to see older polls

U.S. Senate election in Missouri, 2018 Poll Poll sponsor Josh Hawley (R) Claire McCaskill (D) Other/Undecided Margin of error Sample size SRSS Research (September 25- 29, 2018) CNN 44% 47% 9% +/-4.3 756 Remington Research (September 26- 27, 2018) Missouri Scout 48% 46% 6% +/-2.5 1,555 YouGov (September 10- 14, 2018) CBS News 45% 45% 10% +/-3.3 1,104 Trafalgar Group September 11-13, 2018 N/A 47% 44% 8% +/-2.4 1,724 Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) September 8-11, 2018 Fox News 41% 44% 15% +/-3.5 675 Marist University August 25-28, 2018 NBC News 40% 44% 16% +/-4.8 568 WPA Intelligence August 12-14, 2018 Club for Growth 48% 41% 11% +/-4.4 501 TJP Strategies August 8-9, 2018 Missouri Scout 47% 47% 6% +/-2.3 1,785 Remington Research July 7-8, 2018 The Missouri Times 48% 46% 6% +/-3.2 1,034 Gravis May 16, 2018 Petersen campaign 50% 43% 7% +/-3.4 822 OnMessage Inc. April 16-18, 2018 Hawley campaign 46% 47% 7% +/-4.0 600 Mason-Dixon Poll April 4-6, 2018 N/A 44% 45% 11% +/-4.0 625 Public Policy Polling January 8-9, 2018 The Majority Institute 44% 45% 11% +/-3.2 965 Remington Research January 3-4, 2018 Missouri Scout 49% 45% 6% +/-2.9 1,112 AVERAGES 45.79% 44.93% 9.21% +/-3.44 987.57 Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Endorsements

• The Republican Liberty Caucus
• Former Congressman Bob Barr
• Former Congressman Joe Walsh
• Ben Shapiro
• Dave Rubin
• Kurt Schlichter
• Mark Pellegrino
• Ryan Moran
• Gary Nolan

2016

See also: Presidential election, 2016

Petersen sought the presidency in 2016. He announced his candidacy on his Facebook page on September 3, 2015.

On the trail

National debate

A Libertarian Party presidential primary debate was filmed on March 29, 2016, and Part 1 aired on the Fox Business Network on April 1, 2016, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Part 2 of the debate aired at 9:00 p.m. on April 8, 2016. The debate was moderated by John Stossel and aired on the Stossel show. Word of the debate first appeared on 2016 Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson’s official Tumblr page on February 16, 2016. Political commentator Austin Petersen, Gary Johnson and John McAfee participated.

National convention

The Libertarian National Convention was held May 26-30, 2016, at the Rosen Centre Hotel & Resort in Orlando, Florida. Delegates selected Gary Johnson as the party's nominee at the national convention.

Preparations

• During a January 27, 2016, Truth in Media interview with Joshua Cook, Petersen discussed his Kansas City campaign headquarters staff. He said, "We get up at 6:00 a.m. every day. Our first meeting is at 6:00 a.m. every day."

• Discussing his campaign during his January 27, 2016 Truth in Media interview, Petersen said, "I'm enjoying it because spreading liberty is fun."

• Petersen described the machinery of his campaign during his January 27, 2016 Truth in Media interview, saying, "I have successfully been able to put all the gears of the machine in place. And now I'm just starting to crank it up so that I can actually start to employ all of the people who have come to me and joined my camp -- volunteers, donors." He continued, "We're having a blast."

• During a January 27, 2016, interview with Joshua Cook, Peterson said, "I have been going out to these state conventions and meeting with these Libertarians and shaking their hands and introducing myself so that they can get a feel for who I am and how I would govern if I were to be elected President of the United States. I think you've got to get out there and you've got to meet people."

Interactions with other candidates

• Appearing on the Fox Business Network show Stossel on February 6, 2016, Petersen said, "If you look at the policies proposed by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, they are actually quite similar. They’re both very nativist on immigration -- albeit for different reasons they want to stop immigration. They're also both for a progressive income tax. So, it's very interesting that both of these leading candidates in the parties share so many of the same policies."

• During a February 6, 2016, appearance on Stossel, Petersen said, "Marco Rubio really is the establishment conservative’s last hope.”

• During a January 27, 2016, interview, Joshua Cook asked Petersen about the differences in his philosophy and 2016 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson's philosophy. Petersen said, "Gary Johnson is a pretty darn good Libertarian." He continued, "I don't believe in government intervention into the free market and Governor Johnson has told me on several occasions that the government should be mandating the labeling of GMO foods and of other items that he thinks the customer has the right to know. But I think that portrays a misunderstanding about how the free market works in terms of accountability that producers have to their consumers. And that to me is a substantial difference between myself and Governor Johnson."

Comments on minor party candidacy

• "I think a lot of the time, people who are caught up in the Republican [and] Democratic debates, they don't look at the third party as an example of something that's a credible option. We as Libertarians have got to make ourselves credible options to those two mainstream candidates," Petersen said during a January 27, 2016, interview with Truth in Media.

• Discussing the Libertarian Party during an interview with Joshua Cook, Petersen said, "Many Libertarians rightly see this movement as being on life support, and it's not dead. This movement is not dead, but we are definitely on life support and we need a doctor to come in and give us shock treatment. And that's really what I'm trying to do here."

On the issues (presidential campaign)

Economic and fiscal

Taxes

• According to Petersen’s campaign website, he stated he would abolish the tax code and replace it with a flat tax at the lowest rate necessary to support the core functions of government.

Budgets

• Petersen participated in a Libertarian candidate forum that aired on the Fox Business Network on April 1, 2016. Discussing his "Penny Plan" to reduce spending on federal programs, Petersen said, "We need to force Congress to live within their means. If Americans need to balance their checkbook, so should Congress."
• Peterson said he would urge Congress to adopt his “Penny Plan.” This would require one percent spending cuts across the board for all government programs. He would also try to fund public services with lotteries and tolls.

Monetary policy

• On his campaign website, Petersen called for ending the Federal Reserve. He stated he would introduce a commission to study the possibility of replacing central banking with “free banking.”

International trade

• Petersen’s platform included lower barriers to trade with foreign nations.

Federal assistance programs

• Petersen advocated for reforming entitlement programs and allowing young people to opt out of Social Security.

Labor and employment

• Petersen called for lowering barriers to international trade and granting American companies the freedom they need to develop domestic energy production and create good paying jobs.

Domestic

Federalism

Crime and justice

• Petersen called for an end to the war on drugs and for reclassifying the war on drugs as a medical problem, not a criminal problem.

First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

• During Part 2 of a Libertarian candidate forum that aired on Fox Business Network on April 8, 2016, Petersen was asked about banning Muslims from coming to the United States. Petersen responded, “You can’t enforce something like that. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says that the government should stay out of religion – that government cannot set those kinds of standards or quotas. What are you going to do, are you going to ask them what their religion is when they come here? That’s un-American.”

Natural resources

• Petersen supported the development of domestic energy production.

Healthcare

• If elected, Petersen planned to overturn the Affordable Care Act and seek market alternatives to health and wellness issues.

Immigration

• During Part 2 of a Libertarian candidate forum that aired on the Fox Business Network on April 8, 2016, host John Stossel asked Austin Petersen what he would do about illegal immigration. Petersen responded, “I think we can incentivize legal immigration so we can cut down on illegal immigration. If we make a simpler path to citizenship, then people will not break the law.”

• According to Petersen’s presidential campaign website, he would streamline our immigration system with “updated ‘Ellis Island’ styled protocols.”

Abortion

• During the Libertarian Party debate that aired on Fox Business Network on April 1, 2016, Petersen said he was anti-abortion.
• Petersen’s campaign platform encourages a "culture of life" and adoption. He advocates for educating Americans about the “consistent pro-life ethic.”

Civil liberties

• If elected, Petersen would work with Congress to institute new protocols to protect national security with a focus on due process and individual rights. He would protect Fourth Amendment rights by reining in and demanding accountability from the National Security Agency.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Austin Petersen Missouri Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Austin Petersen - Google News

See also

• United States Senate
• United States Senate election in Missouri, 2018
• Presidential candidates, 2016

External links

• The Libertarian Republic

Footnotes

[show]

Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Josh Hawley (R)

Eric Schmitt (R)

Representatives

District 1

Cori Bush (D)

District 2

Ann Wagner (R)

District 3

Blaine Luetkemeyer (R)

District 4

Mark Alford (R)

District 5

Emanuel Cleaver (D)

District 6

Sam Graves (R)

District 7

Eric Burlison (R)

District 8

Jason Smith (R)

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (2)