Iowa Libertarians have selected replacements for two candidates that district court judges ruled did not qualify for the November ballot.
Party officials say they’ll submit paperwork next week at the Iowa Secretary of State’s office to list Des Moines attorney Jacob Heard as the party’s candidate in Iowa’s third congressional district and Charles Aldrich of Clarion as Nicholas Gluba’s running mate.
Iowa Libertarian Party chair Stephanie Berlin said Gluba collected 8000+ petition signatures to run for governor in 2026. “It’s a huge miscarriage of justice to disenfranchise that many Iowans,” Berlin said. “In order to run as a gubernatorial candidate, we must have a lieutenant governor candidate, so hopefully this will close that gap.”
A panel of state officials and a district court judge found the Libertarian’s previous nominee for lieuenant governor did not provide an affidavit of candidacy. In a separate case, the party’s third district congressional nominee was barred from the ballot because he used the stage name Marco Battaglia rather than his legal name Mark Andersen on the paperwork for his candidacy.