WHO IS STEVE DASBACH?
Steve Dasbach joined the Libertarian Party in 1979, after co-founding a libertarian student group on the campus of Michigan State University. He is a life member of the Libertarian Party.
Active in revitalizing the LP of Indiana, Dasbach served in a variety of LP offices, including two terms as state chair, as well as running for public office. His campaign for Indiana Secretary of State in 1982 qualified the party for the ballot without needing to petition for the first time since the founding of the LPIN.
In 1985, Dasbach was elected to the Libertarian National Committee (LNC), serving three terms as regional rep, vice chair 1991-93 and chair 1993-98. During his tenure, party membership increased from 10k to 28k, and fundraising increased from $0.8 M in 1993 to $2.5 M in 1998.
After completing his final term as chair, Dasbach served as Executive Director at the party’s HQ in Washington, DC from July 1998 until September 2002.
Proven Leadership, Visible Results
50 STATE
BALLOT ACCESS
RECORD FUNDRAISING
RECORD MEMBERSHIP GROWTH
LOWEST COST PER VOTE IN A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
WHAT HAS STEVE DONE?
LIBERTARIAN PARTY
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Served two terms as National Chair (1993-98) and four years as the party's Executive Director (1998-2002).
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Campaign manager for the Jorgensen/Cohen campaign
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Served as state chair in Indiana and Virginia.
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Currently chair of the Greenville Co LP (SC).
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Life Member of the LP; joined in 1979
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Volunteer state organizer for the Ed Clark campaign in Indiana.
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Married with four grown children and six grandchildren. Son Garrick and his wife Stephanie were key volunteers in the Donald Rainwater campaign for Governor in Indiana in 2020.
OUTSIDE OF THE LP (LEADERSHIP ROLES)
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Active community theater performer for the past sixteen years.
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Served on the board of directors for three DC area non-profit community theater organizations as Development Director, Member Services VP, and Production VP.
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Retired from teaching in 2019 (chemistry & physics at the secondary and college level).
WHAT WILL STEVE DO?
I would like to see a concerted effort to reach out to donors, volunteers, and inquiries from the Jorgensen/Cohen campaign to get them involved as LP donors, members, and volunteers.
Now that we have a full-time Communications Director, I would like to work to increase our public visibility, especially in social media. Our communication should be bold, principled, and realistic, not bland or purposely offensive. We should recognize that our needs in this area are likely to be greater than one person can handle and that we may need to look at adding Communications staff in the near future, assuming that we are also able to increase fundraising.
We need to foster genuine communication and a true spirit of collaboration among the LNC, and with our state affiliates. The LP needs to represent ALL libertarians, not simply one small segment of the party. That means the Chair needs to speak with and to all factions within the party, as well as the far greater numbers who don’t align with any faction. There is far more that unites us than divides us.
Part of that is a shared commitment to professional conduct toward one another and unbiased chairing of debate on the committee and at the national convention in Reno.
As for people joining who don’t share our values, the key is to make sure we proudly and visibly stand up for our principles and platform, so that people know who we are and what we stand for. The solution to a handful of offensive “Tweets” is to overwhelm them with positive social media communications. The way to avoid being “taken over” is to make sure we are welcoming many more people who share our values.