Former Democratic candidate John Kerry wasn't the only one who lost the presidential election to President Bush.
Behind the limelight, third party candidates fought the same fight and suffered the same loss as Kerry, and among them was Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party.
Members of the Libertarian Party met Saturday night to celebrate what they described as a success.
"We are the new refounding fathers and mothers and we will restore liberty," Badnarik said during a speech given to about 50 Libertarians gathered at the Hampton Inn & Suites, 2200 Hampton Place in Okemos. "We are making incredible progress.
"We will use this as the spring board for future success."
The party raised $1 million and drew 400,000 votes in the election, which was cost-efficient compared to the major parties that poured hundreds of millions of dollars into their campaigns, Badnarik said during the speech.
The Libertarian Party members said the party's campaign was successful because more people are now aware of the party and its ideas, regardless of the election's outcome.
"The campaign was a huge success," Badnarik said. "We have several million Americans who have now heard about the Libertarian Party, that never knew we existed.
"Thirty-two percent of people in the United States know my name, which is an amazing improvement since half the members of the Libertarian Party didn't know who I was at the national convention in May."
Badnarik said the ideas of the party - the adherence to the constitution, individual rights and private property - can't be challenged by any Americans.
"Theoretically, all Americans believe in the constitution," he said.
MSU history senior Sean Huberty, a member of MSU Libertarian Club, attended the event and said he joined the party when he was 18 years old after doing some research on American democracy.
He said he found out that the U.S. society is more like a republic and the Constitution is not as respected as it should be.
"I like to see civil liberties stand against everything in the country," he said.
For third parties, the most eminent goal for the election was to increase the public awareness of their presence and ideas. And the party representatives said the goal was met to some degree.
Still, some third party members and representatives said the results of the election were disappointing but not surprising, because third party candidates were locked out of due process to make an impact.
"They were thrown out of the ballot," said Steve Schofield, press secretary of the Reform Party of Michigan. "The two parties tried to keep them off and they were not allowed to participate in debates."
For the most part, a common third party message during the election was that the parties are viable options for people tired of American politics.
"People are sick of it, and don't think there's anything they can do about it, but the Libertarians think there is something that we can do and we are doing that," said Will Tyler White, who ran for the 8th District U.S House and lost to U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton.
Badnarik said he will try to run for office in his home state of Texas in 2006 and will run for the White House again in 2008.
"We are building momentum," he said. "We will do even better in 2008."
