In a congressional district that two years ago was decided by 546 votes, everything matters, which is why James Wiley says he doesn’t have to win to make a difference.
“We're playing asymmetrical war here and it's a war that the larger player will always lose,” Wiley, a 30-year-old from Pueblo said. “Whether that be Afghanistan against the United States, Afghanistan wins. Vietnam against the United States, Vietnam wins (or) the Libertarian party against the uni-party.”
Wiley, along with Unity Party Candidate Adam Withrow, round out a ballot headlined by major party candidates Adam Frisch, an Aspen Democrat, and Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican.
In 2022 Frisch narrowly lost to Lauren Boebert, who has since switched districts to compete in a safer seat. That year the race did not feature a third-party candidate. But you only have to look across the state to see what having an extra name on the ballot can mean in a close contest.
In the race for the 8th Congressional District, the presence of Dan Ward, a master electrician and heavy metal enthusiast who ran in the Libertarian slot, on the ballot was thought to have swung things in Caraveo’s favor.
In light of that defeat, Colorado Republicans last year worked out an agreement with Libertarians to try to avoid so-called “spoiler” candidates. Wiley, the executive director of the state Libertarian party, credited Ward’s race for spurring that deal.
He said it forced Republicans to the table, leading to a truce that would keep Libertarians out of the race as long as the Republican candidate signed on to pro-liberty values. That deal paid off for the GOP in a big way recently, when the Libertarian agreed to drop out of this year’s 8th District race.
Prior to Boebert’s departure from CO-3, Wiley said the fact she wouldn’t sign the Libertarian pledge kicked off his campaign of “vengeance.” Now, with Boebert out of the race, Wiley is still running and sees a chance to continue nipping at the ankles of the two-party system.
“I don't know if Jeff Hurd's going to do better or worse. Really, it's up in the air as far as those two, but I know that the loser in that race will blame me, and that's a blame I am proud to accept,” Wiley said.
But it’s not just the Hurd campaign that could leak votes to another candidate. For the Democrat, Frisch, having a Unity Party option could be a risk. Withrow actually ran once before, as a Democrat. He said he put his name on this year’s ballot for voters who might be frustrated with how little daylight there seems to be between Frisch and Hurd on certain policy positions.
“If we take the major party ticket, you get to choose between pro-war and pro-war. You get to choose between pro-drilling and pro-drilling. You get to choose between pro ‘let's put a nuclear plant in Pueblo’ and pro ‘let's put a nuclear plant in Pueblo,’” Withrow said. “I think that by offering a choice to people, that alone is success.”
Appeals to voters
In terms of policy, both Withrow and Wiley said their stance on international wars, particularly the conflict in Gaza, sets them apart from the headliners of the ticket. Withrow has signed onto a ceasefire pledge and Wiley said he actually changed his campaign website from “Wiley 4 vengeance” to “James 4 peace” after the war broke out last year.
Beyond their aversion to foreign conflict, there’s little in common for the two candidates hoping to provide frustrated voters with an alternative choice.
Wiley is a supporter of Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was sentenced to nine years of incarceration for her role in compromising the security of county elections equipment. He backs a number of classic Libertarian positions, including support for individual gun rights, shrinking the role of the federal government and eliminating taxes.
On the issue of abortion, he’s pivoted from the traditional “pro-choice” position associated with Libertarians. Wiley proposes that abortion should not be banned, but that adoption, and advancements in health care, should be used to prevent the termination of pregnancies.
“This is just an issue of lack of creativity. We have neonatal care facilities, we have basically artificial wombs that will care for a child from just a few months old until they're viable without the machines and we need to be willing to do what's necessary to save these children's lives,” Wiley said. “We have a population collapse and that's not going to be solved by immigration.”
Artificial womb technology is in development, though it has not yet reached human trials and its intended use is to assist premature babies. Earlier this year Vardit Ravitsky, president of the bioethics think tank The Hastings Center, told National Public Radio the technology presents risks that it could be used by some to take away reproductive rights.
Withrow, the Unity Party candidate, said his priorities target working people. He said he knows he’s not going to win, but would like to see more discussion of the things that concern the people he knows.
“For a lot of working people, we've been asked to make do with less year after year after year, and the people who are exploiting us are making do with more and more,” Withrow said. “So it's about time to ask them to make do with a little less.”
Withrow said he’s worried about the long-term solvency of programs like Social Security and Medicare, and crime in areas with fewer economic opportunities.
Withrow said he sees the notion of a spoiler candidate as “a really sad way to look at things.” His hope for the final weeks of the election is just to give voters an alternative, but otherwise, he’s not thinking about it much.
“Honestly, what I hope to accomplish has more to do with getting through my kids’ birthday parties. I'm trying to buy a house right now. I am kind of more concerned with my personal life,” he said. “A win to me is only to have participated, only to let it be that people have a choice.”
Wiley similarly doesn't expect to win but is relishing the chance to be a variable on Election Day. He’s planning a watch party, complete with Guy Fawkes masks. Fawkes is synonymous with the 1605 Gunpowder Plot in which a group of English Catholics tried and failed to assassinate King James, a Protestant. The character was thrust back into popular culture by “V for Vendetta,” a comic book series later adapted into a film starring Natalie Portman.
Guy Fawkes Night is still commemorated in England every year on Nov. 5, which this year also happens to be Election Day here.
“And that's going to be really a great thing to remember,” Wiley said.
