Frazer man seeking Libertarian nomination for president

Sam Robb is only half-joking when he says he’s running for president of the United States because he was left at home unsupervised.

“My wife was out of town, and I’d been joking on and off about running for years,” said Robb, 51, of Frazer, who is seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for president. “Turns out, it was actually very easy to file.”

Robb has been a registered Libertarian for the past eight years after becoming disillusioned with the country’s two major political parties.

“I don’t like the way the country’s going,” he said. “Even before registering Libertarian, I described myself as a conservative with Libertarian leanings. The Republican Party just wasn’t doing what I thought they should be doing, so I threw in the towel and joined the Libertarian Party.”

A former Navy lieutenant and software engineer, Robb’s choice of party makes campaigning a little easier than if he were running as a Democrat or Republican, due to the Libertarian Party structure.

“Going into the national convention, really what you’re doing is campaigning within the party,” Robb said. “So it’s a lot of visiting conventions, visiting delegates who are going to the national convention, and basically making your pitch within the party.”

Even so, in the past month Robb found himself campaigning amid a virus pandemic, and his view of the country’s response hearkens back to the Libertarian philosophy of personal and economic liberty.

“What it comes down to is reduced regulations and free markets,” he said. “If you look at what the government is doing now, they’re removing barriers to developing tests and vaccines for coronavirus. They’re acknowledging that there’s a whole lot of red tape in place that’s now putting people in danger, because it’s keeping people from reacting in a quick and decisive way.”

Robb pointed to the recent relaxation of regulations on drug developers working on treatments for covid-19.

“The question is: if it’s good now, why isn’t it good when we’re not having a pandemic?” he asked. “People still have problems, people are still dying. The question is: Why do we have so much government, and how can we get it out of the way so that people can do what they need to do and help others?”

As he’s taken steps to protect himself and his family by limiting travel and outside contact, Robb is hoping to boost his digital presence and connect with voters online as he continues to pursue his party’s presidential nomination.

“A lot of us have been doing that because, let’s be honest: it’s cheap,” he said. “More town halls, more online chats. The nice thing is, you can put those together really quickly and, then, when they’re over, you can go downstairs and watch TV with your family.”

For more on Robb’s candidacy, see SamRobb2020.com.