‘The vote numbers are not insignificant’: NC Libertarian candidates encouraged by amount of votes received

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Since the United States election process began, both Republicans and Democrats have had a tight grip on voters.

However, could that change?

“My whole goal was just to try to let people know that there’s a third option out there,” said Shannon Bray, Libertarian Candidate for U.S. Senate.

Bray ran against Republican incumbent Thom Tillis and Democrat, Cal Cunningham. The race also included Kevin Hayes from the Constitution Party.

Meanwhile, Steven DiFiore ran as a Libertarian against Democrat Governor Roy Cooper and Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest.

“I was tapped actually to run for the governor’s race for the Libertarian Party,” mentioned DiFiore.

No, both Bray and DiFiore didn’t win, but both garnered thousands of votes in a pivotal election as third party candidates.

“I didn’t know what to expect, because I only spent $400 on my campaign. I didn’t ask for any funds and the reason for that is I expected to get spanked and I didn’t want to go to hard-working people,” Bray explained.

According to results, Bray pulled in 167,968 votes. Which is more than the 96,688 vote margin between Tillis and Cunningham.

Meanwhile, DiFiore received 58,818 votes in the Gubernatorial race. Both Bray and DiFiore said it’s a sign of people wanting other options.

“The vote numbers are not insignificant. There is that pent up demand for something different,” DiFiore mentioned.

As for the race for the White House, as of Wednesday, Libertarian Jo Jorgensen received more than 1.6 million votes. Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins pulled in 327,575 votes.

“So, ever since 2000 you kind of see those two parties [Republicans and Democrats] separate and they are getting further apart. there’s a huge divide and the libertarian party is actually the aisle,” Bray explained.