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PRESS RELEASE

Major Parties Nominate Libertarian Candidate

CARMICHAEL (June 3, 1998)

In this first "blanket" primary, the Libertarian candidate for State Senate District 6 was chosen by 3 times as many major party voters as Libertarians.

At his campaign headquarters in Carmichael, Gerald Klaas today accepted the Libertarian Party nomination for the State Senate District 6 race.

Mr. Klaas told attendees, "I gladly accept the nomination of the one political party that continues to hold true to the concept of personal liberty as stated in our Constitution and Bill of Rights."

"I thank the 917 Sacramento County Libertarians who made it to the polls yesterday, and especially, I thank the over 3,000 members of other political parties who crossed party lines to vote for me in this first blanket primary. You have proved that in a blanket primary, no one is unopposed. Even though I didn't have opposition within my party, I WAS the opposition for the other parties. I am sure that the results would have been even more impressive had the news media included my positions in their coverage."

"Crossing party lines even when you knew I was already assured the Libertarian nomination makes a clear statement that you want to hear all sides of political debate as early in the election process as possible. It is also a testament to the effectiveness of the Internet in this and future campaigns. As more voters gain access to the Internet, we will start to see effective campaigns waged without huge budgets and the associated corrupting influence of special interest group cash."

"I appreciate the faith you have in my abilities, and I accept your challenge. I will stick to my principles, I will do my best to keep this campaign on the issues, and I will be the first Libertarian elected to the California State Legislature."

The results were similar in other local races involving Libertarians, where major party voters outnumbered the Libertarian voters in choosing the Libertarian party nominee.

Mr. Klaas was born and raised in Sacramento. You will find more of his views online at http://sacto.com

Gerald photo