2012 Libertarian congressional candidate now running as a liberal Democrat

Michael Cole

Michael Cole was a 2012 Libertarian Party congressional candidate who ran in Texas’s newly created 36th district. The election was won by Steve Stockman, who was endorsed by the Constitution Party’s 2008 and 2004 presidential candidates Chuck Baldwin and Michael Peroutka, respectively, as well as Constitution Party founder Howard Phillips. Stockman supported Ron Paul during his 1988 Libertarian bid for the White House and according to sources reportedly cast a write-in vote for Baldwin in 2008.

Michael Cole received less than the statewide average for Libertarian congressional candidates in Texas in 2012, which was 3.22%. He was endorsed by Gigi Bowman’s Liberty Candidates in that race. In the questionnaire he answered for the website, Cole criticized the Federal Reserve, spoke against corporate welfare, stimulus money, nation-building, criticized the U.N. and spoke in favor of reinstating the election of U.S. Senators by state legislators by repealing the 17th amendment. Surprisingly for a Libertarian candidate, when asked about Agenda 21, Cole stated that he had not heard of it.

On July 14th, 2013, Cole posted a photo on his campaign Facebook page indicating he was running as a Democrat for the seat in 2014. Three days later, he posted the following status about Obamacare:

The landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA) began delivering important new benefits and protections to tens of millions of American families almost immediately after it was signed into law by President Obama. But the largest benefits of the law will become available to consumers on October 1, 2013, when
health insurance marketplaces open in all 50 states. These marketplaces will offer individuals, families, and small businesses an efficient, transparent one-stop shop to compare health insurance policies, receive financial assistance, and sign up for high-quality, affordable, and secure insurance coverage.

Then, on July 30th, Cole posted the following photo:

Afterwards, several donating pleas appearing on the page asking supporters to help “turn Texas blue.” On August 9th, the popular liberal website Daily Kos ran a positive article about Cole’s campaign. It can be found here.