The Libertarian Party's candidate for president this year is an activist from Atlanta who would become the nation's youngest commander in chief if he wins his longshot bid for the White House.
Chase Oliver is 38 years old, born on Aug. 16, 1985, according to the Vote Smart website run by the nonprofit Center for National Independence in Politics.
Chase Oliver was nominated Sunday night following seven rounds of voting during a lengthy, contentious day of proceedings at the final day of the Libertarian National Convention in Washington D.C., the Washington Post reported.
He beat "none of the above" with the support of 60% of less than 900 delegates who voted after former New York University professor Michael Rectenwald was eliminated, according to the Post.
That means he would be 39 on Election Day, Nov. 5, and Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025.
Why did Libertarians pick Chase Oliver over RFK Jr.?
On Friday, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a convention speech that drew cheers when he promised to pardon government surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden and drop espionage charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, CBS News reported.
But Kennedy was eliminated in the first round of voting when he got just 2% of the vote, the Post said.
Many delegates reportedly argued that much of his platform — which includes raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, prosecuting "union-busting corporations" and providing free childcare — didn't align with Libertarian values.
In its official Statement of Principles, the Libertarian Party says that it opposes "all interference by government in the areas of voluntary and contractual relations among individuals" and that people "should not be forced to sacrifice their lives and property for the benefit of others."
How old was the youngest president in U.S. history?
Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest person to become president, taking office at 42 when he was elevated from vice president following the 1901 assassination of President William McKinley.
Kennedy's uncle, John F. Kennedy, was the youngest person ever elected president, winning the 1960 race and being inaugurated at 45 before he was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.
Is there an age requirement for being elected president?
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution mandates that candidates must be at least 35 to run for president.
Candidates must also be "natural born" citizens and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
How old are Joe Biden and Donald Trump?
President Joe Biden, the presumptive 2024 Democratic nominee, is 81 and the oldest person elected president, having won the 2020 race weeks before before his 77th birthday.
Former President Donald Trump, Biden's presumptive Republican challenger, is 77 and was the oldest person elected president, at 70, until Biden assumed that title in 2020.
Previously, former President Ronald Reagan held that distinction when he was elected in 1990 at 69.
