2020 U.S. House campaign

Oliver first ran for public office in 2020, as the Libertarian nominee for the 2020 Georgia's 5th congressional district special election to replace John Lewis, who had died from pancreatic cancer earlier that year. He won 2% of the vote and was eliminated during the blanket primary.^[12]

2022 U.S. Senate campaign

After becoming the Libertarian nominee for the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Georgia, Oliver faced off against the incumbent Democratic Raphael Warnock and Republican Party challenger Herschel Walker.^[1][13] On October 16, 2022, he attended a debate hosted by Georgia Public Broadcasting and debated against Warnock, as well as an empty podium representing Walker, who had declined to attend the debate.^[14]

On election day, Oliver received over 2% of the popular vote, possibly acting as a spoiler candidate and forcing the Georgia senate race into a run-off.^[3] In the runoff election, he declined to endorse either Warnock or Walker, but offered to host a internet forum between the two candidates.^[15] Rolling Stone called him the most influential Libertarian of the year.^[10]

2024 presidential campaign

On December 2, 2022, Oliver announced his formation of an exploratory committee to inquire into a possible run for the Libertarian presidential nomination in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.^[16] He formally declared his candidacy on April 4, 2023.^[17][18]

Oliver campaigned extensively in Iowa during the summer of 2023.^[19][20] The Gazette described him as a "pro-gun, pro-police reform, pro-choice Libertarian" who is "armed and gay."^[21] On August 19, 2023, he spoke at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, becoming the first-ever third-party presidential candidate to speak at the event.^[22][11]

Oliver filed to run in Oklahoma's "first Libertarian presidential primary election since the party was formally recognized in 2016". Alongside fellow Libertarian primary candidate Jacob Hornberger, Oliver achieved ballot access by collecting signatures from voters in each Congressional district.^[23][24] He won the Oklahoma primary, which was held on Super Tuesday, on March 5, 2024, with 61% of the vote.^[25]

Oliver filed to run in Oklahoma's "first Libertarian presidential primary election since the party was formally recognized in 2016". Alongside fellow Libertarian primary candidate Jacob Hornberger, Oliver achieved ballot access by collecting signatures from voters in each Congressional district.^[26][27] He won the Oklahoma primary, which was held on Super Tuesday, on March 5, 2024, with 61% of the vote.^[28]

In January 2024, Oliver and fellow Libertarian presidential primary candidate Lars Mapstead successfully worked together to secure major party status and ballot access for the Libertarian Party of Maine.^[29] Afterwards, Oliver went to Iowa in order to campaign ahead of the 2024 Iowa Libertarian presidential caucuses.^[30][31] He won the Iowa Caucus with 42.7% of the vote.^[32]

On February 29, 2024, Oliver participated in a presidential candidates debate hosted by the Free & Equal Elections Foundation, alongside Party for Socialism and Liberation nominee Claudia De la Cruz, Green Party candidates Jill Stein and Jasmine Sherman, and fellow Libertarian candidate Lars Mapstead.^[33][34]

Abortion

Oliver self-identifies as pro-choice, although he is opposed to taxpayer funding of abortions.^[35] He believes that abortion should be legal nationwide, and he has said he would support legislation to make it so.^[36]

Climate change

Oliver supports a free market solution to climate change. He contends that if businesses are left alone, they will be incentivized to develop technologies that will eventually replace current carbon-based fuels.^[37]

Electoral reform

Oliver is a strong supporter of ranked-choice voting in the United States, which he has said would have prevented the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Georgia from going to a run-off by allowing voters to rank their preferred candidates when they voted the first time. He has also stated that ranked-choice voting would save millions of taxpayer dollars by allowing run-offs to be instant, while ensuring that winning candidates always get above 50% of the vote.^[15]

Gun rights

During a 2022 debate with Warnock, Oliver expressed his support for gun rights, stating: "Armed gays are harder to oppress, and they're harder to bash."^[37]

War on drugs

Oliver advocates for ending the war on drugs, and supports the legalization of marijuana.^[38][39]

Police reform

Oliver supports ending qualified immunity for law enforcement at the federal level.^[21]

Immigration

Oliver supports an "Ellis Island-style immigration" system, stating: "If you're coming here to work and be peaceful, it's not my business."^[20]

Education

Oliver supports abolishing the United States Department of Education, and advocates "for more choice in the education marketplace on a state-by-state basis".^[2]

Homelessness

Oliver supports removing regulatory barriers that prevent people and organizations from feeding people experiencing homelessness.^[7]

Third-parties

Oliver was a contributing author in the September 23, 2023 article "Do Third Parties Help or Harm Democracy?", published by the nonprofit news organization Divided We Fall. In the article, Oliver discussed the strategic position the Libertarian Party holds for the 2024 election season, third-party ballot access, and how the Libertarian Party platform parallels important issues of other third-party platforms, namely the Green Party of the United States and Forward Party (United States), such as ranked choice voting, immigration, cannabis legalization, and LGBTQ+ rights.^[40]