Barbara Howe

Barbara Howe was the Libertarian candidate for Governor of North Carolina in the 2012 election against Pat McCrory and Walter Dalton. She is a former chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina and is a three-time gubernatorial candidate.

Background
Born in Wingate, North Carolina, Howe attended Pfeiffer College, earning degrees in English and psychology. She and her husband, Tom, have been libertarian activists for over 20 years.

Public service
In 2003, Howe served on North Carolina's HAVA (Help America Vote Act) Advisory Committee. In 2008, North Carolina State Auditor Les Merritt nominated Howe to serve on the Local Government Commission (LGC) Task Force on Project Development Financing. Howe is a 1999 graduate of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership.

Pre-2012
In 2000 Howe ran as the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor of North Carolina receiving 42,674 vote for 1.45% of the vote. In 2004, Howe made a second run for Governor receiving 52,513 votes for 1.5% of the total vote. In 2007, she was elected to her third term as state chair, having served two terms previously from 2001 to 2005. Howe also ran for U.S. Senate as a Libertarian candidate in the 1998 United States Senate elections. Howe finished third with 36,963 votes (1.84%). She also made four bids for the North Carolina House of Representatives (1992, 1996, 2002, and 2008 ). In 1996 Howe ran for the 5th district congressional seat, receiving 4,193 votes for 2% of the vote.

2012 Gubernatorial race
Howe ran as the Libertarian Party of North Carolina candidate for Governor of North Carolina against Pat McCrory and Walter Dalton. Her primary platform points are parental choice in education, ending corporate welfare, protecting individual rights, and instituting a moratorium on the death penalty. Howe's plan for North Carolina's economy is to reduce taxes, regulation, and licensing requirements to encourage entrepreneurship and job creation in the private sector. Howe has publicly spoken out against North Carolina Amendment 1 and the War on Drugs.