Check the Johnson/Weld marketing. Do you see the word Libertarian? How about the new ad that’s spreading like fire on the internet? Nope, not there…
I first heard the idea of the strict importance of Libertarians (especially) listing their party on campaign signs (and all other advertising) from David Nolan.
“Name – Office – Party.,” David Nolan would declare, using his index, middle, and ring finger on his left hand to count the items out. “Politics 101,” he would declare. I heard this repeatedly in Leadership Institute classes as well, especially if and when I outed myself as a Libertarian to the instructor(s). Two of them specifically come to mind, who brought charts and graphs with them to explain this phenomenon. The idea is, whether it be a presidential or city council race, voters who otherwise would have voted for a Libertarian see the Party ID in the voting booth end up changing their mind ‘in the booth.’ So it is best to always keep party affiliation at the forefront of your marketing.
This phenomenon could be observed when Judge Gray, who had been polled between 6-8% in a California election for a US Senate Seat, wound up getting less than 1% — a ‘record low,’ less than a very obscure third party candidate.
Running away from your party is a costly mistake.