COLUMBUS — Travis Irvine’s nomination as the Libertarian Party of Ohio’s candidate for governor became official last Friday as the newly re-formed party formally submitted its slate of candidates to Ohio election officials.

Irvine, along with lieutenant governor nominee Todd Grayson, will be the pro-freedom alternative to career politicians Mike DeWine and Richard Cordray on Election Day this November.

“Voters who want real, positive change here in Ohio know they’re not going to get it from Republicans or Democrats,” said Irvine. “We’re offering that change, especially in the areas of criminal justice reform, reducing taxes and regulations, as well as the legalization of marijuana, which will help combat Ohio’s opioid crisis. We also offer different stances from Cordray and DeWine on rolling back Kasich’s Medicaid expansion, making JobsOhio transparent, and protecting Second Amendment rights.”

Earlier this month, the Ohio secretary of state’s office verified the candidate signature petition submitted by the Irvine/Grayson ticket just days after the Libertarian Party regained Ohio ballot access by turning in more than 100,000 signatures collected from voters in all of Ohio’s 88 counties and 16 congressional districts.

Because Ohio’s new restrictive law governing “minor” political parties does not allow Libertarians voters to choose their candidates by primary election, party officials were required to submit a slate of candidates selected from among candidates who filed to run. Irvine was the only Libertarian who filed a petition to run for governor.