The Libertarian Party of New York has elected Andrew Kolstee of Jamestown as its state chairman.

The election was held at the party’s 50th convention at the Sheraton Hotel in Niagara Falls. There, the newly elected State Committee convened.

Kolstee, who is also Chautauqua County Libertarian Party chair, previously served as state secretary (2020-2022) and state communications director (2017-2019) and has served as chair of the Chautauqua County Libertarian Party since 2015. In 2020, he was the party’s candidate for Congress in New York’s 23rd Congressional District. He was also the Southwestern New York Area Field Director for the Gary Johnson for President campaign in 2018 and deputy field director for Western New York for the Larry Sharpe for Governor campaign in 2018.

The convention featured a series of speakers: Larry Sharpe, the party’s 2022 candidate for Governor of New York; Jim Ostrowski, Libertarian attorney and author; Steve Felano, Second Amendment activist; Melissa Heinrich, homeschooling activist; Lyn Ulbricht, political activist and mother of Ross Ulbricht; Hesham El-Meligy, political and national security analyst and Libertarian Party candidate and leader; Mike ter Maat, Libertarian candidate for President in 2024; Patrick Ford, Region 8’s representative to the Libertarian National Committee; and Angela McArdle, Chair of the Libertarian National Committee.