R. Lee Wrights

Wrights died on May 4, 2017 after a lengthy illness.

Wrights died at age 58 on May 4, 2017, following a series of health ailments.

In autumn of 2013, Wrights announced his candidacy for Governor of Texas in the 2014 election. In January 2014, he withdrew his candidacy, citing fundraising difficulties.

Wrights was elected National Vice Chair of Libertarian National Committee (LNC) in May 2012. He previously held that position from 2004 to 2006.

At the 2012 Libertarian National Convention, Wrights was defeated for the LP presidential nomination by former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, finishing second in the balloting with 25% of the delegate votes.

On April 16, 2011, Wrights officially announced his candidacy for the Libertarian presidential nomination in the election of 2012. Wrights supported a non-interventionist foreign policy. The stated focus of his campaign was to "stop all war", referring not only to war with foreign nations, but also to war on the American people and their civil liberties waged by the U.S. government. His campaign slogan was "I am not at war". Wrights also advocated abolition of the national income tax and added that he would "replace it with...nothing."

Wrights served as an at-large member of the LNC. During his time on the LNC, Wrights also served four years on the platform committee. He served as a member of the Libertarian Party judicial committee, elected to that body at the 2010 national convention.

In July 2010, Wrights announced the formation of an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for a potential bid for the 2012 Libertarian Party presidential nomination.

Wrights was formerly the chair of the Burnet County, Texas LP and was the Senate District 24 representative to the Texas LP State Executive Committee. In 2008, Wrights was campaign manager for the Mary Ruwart for President Committee, and in 2010, he managed Ruwart's campaign for Texas State Comptroller.

From 2005 to 2008, Wrights worked as editor of the Choice Channel for the International Society for Individual Liberty.

In 2001 Wrights began work as an editor of the Free Market Daily, an e-mail newsletter distributed by FreeMarket.net. After FreeMarket.net shut down in 2002, Wrights joined a group that began the Rational Review News Digest, a daily web and email-based news and commentary roundup. He has been an editor of the Rational Review News Digest ever since.

Wrights founded Liberty For All with J. Michael Bragg in 2000, a free speech publication with the motto "Let Your Voice Be Heard" which claims "no one is turned away and no one is censored".

Wrights was active in local, state and national Libertarian Party organizations since 2000 and was a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party. He served as secretary and chair of the Libertarian Party of Forsyth County, N.C. and was vice chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina (LPNC) for seven years. He also served as the LPNC ballot access director for two years.

Wrights had two daughters; Annie Jane (b. 1981), and Kelcy Leigh (b. 1995). He worked as a carpenter and a bartender.

Roger Lee Wrights (June 8, 1958 – May 4, 2017) was an American politician, activist and political consultant. He was the founder, editor, and publisher of the online libertarian newsletter Liberty For All. He was the National Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee, serving several different times in that role. Wrights was an unsuccessful contender for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, finishing as first runner-up to the eventual nominee Gary Johnson. He was briefly a candidate for Governor of Texas in 2014.

Wrights was born on June 8, 1958 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He graduated from West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina in 1976. Afterwards he enlisted in the United States Air Force, and served as a medical services technician at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina. He was honorably discharged in 1981 with the rank of sergeant.