Mike ter Maat

{{Redirect|Ter Maat|the Dutch volleyball player|Wouter ter Maat}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Mike ter Maat

| image = Mike Ter Maat on the "LibertyDad" Podcast.jpg

| caption = Ter Maat in 2023

| birth_name = Michael ter Maat

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|6|6}}

| birth_place = Portland, Oregon, U.S.

| party = Republican (before 2010, 2025-present)
Libertarian (2010–2025)

| education = Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (BS, MBA)
George Washington University (MS, PhD)

| website = {{url|miketermaat.com|Campaign website}}

}}

Michael ter Maat (born June 6, 1961){{cite news|url = https://www.al.com/news/2023/03/whats-next-for-libertarians-presidential-hopefuls-bring-platforms-of-decriminalizing-drugs-ranked-choice-voting-to-alabama.html|title = What's next for Libertarians? Presidential hopefuls bring platforms of decriminalizing drugs, ranked choice voting to Alabama|last = Sharp|first = John|date = March 23, 2023|accessdate = May 29, 2024|work = AL.com}}{{Cite web |title=Vote Smart {{!}} Facts For All |url=https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/196362/mike-ter-maat |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Vote Smart}} is an American businessman, political candidate, former economist, and retired police officer. A former member of the Libertarian Party, he was the running mate to presidential nominee Chase Oliver in the 2024 presidential election.{{Cite web |last=Boehm |first=Eric |date=May 27, 2024 |title=Chase Oliver is the Libertarian Party's Presidential Pick |url=https://reason.com/2024/05/26/chase-oliver-is-the-libertarian-partys-presidential-pick/ |access-date=May 27, 2024 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Nick |date=May 27, 2024 |title=Libertarian Party chooses Chase Oliver as presidential nominee |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4687416-libertarian-party-chooses-chase-oliver-as-presidential-nominee/ |access-date=May 27, 2024 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}} He switched his affiliation to the Republican Party and joined the Republican Liberty Caucus in 2025.{{cite news |last1=Crisp |first1=Elizabeth |title=Libertarian Party’s 2024 VP nominee announces he’s joining GOP |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5342343-libertarian-mike-termaat-joins-republican-party/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=The Hill |date=10 June 2025}}

Career

Ter Maat received his Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering (1982) and Master of Business Administration in management (1983) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Master of Science (1989) and Doctor of Philosophy (1992), both in economics, from George Washington University.{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2021 |title=Questionnaire: Mike ter Maat, Libertarian for U.S. House, District 20 |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2021/12/15/questionnaire-mike-ter-maat-libertarian-for-us-house-district-20/ |access-date=May 28, 2024 |website=Sun Sentinel |language=en-US}}

He was a financial economist for the White House Office of Management and Budget from 1989 to 1992. He served as a Senior Economist and Group Director, Information Products for the American Bankers Association from 1992 to 2002. He founded Foreword Financial and served as its program development director from 2002 to 2008. From 2008 to 2010, ter Maat served as an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University and Barry University. He served as a police officer for the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida from 2010 to 2021, after which he retired and moved to Kinsale, Virginia.

Political campaigns

=2022 U.S. House of Representatives campaign=

Previously a Republican,{{cite web|url=https://www.corsicanadailysun.com/news/libertarian-candidate-speaks-to-party-members/article_1e376c7e-3dc0-11ed-843d-5bf027d202c1.html|title=Libertarian candidate speaks to party members|date=September 27, 2022|accessdate=May 31, 2024|last=Archibald |first=Mark|work=Corsicana Daily Sun}} ter Maat first ran for office as a Libertarian during Florida's 20th congressional district's special election in 2022, where he earned 0.7% of the vote.{{Cite web |title=Election Results Data Extract Utility |url=https://results.elections.myflorida.com/downloadresults.asp?ElectionDate=1/11/2022&DATAMODE= |access-date=May 28, 2024 |website=results.elections.myflorida.com}}

Regarding his run for Congress, ter Maat commented, "one of the biggest problems we have as a nation is our deepening political divide and that as a Libertarian, I am particularly well-positioned to contributing to bridging this chasm."{{Cite web |date=August 30, 2021 |title=Questionnaire: Mike ter Maat, Libertarian Candidate for U.S. House, District 20 • Tamarac Talk |url=https://tamaractalk.com/mike-ter-maat-libertarian-candidate-u-s-house-25906 |access-date=May 28, 2024 |website=tamaractalk.com |language=en-US}}

=2024 presidential campaign=

File:Mike ter Maat for President Logo.jpg.]]

Ter Maat began his campaign seeking the 2024 Libertarian Party presidential nomination in June 2022. At the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, he finished third for president among ten nominated candidates and several write-ins.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kmZVRWpr20 |title=Libertarian Party National Convention 2024 Day 3 |date=May 26, 2024 |last=Libertarian Party |access-date=May 28, 2024 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-27 |title=Libertarians Pick Chase Oliver, Finalizing Texas Ballot |url=https://www.amarillopioneer.com/blog/2024/5/27/libertarians-pick-chase-oliver-finalizing-texas-presidential-ballot |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=The Amarillo Pioneer |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Trump, RFK Jr. in split-screen showdown at Libertarian National Convention |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-rfk-jr-split-screen-showdown-libertarian-national/story?id=110533708 |access-date=May 31, 2024 |work=ABC News }}

=2024 vice presidential candidacy=

After being eliminated for the Libertarian presidential nomination, ter Maat endorsed Chase Oliver for the nomination and accepted Oliver's offer to run as his vice presidential running mate after voicing dissatisfaction with the strategy employed by the Mises Caucus, which endorsed Michael Rectenwald for president.{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/26/politics/libertarian-nominee-chase-oliver/index.html|title=Chase Oliver wins Libertarian Party presidential nomination|work=CNN|date=May 26, 2024|accessdate=May 28, 2024|last=Pellish|first=Aaron}} Ter Maat received 51.3% in the second round of voting, defeating runner-up Clint Russell who received 47% of the vote.{{cite web|last=Winger|first=Richard|authorlink=Richard Winger|date=May 26, 2024|url=https://ballot-access.org/2024/05/26/mike-ter-maat-wins-the-libertarian-party-vice-presidential-nomination/|title=Mike Ter Maat Wins the Libertarian Party Vice-Presidential Nomination|work=Ballot Access News|accessdate=May 28, 2024}}

Economist

After working for the American Bankers Association and the White House, ter Maat published The economics of e-cash in IEEE Spectrum, a journal published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in February 1997 and cited by publications including the Association for Computing Machinery and patents including for an internet payment system using smart card.{{Cite journal |last=ter Maat |first=Mike|date = February 1997 |accessdate=May 27, 2024 |title=The economics of e-cash |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/570836 |journal=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=68–73|doi=10.1109/6.570836 |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Subramanian |first=Hemang |date=December 27, 2017 |title=Decentralized blockchain-based electronic marketplaces |url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3158333 |journal=Communications of the ACM |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=78–84 |doi=10.1145/3158333 |issn=0001-0782|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite patent|number=US6282522B1|title=Internet payment system using smart card|gdate=2001-08-28|invent1=Davis|invent2=Cutino|invent3=Berg|invent4=Conklin|inventor1-first=Virgil M.|inventor2-first=Suzanne C.|inventor3-first=Michael J.|inventor4-first=Fredrick Sidney|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US6282522B1/en}} He is an Austrian economist who advocates for a shift in monetary policy to a more laissez-faire model during times of recession.{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2023 |title=Workers worried about a 'looming recession' pick up more side hustles |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/workers-worried-about-a-looming-recession-pick-up-more-side-hustles-180455684.html |access-date=May 27, 2024 |website=Yahoo Finance |language=en-US}}

In a one-on-one debate, transcribed by The Korea IT Times, with international relations scholar and independent presidential candidate Emanuel Pastreich, ter Maat asserted that "The problem is that a collapse of the federal government will lead to a collapse of financial markets all over the world, especially if the bond market dips and the US dollar collapses".{{Cite web |date=May 14, 2024 |title=Presidential Debate about Real Issues: Libertarian Ter Maat vs. Independent Pastreich |url=https://www.koreaittimes.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=131347 |access-date=May 29, 2024 |website=Korea IT Times}}

Books

Ter Maat is the editor and co-author of:

ter Maat, M., Borders, M., Consorte, D., Mavrakakis, I., Sharpe, L., Sammeroff, A., Paige, R., Jiminez, A.. A Gold New Deal: The Government We Will Tolerate. Amazon, Independently published, December 30, 2023.{{Cite book |last1=Maat |first1=Mike ter |url=https://www.amazon.com/Gold-New-Deal-Government-Tolerate/dp/B0CR8CM488/ |title=A Gold New Deal: The Government We Will Tolerate |last2=Borders |first2=Max |last3=Consorte |first3=Dennis |last4=Mavrakakis |first4=Irene |last5=Sharpe |first5=Larry |last6=Sammeroff |first6=Antony |last7=Paige |first7=Russell O. |last8=Jiminez |first8=Adolfo |date=December 30, 2023 |publisher=Independently published |isbn=979-8-8726-2349-6 |language=English}}