CAIRO, Ga. (Heartland Newsfeed via press release) — The first Libertarian to receive over a million votes at the state level is taking a crack at the Libertarian presidential nomination, according to a press release Tuesday.

The candidate, John Monds, received over a million votes in his 2008 Libertarian campaign for public service commissioner in Georgia. Monds would later run for governor in 2010 and set history as the first African-American candidate to appear on the ballot in Georgia. To date, Monds has earned over 1.8 million votes as a Libertarian candidate.

Monds — a Cairo resident with his wife of 21 years, Kathaleena, and children Akintunde, Cazembe, Halima and Malik — is a graduate of Morehouse College with a degree in business administration, with a concentration on banking and finance. However, for the past two decades, Monds has homeschooled his children and have seen two of his students receive their college degrees.

Monds is active in his community and in his hobbies, which include Habitat for Humanity, the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and the NAACP, as well as his hobbies of gardening, genealogy and driving classic Volkswagens.

An active member of the Libertarian Party since 2005, he became a Libertarian after reading through the party platform of all political parties active in the state of Georgia and noticed the party is “serious about freedom.”

“I am running for president to take a stand for individual liberty,” Monds stated, who was inspired by great-great-grandparents Columbus and Morning Ferguson, who were slaves on the Ferguson farm based in Talbot County. “I am running to honor them and all the other freedom fighters.”

“John Monds has been an incredible voice for Libertarians in Georgia,” said Ryan Graham, Libertarian Party of Georgia chairman. “I look forward to seeing him extend that influence to a national scale [by] energizing supporters of libertarian principles.”

Monds joins a roster of candidates including Vermin Supreme, Dan Behrman, Jacob Hornberger, Mark Whitney and Adam Kokesh.

The Libertarian National Committee will select their nominee at their upcoming national convention over Memorial Day weekend in Austin, Tex.

Media inquiries may be forwarded to campaign director Doug Craig by calling (770) 861-5855 or by emailing doug@monds2020.com.