Petersen's early career included stints as a model and as a product demonstrator at FAO Schwarz; at the latter position, he briefly appeared during a Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketch filmed at the store.[5]
Petersen served as an executive producer of the 2014 film Alongside Night, an adaptation of the novel of the same name which promoted agorism, an anarcho-capitalist political philosophy. Several prominent Libertarian figures, such as Ron Paul and Adam Kokesh, appeared in the film.
Post 2016-activities
As of 2018, Petersen was the owner and CEO of a photo and video consulting firm called Stonegait LLC[citation needed] and is the founder of The Libertarian Republic and Liberty Viral – both libertarian news and commentary websites.[citation needed] He ran for the United States Senate as a Republican in 2018, but was defeated in the primary by Missouri's Attorney General Josh Hawley.[8] In 2019, Austin Petersen took over as the host of the KWOS Morning Show on Jefferson City but stepped down to host the Wake Up America show in September 2022.
Petersen called himself the Bernie Sanders of the Libertarian Party due to his grassroots fundraising strategy.[12][13] After Ted Cruz terminated his campaign for the Republican Party's nomination for president, Petersen received the backing of Mary Matalin and Erick Erickson.[14][15] In many polls, he placed in the top three presidential choices for his party, along with opponents John McAfee and Gary Johnson. On May 29, 2016, at the Libertarian National Convention, Petersen lost the nomination to Johnson, getting second place on the second ballot.[16] Petersen congratulated Johnson on the win and gave him a replica of George Washington's pistol. Petersen then criticized Johnson's vice presidential pick Bill Weld, in response to which Johnson placed the replica into a garbage can.[17][18]
In late June 2017, Petersen filed an exploratory committee to consider running for the U.S. Senate seat in Missouri.[20] On July 4, 2017, Petersen formally announced his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2018 Missouri Senate race.[21]
Petersen also reportedly received the national record for the largest Bitcoin donation in American campaign history.[27]
Fox News reported in January 2018 that Petersen was one of two "potential general election challengers" in the election.[28]
Petersen officially filed with the Missouri Secretary of State for the US Senate seat as a Republican on February 28, 2018.[29]
On March 6, Petersen announced a new AR-15 raffle on Facebook. His personal page was banned after the livestream was recorded.[23] In July he announced a raffle for a machine, similar to a 3-D printer, that can produce "untraceable gun parts". His campaign said 3-D printing technology has been described as the "end of gun control".[30]
In the runup to the Republican primary election in August, President Donald Trump endorsed Petersen's rival Josh Hawley and campaigned for him. Petersen complained bitterly about Trump's involvement in the primary.[31] In the August 7 primary Petersen came in third with 8.3% of the vote.[32]
On social media and in interviews, Petersen has described himself variously as an agnostic and an atheist.[40][41][42] He grew up as a Christian, though in a 2016 interview with Glenn Beck, Petersen spoke about how the death of his mother changed his religious views: "When I was a young man my mother died, and she was victimized by a pharmacist who diluted her chemotherapy drugs. I lost my faith and I never went back."[43]
^ abc"Petersen at a glance". Petersen for President. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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