Erika was born and raised in West Virginia, the daughter of small business owners who instilled in her a strong work ethic and a sense of personal responsibility from a young age. She graduated from Buckhannon-Upshur High School in 1997, where she was actively involved in the band and participated in extracurricular activities such as theatre and Youth in Government.
Following high school, Erika attended West Virginia Wesleyan College, double majoring in Dramatic Arts and Political Science. She later pursued legal studies at the University of Akron, successfully passing the bar exams in both Ohio and West Virginia.
After her education, Erika returned to West Virginia and began her legal career at a litigation firm in Wheeling. She soon opened her own practice in Upshur County.
Today, Erika is the managing member of Klie Law Offices, PLLC, which she runs with her husband, Karl. The firm has expanded to three locations and employs forty people.
Erika lives in Upshur County with her husband, Karl. Their daughter, Iris, is a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College and resides in Clarksburg.
In her leisure time, Erika is actively involved in community and civic organizations ranging from theatre to Head Start and the Chamber of Commerce. She enjoys physical activities, hiking in the West Virginia mountains with her family and their dog, and traveling.
However, she finds great joy in returning home to West Virginia.
Erika's decision to run for office is fueled by her dissatisfaction with the current political climate, which she believes prioritizes party politics and special interests over the needs of West Virginians. Her campaign slogan, "Now is the time," underscores her belief in proactive leadership rather than opposition-based voting.
Erika advocates for reducing government overreach and promoting freedom and liberty, adhering to the state motto, "Montani Semper Liberi" (Mountaineers are always free).
Erika's platform includes significant reductions in unnecessary business regulations and licensing requirements to foster a business-friendly environment in West Virginia. She argues that local businesses and entrepreneurs should not be stifled by bureaucracy and that free markets should dictate economic outcomes without government interference.
Another cornerstone of her platform is ending the drug war and instituting broad criminal justice reforms. Erika believes that non-violent actions should not be criminalized, particularly when they do not involve force or fraud.
She is critical of the current state of emergency and its impact on the state's jails.
Education is a primary focus of Erika's campaign. She supports giving parents and teachers greater authority in choosing educational paths for children, whether it be public, private, charter, or home schooling, emphasizing that the government's role should not obstruct but facilitate educational choice.
The Libertarian Party (LP) was established in August 1971 during gatherings at David F. Nolan's home in Westminster, Colorado, and was officially founded on December 11, 1971, in Colorado Springs.
Influenced by Austrian economist Murray Rothbard, the party was a response to the Nixon administration's policies, the Vietnam War, conscription, and the adoption of fiat money.
The LP promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and a limited government. They advocate for classical liberal principles, positioning themselves as more culturally liberal than Democrats and more fiscally conservative than Republicans.
Their platform includes lowering taxes, abolishing the IRS, reducing national debt, and dismantling the welfare state in favor of private charity.
Civil and Cultural Issues Cultural Policies: The LP supports ending the prohibition of illegal drugs, criminal justice reform, same-sex marriage, and the abolition of capital punishment. They uphold gun ownership rights and advocate for a society where individuals are sovereign over their lives without government-imposed values.
The party emphasizes strong civil liberties, including freedom of speech, unrestricted freedom of the press, and the right to dissent from government. They oppose censorship and support the legalization of victimless crimes like drug use, pornography, prostitution, and gambling.
The LP is also a staunch defender of Second Amendment rights, opposing any restrictions on firearms ownership.
Free Market and Fiscal Conservatism Economic Philosophy: The Libertarian Party supports minimally regulated markets and a less powerful federal government. They advocate for the elimination of minimum wage laws, believing these drive up employment costs.
The party also opposes government subsidies and promotes free-market banking with unrestricted competition.
The LP favors a free market healthcare system without government oversight, supporting the repeal of social insurance policies like Medicare and Medicaid. They argue for dismantling the entire welfare state, encouraging individuals to rely on family, community, or private charity instead.
The LP believes in protecting the environment through private land ownership and conservation efforts, arguing that governments are less accountable for environmental damage. They support free markets and property rights as the best means to stimulate environmental protection and technological innovation.
The party advocates for ending the public school system, promoting education through the free market for greater quality, accountability, and efficiency. They emphasize parental responsibility for children's education, supporting the elimination of corporal punishment in schools and advocating for parental control over educational funding.
The LP supports election systems that represent the electorate more accurately and opposes laws that restrict alternative candidates. They promote direct democracy through referendum and recall processes, opposing tax-financed subsidies to candidates or parties.
Libertarians favor mutual respect between nations, free trade, and non-interventionism. They have called for the withdrawal of American troops from global conflict zones, opposed military interventions like the 2011 Libya intervention, and advocated for withdrawal from NATO.