Top Libertarian officials huddling here are starkly divided between those focused on putting up a viable general election ticket like former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson versus those focused on maintaining ideological purity.

This split -- highlighted by widespread hesitancy from purists around Johnson's running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld -- is threatening to doom this ticket entirely.

All of the national delegates here are free to vote for whichever candidate they want at this weekend's meetings, unlike the two major parties, which bind most delegates according to a primary or caucus process.

Many establishment Libertarians in Florida support a Johnson-Weld ticket because it would give credibility to the party and Weld presents strong fundraising potential, but more radical Libertarians say Weld is just "Republican-lite" and does not align with the core values of the party.

They argue that Libertarians won't win this cycle anyway, but that this time they have a chance to be heard, and that they should therefore nominate a purist who will do the best job of getting their core message across.

The Libertarian ticket, no matter who it is, will face a steep climb in November, as the party got only 1 percent of the vote in 2012. But party leaders cite the unpopularity of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and polls that show Americans more open to a third party than ever before.

Weld debated three other vice presidential hopefuls on Friday night, earning polite applause from the audience but failing to hit Libertarian talking points.

His most colorful line: Weld said that if Donald Trump is elected, the United States "will be the North Korea of the next eight years."

Johnson said he was pleased with the debate.

"I hope Bill Weld is the nominee," he said afterwards. "I think if Bill Weld is the nominee, I think we actually have a chance of winning the presidency."