Clearwater resident Lucas Overby likes to say he's a U.S. congressional candidate because he never made it as a rock star.

At 27, the husband and father has ditched the mohawk from his band days, but still shows off more than a handful of tattoos. Overby, a Libertarian, will likely add one to his collection after he faces off against Democrat Alex Sink and Republican David Jolly in the March 11 special election to fill the late C.W. Bill Young's seat.

"It's fun to be able to look back on the road map of your life," he said. "Win or lose, I'm going to get something to commemorate."

The son of a commercial diver and homemaker, this is Overby's first run for office. A commercial diver himself and a 2004 graduate of Lakewood High School, Overby studied at Florida Atlantic University and St. Petersburg College, but did not graduate from either institution.

He faces a different set of challenges than his well-funded opponents, not the least of which is answering basic questions about his party.

He joined the Libertarian Party of Florida at age 17 as part of a high school civics project. Overby was drawn to their goal to reduce the federal government's power over states and individual liberty. Libertarians generally favor federal government's involvement in granting civil rights like marriage equality, which Overby supports.

Overby calls himself a pragmatic Libertarian, which means in Congress he would consider party ideals without strictly adhering to them. For example, although he wants to eliminate the income tax, he acknowledged that isn't likely to happen anytime soon. There's a range of Libertarian beliefs from pragmatists to hardliners, some of whom oppose federal involvement even in maintaining traffic laws and voting.

"It's inappropriate to assume that we can stamp one overall solution to something and go, 'It's either this or nothing,' " Overby said, referring to strategies other Libertarians have used. "Usually we get nothing."

Libertarians are a "potent force" even if they don't garner many votes at the polls, said Darryl Paulson, a professor emeritus of government at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

"Just a few years ago, the Libertarians ran more candidates for legislative office in the state of Florida than they've ever ran before."

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Libertarian Lucas Overby eyes Pinellas congressional seat