Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Former Gov. Gary Johnson Launches Presidential Bid as Libertarian

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is running for president again.

By Steve Terrell

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is running for president again.

Johnson, who was governor from 1995 to 2002, announced his bid for the Libertarian Party nomination Wednesday morning on the Fox Business network's Cavuto Coast to Coast. He was interviewed from the New Mexico Capitol's television studio and spoke to local reporters afterward.

"I believe the majority of Americans are fiscally conservative and socially liberal, the definition of classic liberal," said Johnson, 62, who made his first bid for president in 2012, first as a Republican and then as a Libertarian. "I'm a classic liberal. Is there any Republican candidate who is a classic liberal? No. Is there a Democrat who's fiscally conservative? No."

He told reporters that he believes Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee and that there is a good chance billionaire Donald Trump will win the Republican nomination.

"At the end of the day, on my deathbed, I will have been the voice of reason, and I will die believing that," Johnson said. "I believe the majority of Republicans do not agree with what Donald Trump has to say, yet with plurality voting being what it is, he could well be the nominee."

Johnson was a two-term governor. He was a Republican until late 2011, when he switched to the Libertarian Party after being excluded from Republican presidential debates.

Johnson received 3.5 percent of the vote in New Mexico in the 2012 presidential election, but less than 1 percent nationally.

He said he believes an antitrust lawsuit, filed last year in federal court in Washington, D.C., against the Commission on Presidential Debates, will make it possible for the Libertarian nominee to be included in the general election debates this fall. If that happens, he said, he can win votes from those in the major parties who are dissatisfied with their own candidates.

Johnson filed a similar suit in federal court in California during the 2012 election, but it was not heard in time for the debates.

The former governor is facing more competition for the Libertarian nomination this year. He said there are about 20 other candidates. One of those is John McAfee, the colorful computer programmer who developed the first commercial antivirus program.

Reflecting on his last run for the presidency, Johnson said, "I am not repeating what turned out to be an ineffective run last time. In retrospect, 90 percent of the time I spent running for president last time ended up to be wasted time." As an example, he said he spent far too much time on Internet radio, which did not have large enough audiences to justify the time he spent there.

He said he plans to spend more time in states like New York that are media centers. "I go to New York for three or four days, and I end up making eight national media appearances, as opposed to going to Iowa or New Hampshire and ... appearing on radio interviews or television interviews."

Earlier this week, the legal marijuana products company that Johnson headed, Cannabis Sativa Inc., announced that the former governor had resigned as director and CEO. Johnson said Wednesday he still owns stock in the company.

(c)2016 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.)

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
Special Projects