Gary Johnson was selected as the 2016 Libertarian presidential nominee Sunday in Orlando.
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At the Libertarian Party’s convention in Orlando, Florida, Johnson failed to receive the necessary 50 percent of the vote the first time around, though he was pretty close with 49.5. “Where’s that representation? Well, I happen to think it’s libertarian”, Johnson told reporters.
The Libertarian Party convention saw an unexpected striptease after a candidate for the party chair began dancing and stripping down to a thong during his two minute speech.
The Libertarian Party thinks it’s trending upward, too.
If Johnson reaches 15 percent support in five national polls, he could be included in the general election debates to argue his case as a Libertarian candidate, according to The Atlantic.
In announcing his run for the White House in January on Fox Business, Johnson said that the nation’s biggest issue is its increasing debt. “I would cut back on military interventions that have the unintended outcome of making us less safe in the world”.
Despite a poor performance over the years, the Libertarian party has drawn more attention this year as American voters are increasingly seeking alternatives to likely Democratic nominees Hillary Clinton and her presumptive Republican rival Donald Trump, both of whom suffer from unprecedentedly low favorability ratings.
Last year, the Libertarian and Green parties sued the debate commission, alleging that it has created a political “duopoly” that makes a successful third-party bid for the White House impossible. In addition to immigration participants particularly took issue with Trump’s stated positions on worldwide trade and national security – all of which stand in firm opposition to a party that tends to favor lax immigration restrictions, free trade and is skeptical of military intervention.
Sharpe took the stage after Weld and offered his support for the Johnson campaign.
Trump was a frequent target of criticism of many Libertarians at the weekend convention.
Bill Weld speaking to media at the Libertarian National Convention. Johnson, who raised a little over $2 million for his run in 2012, went on to say he was glad to have running mate Weld on his team, because he “is a far greater fundraiser than I am”.
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The selection of Johnson and Weld was contentious.
