Ohio’s elections chief has cleared the way for Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson to appear on fall ballots in the critical swing state.
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Johnson was the fiscally conservative and socially liberal governor of New Mexico for two terms.
Write-in candidates must file with the state before August 29 to be valid candidates in Ohio.
Trump doesn’t have much respect for the Constitution, Johnson said, adding that he agrees with the assessment of his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld that Trump’s plan to deport illegal immigrants reminds him of the Kristallnacht attack on Jews during World War II. The deadline for independent presidential candidates to file in the state of Oho is August 22. Libertarian leaders said they gathered signatures under Earl’s name because when they started circulating petitions, Johnson had yet to win the party’s nomination.
The Libertarian Party has not done well enough in recent OH elections to be identified on the ballot.
Johnson’s ballot access had been in question after party activists submitted paperwork and voter signatures earlier this month on behalf of a different candidate.
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But when Johnsons’ supporters first filed their signatures, Earl was listed as their presidential candidate. Richard Duncan, a perennial independent candidate for office from Portage County, also qualified for the presidential ballot.
