Gary Johnson, 63, was just elected as the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee.
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The Libertarian Party will soon pick its presidential nominee from three candidates.
Gary Johnson won the Libertarian presidential nomination on second ballot at the Libertarian National Convention today, and while he expects socially liberal voters will gravitate toward his candidacy, particular constituencies like LGBT activists will need to come to him rather than the other way around. Johnson had also been the Libertarian candidate for president in 2012, but his nomination was far from a cakewalk as the vote had to go to second ballot. Coupled with another poll showing 44% of registered voters would like a 3rd option for president, Johnson might do very well with a field offering Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton…
If Johnson’s support can increase to 15 percent in pre-election polls then he would be the first third-party candidate since Ross Perot in 1992 to participate in the presidential debates. “I’m it.” The candidate for the vice presidency is to be Weld, a well-respected former MA governor who raised tens of thousands of dollars for former Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s presidential runs.
Libertarian National Committee chair Nicholas Sarwark spoke to press following the nomination process, discussing the Libertarian Party’s outreach and fundraising efforts. In a two-way matchup, Clinton leads Trump by 10%, with that lead dropping to 8% with Johnson included.
Bill Weld speaking to media at the Libertarian National Convention.
“Gary will be an outlet for millions of Americans who just can’t fathom the idea of voting for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump”, said Ed Crane, who co-founded the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute.
His vice-presidential running mate will be chosen in a later vote.
For an anti-war party that promotes legalizing marijuana and tearing up the tax code, 2016 has instilled hope among some Libertarians that acceptance in the political mainstream is imminent amid broad discontent with the probable nominees from the major parties.
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.
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Johnson was the party’s nominee in 2012 and once again won the position despite backlash from the party’s more radical Libertarian wing.
