Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson on Sunday was chosen as the nominee of the Libertarian Party at its convention in Orlando, Florida. During the first round, he received 49.5 percent of the vote and was followed by consultant Austin Petersen, who had 21.3 percent support.
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Johnson, as the Libertarian presidential candidate in 2012, won one percent of the vote when President Barack Obama won re-election to a second term over Republican Mitt Romney.
Despite never attracting more than about 1 percent of the presidential vote, a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showed nearly half of the country is interested in the possibility of a third party alternative, with Johnson gathering 10 percent support in a recent Fox News poll. Recent polls that pit Johnson against Clinton and Trump show him receiving around 10 percent of the vote.
In addition to the presidential fight, the Orlando convention was also highlighted by a candidate for party chairman named James Weeks – who stripped on stage.
According to the latest Washington Post and ABC polls, up to 51 percent of Americans want a third-party candidate to run in 2016 election, and Johnson wants to capitalize on this sentiment.
Like Johnson, it took Weld two ballots to secure the nomination.
After all, the Republican nominee is Donald Trump, a man who people in his own party have called everything from a “con artist” to “utterly immoral”. While there, I was also part of a small group that met with Governor Johnson.
“Please, give me Bill Weld”, Johnson said.
Johnson was the party’s nominee in 2012 and has been viewed as the likely standard-bearer this time around, despite backlash from the party’s more radical Libertarian wing. I’m very pleased with everything he’s come out and said so far.
Johnson is now polling at 10% across the country.
Trump, the apparent Republican presidential nominee, headlined an event honoring veterans, missing in action and prisons of war on Sunday.
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On fiscal matters, Libertarians push for reduced spending and taxes, saying the federal government has become too big across the board. He finished second to Democrat Woodrow Wilson, the only time a third party candidate has done that well.
