Libertarian presidential hopeful former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is a few steps closer to having a competitive campaign.
Advertisement
Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld won the Libertarian Party Vice President nomination on Sunday afternoon and will be on the party’s ticket with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Weld, the former Governor of MA, had up until recently been a Republican. The move could give the little-known party more visibility in a year when many voters say they’re open to new options. Prior to teaming up with Johnson, Weld had endorsed Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich for President. Either of those candidates would have been significantly less mainstream than the Johnson/Weld tickets.
When it came to Trump, Johnson got fired up and said the presumptive Republican nominee’s immigration policies are “just racist”.
“Whoever allowed me in this debate tonight made the worst mistake of their life”, McAfee told CNN in an interview. During their presidential debate on Saturday night, the candidates didn’t really fight with each other. And he received the longest boos from the raucous crowd when he said he would have signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a huge no-no in a room of Libertarians who believe business owners should have the freedom to discriminate. Libertarians elect their presidential and vice presidential candidates separately. And I am not Republican-light.
“I am fiscally conservative in spades and I am socially liberal in spades”, Johnson told The Associated Press.
Some strategists said Johnson could capture the public’s imagination before the election in November because the major party candidates are substantially disliked.
“I’ve always said, it’s your hard work … your work has gotten us to this point”, Johnson said in his acceptance speech. “I will work as hard as I can to represent all you in this room”.
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”.
Advertisement
“As a believer in individual freedom and keeping government out of personal lives, I simply can not find a legitimate justification for federal laws, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, which “define” marriage”.
