Former Gov. Gary Johnson, the 2012 Libertarian Party nominee for president, announced today that he’s running for president again this year.
Courtesy photo
Gary Johnson
Johnson made the announcement on Fox News on Wednesday. “I am announcing my candidacy right now for the Libertarian nomination,” he said. Johnson was a Republican when he was New Mexico governor but is now a Libertarian.
Johnson received 1,275,971 votes, or 0.99 percent of the national vote, in 2012, according to Politico.
In October, Johnson authored a blog post about why he might run again. He even criticized Libertarian-favorite Rand Paul:
“Is there anything about the current field of candidates that even hints at changing the disastrous trends of recent years? We are seeing only slight nibbles around the edge of a tax code that is fundamentally wrong. An $18 trillion debt that threatens the very underpinnings of our economy and, in fact, our national security, is hardly mentioned, all while the politicians are obsessed with Hillary Clinton’s emails and a County Clerk in Kentucky whose 15 minutes of fame have already lingered for too long.
“There were great hopes in some libertarian corners for Senator Rand Paul. I endorsed his father in 2008, and in fact, urged my Republican supporters in Iowa to support him in 2012. Unfortunately, Rand, in his quest to have one foot in the libertarian camp and the other in the establishment Republican museum, has emerged with a vague mix of positions that is clearly not compelling. There is a price to be paid for selling out – and he is paying it.”