Posted on 12/21/2011 5:09:33 AM PST by iowamark
Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party nomination instead, POLITICO has learned.
The former two-term New Mexico governor, whose campaign for the GOP nomination never caught fire, will make the announcement at a press conference in Santa Fe on Dec. 28. Johnson state directors will be informed of his plans on a campaign conference call Tuesday night, a Johnson campaign source told POLITICO.
The move has been expected for weeks — Johnson had run a New Hampshire-centric effort that never got him past a blip in the polls. He appeared at only two nationally televised debates, and only one in which other major candidates took part.
Johnson expressed deep disillusionment with the process as his libertarian message failed to catch fire and he received almost no attention for his bid. He soon began flirting with the Libertarians when it became clear that he was gaining no traction in GOP primaries.
“I’m still in the race,” Johnson told POLITICO last month. “I’m registered in New Hampshire and the intention would be, hope against hope that I would be able to be heard. But there is not much hope.”
Johnson didn’t immediately return a phone call Tuesday.
Johnson has announced the Dec. 28 event on his Facebook page. Campaign spokesman Joe Hunter said only that it would be “a significant announcement.”
Calling news of the switch “the worst kept secret,” Libertarian Party Chairman Mark Hinkle said the Santa Fe event will include a press conference at which Johnson will switch his voter registration to Libertarian.
Johnson’s campaign has been talking to Libertarian officials for months, Hinkle said.
“It looks like it’s definitely going to come to fruition here,” he said.
Hinkle noted that Johnson remained a dues-paying member of the Libertarian Party while serving as the Republican governor of New Mexico.
Johnson’s efforts to attract attention included a bicycle tour of New Hampshire and web ads that described him as the ideological heir to libertarian hero Ron Paul.
Johnson’s view mirror Paul’s, though he is more hands-off on social issues, opposing government restrictions on abortion. Like Paul, he opposes all drug laws and the nation’s participation in overseas efforts to stop cultivation of coca and poppy plants.
Now, Johnson will seek the Libertarian nod at the party’s national convention in Las Vegas in May. Party officials said last month that they are holding out hope that Paul and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura would contend for their nomination, though Paul is now the GOP front-runner in Iowa and Ventura is vacationing at his home in Mexico, where he does not have a telephone or an Internet connection.
Libertarian executive director Wes Benedict said Johnson will need to compete for the nomination at the party’s convention in Las Vegas the first weekend next May, but was happy to have him join the process.
“I’m always delighted when the Republican Party drives Republicans out of their party and into the Libertarian Party,” Benedict said.
Libertarians, who were on the ballot in 45 states, are aiming to be on the ballot in all 50 for 2012. One problem Johnson could face is so called “sore loser” laws that will keep him from appearing as a third party candidate next November because he’s already on the GOP primary ballots in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan and Missouri.
According to a Public Policy Polling survey of New Mexico conducted Dec. 10-12, Johnson as a Libertarian candidate could impact the vote in his home state.
PPP found Johnson would draw between 26 and 30 percent of GOP votes, between 12 and 16 percent of Democratic votes and win independents, in a race with either Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich as the GOP nominee.
Johnson on the ballot would help Obama win New Mexico, typically a swing state, by a 17-point margin, PPP found.
Let’s see the debates between him and Ron Paul.
That should be a good half hour of entertainment.
Total narcissism. The guy can’t win. Third party libertarians will ensure an Obama win.
Here’s another jerk trying to get Obama reelected.
^insure
Don't care. The decrepit, corrupt GOP needs a good scouring, or else all we'll get is more RINOs.
Someone to vote for if the general election comes down to Obama vs. Romney?
The question mark is because I don’t know very much about Johnson but I for damn sure won’t be voting Obama or Romney.
As the article notes, he could have an effect in New Mexico.
Okay, if I were Gary Johnson and I really thought I could pull 25 or 30 percent of the GOP vote against the current leaders, I’d roll the dice, stay in and see if I could build on that.
The LIBERALarian Party will help O win, which is what their MO is. The LP always kill the Republican candidates. I was a LP member, but I went back to the GOP.
Third party libertarians will ensure an Obama win.
Not him though. The only one who will result in Obama winning is if Ron Paul decides to run. However, why are you upset about the Libertarians running? They run every election. They are a party that provides a candidate. This time they are doing it again. I am not worried about Johnson at all. Are you really??? Don’t forget that the Third party gave us Bush II in 2000. Had Nader not run, we would have lost. So in that case, I was glad to not have Gore for President in 2000.
After mulling it over, I think this is a good thing. Paul would draw more votes on the Libertarian Ballot, but he is unlikely dislodge Johnson who will already be practically acclaimed.
Not really. He will help the Republicans. Did you see how bad he was in the debate. If he wins the Libertarian nomination then we don’t have to worry about person who has a chance to get really get some votes getting that spot.
This guy in the one debate was like the stuttering lawyer on My Cousin Vinny.
Ensure was correct.
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