Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2012

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Gary Johnson
Our America Initiative · 2012 presidential campaign · Political positions
Gary Johnson 2012
GaryJohnson2012.GIF
Campaign U.S. presidential election, 2012
Candidate Gary Johnson
Former Governor of New Mexico
Affiliation Libertarian Party
Headquarters Santa Fe, New Mexico
Key people Jim Gray (Running mate)
Ron Neilsen (senior advisor)[1][2]
Receipts US$600,000 (2011-12-31)
Slogan The People's President
Website
Gary Johnson 2012

Former Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico declared his candidacy for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States on April 21, 2011. On December 28, 2011, Johnson withdrew his candidacy for the Republican nomination, and declared his candidacy for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. The 2012 Libertarian National Convention was held during the first weekend of May 2012. On May 5, 2012, Johnson received the most votes at the convention to become the official 2012 Libertarian presidential nominee.

Background

Johnson initially indicated interest in running for president in the 2012 election in 2009.[3][4] In October of that year, he founded the Our America Initiative, a 501(c)(4) "nonprofit political advocacy committee that promotes common-sense business approaches to governing." The stated focus of the organization was to "...speak out on issues regarding topics such as government efficiency, lowering taxes, ending the war on drugs, protecting civil liberties, revitalizing the economy and promoting entrepreneurship and privatization".[5] The move prompted speculation among media pundits and Johnson's supporters as to whether he was laying the groundwork for a 2012 presidential run.[6][7][8]

In December 2009, Johnson hired strategist Ronald T. Nielson of NSON Opinion Strategy to organize the committee. Nielson has worked with Johnson since 1993 when he ran his successful gubernatorial campaign.[9]

Throughout 2010, Johnson repeatedly deflected questions regarding his potential presidential candidacy by explaining that his 501(c)(4) status forbade him from expressing a desire to run for federal office.[10][11][12] Despite his evasiveness on the subject, speculation of a 2012 presidential bid by Johnson continued to be fueled by his increasing outspokeness concerning key issues affecting the United States, particularly "the size and cost of government" and the "deficits and debt that truly threaten to consume the U.S. economy, and which represent the single greatest threat to our national security."[13]

In February 2011, Johnson was a featured speaker at both the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and the Republican Liberty Caucus.[14][15] Johnson tied with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for third in the CPAC Straw Poll, trailing only Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. In that poll, he placed ahead of such notables as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and former Alaska Governor and 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.[16]David Weigel of Slate called Johnson the second-biggest winner of the conference, writing that his "third-place showing in the straw poll gave Johnson his first real media hook ... He met tons of reporters, commanded a small scrum after the vote, and is a slightly lighter shade of dark horse now."[17]

Campaign developments

Announcement

On April 21, 2011 Johnson officially announced via Twitter that he was running for president.[18] He followed this announcement with a speech at the New Hampshire State House in Concord, New Hampshire.[19]

Initially, Johnson hoped Ron Paul would not run for President so that Johnson could galvanize from Paul's network of libertarian-minded voters.[20] Johnson even traveled to Houston to tell Paul of his decision to run in person.[20] But Paul announced his candidacy on May 13, 2011.

Governor Johnson campaigns in New Hampshire.

Johnson focused the majority of his Republican campaign activities on the New Hampshire primary.[20]

Campaign staff

Johnson chose Ron Neilson, the director of both of his two New Mexico gubernatorial campaigns, as his presidential campaign director.[20] As a result, his campaign is being run from Salt Lake City, Utah.[20] Johnson's economics advisor is Harvard economics professor Jeffrey Miron.[21]

Republican debates

Johnson participated in the first of the Republican presidential debates, hosted by Fox News in South Carolina on May 5, 2011, appearing on stage with Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum. Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann both declined to debate.

Johnson was excluded from the next three debates on June 13 (hosted by CNN in New Hampshire), August 11 (hosted by Fox News in Iowa), and September 7 (hosted by CNN in California).[20] After the first exclusion, Johnson made a 43-minute video responding to each of the debate questions, which he posted on YouTube.[20][22] The first exclusion, which was widely publicized, gave Johnson "a little bump" in name recognition and produced "a small uptick" in donations.[20] But "the long term consequences were dismal."[20] For the financial quarter ending June 30, Johnson raised a mere $180,000.[20] Despite the fact that, in some polls, Johnson polled higher than Rick Santorum or Jon Huntsman, who were invited to debates, Johnson was not.[20]

Then, on September 21, Fox News decided that because Johnson polled at least 2% in five recent polls, he could participate in a September 23 debate in Florida, which it co-hosted with the Florida Republican Party (the party objected to Johnson's inclusion).[20] Johnson participated, appearing on stage with Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum. During the debate, Johnson delivered what many media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, and Time, called the best line of the night: "My next-door neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs than this current administration."[23][24]Entertainment Weekly even opined that Johnson had won the debate.[25]

Switch to Libertarian Party

Wikinews has related news: GOP presidential candidate Gary Johnson considers Libertarian Party run

On November 29, 2011, Johnson confirmed reports that he was ending all campaign activities for the New Hampshire primary, citing his inability to gain any traction with the primary's likely voters. Stated Johnson: "It's not happening in New Hampshire. We rode bikes 500 miles across the state, we scheduled town halls – for whatever reason, nobody's really coming out to hear what it is I have to say."[26] Johnson confirmed reports that he was considering a run on the Libertarian Party (LP) ticket.[27] Libertarian Party officials reported that Johnson would make an announcement on his political future on December 28, 2011; Politico reported it was expected that he would drop his bid for the Republican nomination and seek the Libertarian nomination instead.[28]

Johnson formally announces his bid for Libertarian presidential nominee.
Wikinews has related news: U.S. presidential candidate Gary Johnson leaves GOP to vie for the LP nom

On December 28, 2011, Johnson announced at press conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico that he had withdrawn his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, and officially declared his candidacy for the 2012 Libertarian Party presidential nomination.[29][30][31] During the announcement, Johnson stated, "I'm a Libertarian in belief. I successfully governed as a Libertarian in everything but the name, and I am running for president as a Libertarian."[31] Johnson was quickly identified as the early front-runner for the party's nomination and polled more than seventy percent of votes cast in the California Libertarian Party's straw poll on March 3, 2012.[32]

On April 30, 2012 Johnson formally endorsed retired California Superior Court judge Jim Gray as his choice for running mate on the LP ticket should he receive the party's nomination at the 2012 Libertarian National Convention in May 2012.[33][34]

Nomination

Main article: 2012 Libertarian National Convention

On May 5, 2012, at the 2012 Libertarian National Convention, Theodora Nathan announced that Governor Johnson received the Libertarian Party's official nomination for President of the United States by a vote of 419 votes to 152 votes for second-place candidate Lee Wrights.[35] Following his nomination, Johnson asked the convention's delegates to nominate as his vice-presidential running-mate Judge Jim Gray of California. Gray won the vice-presidential nomination on the first ballot.[36][37]

California Judge Gray accepted the vice-presidential nomination at the 2012 Libertarian National Convention.


See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.p2012.org/candidates/organization12p.html
  2. ^ http://www.politico.com/2012-election/gary-johnson/campaign-insiders/index.html
  3. ^ Bill Kauffman (21 April 2009). "The Republic Strikes Back". The American Conservative. http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/apr/20/00035/. Retrieved April 21, 2011. 
  4. ^ 24 Hour Newsroom (27 October 2009). "Ex-Gov Mulls Presidential Bid". 770 KKOB AM. http://www.770kkob.com/Article.asp?id=1564031&spid=18042. Retrieved April 21, 2011. 
  5. ^ Information from the official website for the Our America Initiative
  6. ^ Steve Terrell (October 26, 2009) "Group wants Johnson on presidential ballot", Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  7. ^ Gadi Schwartz (5 November 2009). "Supporters call for former Gov. Johnson to run for president". KOB News 4. http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S1236534.shtml?cat=504. Retrieved April 21, 2011. 
  8. ^ Marciello, Alex (2011-02-25) Former NM governor talks politics, The Daily News of Newburyport. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  9. ^ Key People-Former Gov. Gary Johnson OUR America Initiative, Salt Lake City, UT, p2012.org. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  10. ^ (May 10, 2010) "Controversial Republican Eyeing White House?" The Sean Hannity Show. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  11. ^ (May 20, 2010)"A Name to Remember in '12" Orange County Register. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  12. ^ Wallsten, Peter (August 9, 2010) Washington Wire Q & A: Gary Johnson, Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  13. ^ Johnson, Gary (2011-01-18) $100 billion in spending cuts this year? How about this week!, The Daily Caller. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  14. ^ Carey, Amanda (2011-02-08) Potential 2012 presidential candidate Gary Johnson to speak at CPAC, The Daily Caller. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  15. ^ Good, Chris (2011-02-11) Is Gary Johnson the Next Ron Paul?, The Atlantic. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  16. ^ Falcone, Michael (2011-02-12) Ron Paul Wins 2011 CPAC Straw Poll, Sarah Palin Finishes a Distant 9th Place, ABC News. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  17. ^ Weigel, David (2011-02-14) Who Won CPAC?, Slate. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  18. ^ Sahil Kapur (2011-04-21) [1], Raw Story. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  19. ^ Marr, Kendra (April 21, 2011). "Gary Johnson makes 2012 presidential run official". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53532.html. Retrieved April 21, 2011. 
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lisa Depaulo (November 2011). "Is This the Sanest Man Running for President?". GQ. Condé Nast. http://www.gq.com/news-politics/politics/201111/gary-johnson-republican-candidate-debate-interview?currentPage=1. 
  21. ^ "Johnson Key Staff and Advisers". Politico.com. Politico LLC. http://www.politico.com/2012-election/gary-johnson/campaign-insiders/index.html. 
  22. ^ Conor Friesdorf (June 15, 2011). "Gary Johnson Crashes the N.H. Republican Debate". The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/06/gary-johnson-crashes-the-gop-debate/240477/. 
  23. ^ Michael Muskal (September 23, 2011). "Gary Johnson cleaning up with his dog poop quip". Los Angeles times. Tribune Newspapers. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-gary-johnson-dog-poop-20110923,0,1063618.story. 
  24. ^ Michael Scherer (September 23, 2011). "What You Missed While Not Watching the Fox News/Google Debate". Time. Time Inc.. http://swampland.time.com/2011/09/23/what-you-missed-while-not-watching-the-fox-newsgoogle-debate/?xid=rss-top-aol. 
  25. ^ Jeff Labrecque (September 23, 2011). "Gary Johnson and neighbor's two dogs win Republican presidential debate". Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly. http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/09/23/republican-presidential-debate-gary-johnson/. 
  26. ^ "Gary Johnson throws in the towel"
  27. ^ "Johnson may run for US President as a Libertarian"
  28. ^ Epstein, Reid (December 20, 2011). Gary Johnson to drop out of GOP primary to run as Libertarian. The Politico. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  29. ^ "Gary Johnson makes switch to Libertarian Party official". New Hampshire Union Leader. December 28, 2011. http://www.unionleader.com/article/20111228/NEWS0605/111229923. Retrieved December 28, 2011. 
  30. ^ Rahn, Will; Nelson, Steven (December 28, 2011). "Gary Johnson announces Libertarian presidential bid". The Daily Caller. http://dailycaller.com/2011/12/28/gary-johnson-announces-libertarian-presidential-bid/. Retrieved December 28, 2011. 
  31. ^ a b Stewart, Rebecca (December 28, 2011). "'Liberated' Gary Johnson seeks Libertarian nomination". CNN. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/28/liberated-gary-johnson-seeks-libertarian-nomination/. Retrieved December 28, 2011. 
  32. ^ "Gov. Gary Johnson Wins Convention Straw Poll". http://ca.lp.org. http://ca.lp.org/blog/archives/2484. 
  33. ^ Quinn, Garrett (April 30, 2012). "Gary Johnson Wants Jim Gray As His VP". Reason Online. http://reason.com/blog/2012/04/30/gary-johnson-wants-jim-gray-as-his-vp. Retrieved May 1, 2012. 
  34. ^ Rahn, Will (April 30, 2012). "Pro-pot judge will be Gary Johnson’s VP pick". The Daily Caller. http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/30/pro-pot-judge-will-be-gary-johnsons-vp-pick/. Retrieved April 30, 2012. 
  35. ^ Winger, Richard (May 5, 2012). "Gary Johnson Nominated by Libertarian Party on First Ballot". Ballot Access News. http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/05/05/gary-johnson-nominated-by-libertarian-party-on-first-ballot. Retrieved May 5, 2012. 
  36. ^ Cassidy, Austin (May 5, 2012). "Libertarians Nominate Judge Jim Gray for Vice-President". Uncovered Politics. http://www.uncoveredpolitics.com/2012/05/05/libertarians-nominate-judge-jim-gray-for-vice-president/. Retrieved May 6, 2012. 
  37. ^ Riggs, Mike (May 5, 2012). "Judge Jim Gray Is the 2012 Libertarian Party Vice Presidential Nominee". Reason Online. http://reason.com/blog/2012/05/05/judge-jim-gray-is-the-2012-libertarian-p. Retrieved May 6, 2012. 
  38. ^ Ciaramella, C. J. (September 26, 2011). Roger Stone endorses Gary Johnson for President. The Daily Caller. Retrieved September 26, 2011
  39. ^ Mikolay, DJ. (September 28, 2011). The Only Republican Who Can Beat Obama. Mikolay.org. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  40. ^ Three New Hampshire State Reps Endorse Gary Johnson For President, Gary Johnson for President Website, October 4, 2011.
  41. ^ TeaPot Party endorsements of Republicans
  42. ^ Gary Johnson 2012 Endorsements
  43. ^ Stone, R (March 8, 2012). Roger Stone endorses Gary Johnson Libertarian Candidate for President. Huffington Post. Retrieved March 8th, 2012
  44. ^ http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2012/05/penn-jillettes-pick-gary-johnson-124450.html
  45. ^ Also Libertarian Party of Nebraska (6:59 PM, January 5, 2012). "Facebook post". http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=194077794021222&id=134989533198483. 

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