Johnson Launches Second Libertarian Presidential Bid

SANTA FE, NM - If you’re not happy with choices of the two major political parties, you will have other choices in November.

Former New Mexico Governor and 2012 presidential candidate Gary Johnson announced on Jan. 6, 2016, that he is seeking the 2016 Libertarian nomination for President of the United States.

Johnson made the announcement during an appearance Wednesday on Neil Cavuto’s “Coast to Coast” on the Fox Business Network. Johnson placed third in the 2012 presidential race, receiving more votes than any Libertarian candidate in history.

Announcing his candidacy, Johnson said, “One need only to look at the Republican and Democrat nomination races to see that 2016 may very well be a ‘tipping point’ election year. The American people are clearly fed up and running out of patience with the status quo. I’m fed up with it also.

“By the time Barack Obama leaves office, the national debt will have reached $20 trillion,” Johnson said. “It has doubled while he has been in office, just as it doubled while George W. Bush was President. Obviously, it doesn’t really matter which of the two so-called ‘major’ parties is in control of the White House or Congress. The government just keeps growing, the spending just keeps increasing, and the debt keeps piling up. After two wars, seemingly endless foreign interventions and failed attempts at nation-building, can anyone credibly suggest that we are somehow safer today than we were 15 years ago? To the contrary, the threats to our safety and our liberty from violent jihadists are increasing, and if anything, we are less safe. The American people are tired of chaotic foreign and military policies that are obviously not fulfilling the government’s fundamental duty to keep the homeland and our freedoms secure. Voters are correctly demanding that their leaders focus on that most basic responsibility of the federal government.”

Johnson added that the American people were fed up with politicians - both Republican and Democrat - who are determined to replace liberty with government overreach, control and intrusion into our daily lives. The United States was founded on a rejection of warrantless searches, oppressive taxation, and government interference with the free exercise of speech, religion, and personal choices, he added.

“Today, we have a generation of young people growing up believing their own government to be the greatest threat to their privacy and their freedom to pursue their dreams,” he said. “Our politicians and their refusal to abandon failed policies have sadly turned the governance of America into something the Founders would hardly recognize, much less embrace.”

After two terms as governor of New Mexico as a Republican, Johnson took some time off, climbed Mount Everest, and then mounted a run for the GOP nomination in 2011. Staffers became frustrated with the campaign effort and left to join Ron Paul’s effort.

After being kept out of numerous debates, he decided to leave the Republican Party to join the Libertarians. He was nominated in 2012 and then ran a colorful campaign, including support from New Hampshire residents, who produced a zombie ad on the Statehouse steps. Johnson was joined by James Gray on the ticket and received more than 1.2 million votes or about 1 percent of the national vote.

Johnson joins about 10 other candidates who are also seeking the party’s nomination.

For more information, visit GaryJohnson2016.com.