Libertarians name former Republican governor as presidential pick

Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, pictured on May 9, 2016, won t
AFP

Miami (AFP) – Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, on Sunday won the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, a sliver group hoping to make an outsized impact in this election year.

Johnson came within a half-point of scoring the simple majority needed for a first ballot victory at the party’s nominating convention in Orlando, Florida; a second ballot put him over the top.

“I tell the truth, I am not a liar,” Johnson told the group, insisting that his frank approach would appeal to disaffected voters and help Libertarians achieve “major-party status.” 

As a Libertarian, Johnson advocates eliminating the income tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. 

Johnson, a self-made businessman who was elected New Mexico governor in 1995 as a Republican, worked to lower taxes and reduce bureaucracy, and he pushed for the legalization of marijuana. 

He was the Libertarian candidate in 2012, garnering 1.2 million votes.

In at least two recent national polls, Johnson scored 10 percent in hypothetical three-way contests against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

The Libertarians — ever colorful and always on the political margin — hope they can tap into widespread discontent this year with the major-party choices. 

Their convention drew far closer media attention than usual, and Johnson told the group that this year, “millions of people are going to be trying to understand what it is to be a Libertarian.”

Johnson beat out contenders including Austin Petersen, a businessman and political commentator who placed second in the first round, and John McAfee, the founder of the McAfee antivirus software company who once fled Belize after police sought to question him in a murder case.

The Libertarian convention was to vote separately for its vice presidential nominee.

Johnson said Sunday that the party needed to nominate William Weld, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, to serve as his running mate, although Weld, a recent convert to Libertarianism, received a cool welcome from many delegates.

“Bill Weld was my role model,” Johnson said, adding that Weld was pro-gay, pro-choice and pro-medical marijuana at a time when such stances were very rare.

American political conventions have long been colorful affairs and this has been no exception. 

One delegate serenaded the group with a harmonica tune, offering to make it the party’s theme song. Another suggested the party adopt Dobby, a “house elf” from the Harry Potter series, as its official mascot.

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