Gary Johnson wins Libertarian Party nomination for president

• Tweet
• 
• 

• Tweet

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson was nominated on Saturday to be the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate in the upcoming 2012 election.

“I am convinced that Gary Johnson will be an exceptional candidate, and a very successful President,” said Mark Hinkle, Libertarian Party Chair. “We have an impressive roster of talent this year to challenge our Big Government opponents not only in the race for the White House, but also in state and local races. The major parties offer Americans only one solution: Bigger government. Libertarians will show voters how we can make government small while dramatically increasing jobs, lowering taxes, and scaling back government debt.”

Johnson won the nomination with 70 percent of the vote. The National Libertarian Convention was held at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“I am honored and I just want to pledge that no one will be disappointed. We’re going to grow the Libertarian Party.” said Johnson.

Johnson has chosen retired Judge James P. Gray as his running mate, according to Reason.

Johnson supports the legalization of marijuana and believes same sex couples should be allowed to marry. He also believes the PATRIOT Act should be repealed and that women should have the right to terminate their pregnancy. Like other libertarians, he would like to reduce government spending, eliminate regulation, cut entitlement programs, and reduce taxes as much as possible.

Johnson, a long-time libertarian, had begun his 2012 presidential campaign as a Republican candidate. But after being barred from participating in GOP debates, he announced his intention to become the nominee of the Libertarian Party in late December 2011.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States, which is active in all 50 states and has more than 250,000 registered voters.

[Image via Gage Skidmore]