Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Reports: Gary Johnson will seek Libertarian nomination

By Ryan Teague Beckwith
Roll Call Staff
Dec. 20, 2011, 9:54 p.m.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson will drop out of the Republican presidential primary and run for the Libertarian nod, media reports said today.

With just two weeks until the Iowa caucuses begin winnowing the GOP field, the former two-term governor will announce soon that he will run for a third-party nomination, according to reports in Politico and CNN.

Johnson’s anti-tax, socially liberal views did not endear him to Republican primary voters, and he’s not included in most recent polls of the field. Excluded from most of the major debates, he’s taken to Twitter to express his views.

During the Iowa debate on Thursday, he tweeted that he agreed with fellow Republican candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas).

“Ron Paul is right — but what if he is not nominated? There must be a real libertarian choice next Nov.,” he wrote.

According to CNN, Johnson’s campaign staff confirmed that he is planning a major announcement in Santa Fe, N.M., on Dec. 28.

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