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Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Gary Johnson declares for U.S. Senate

Former Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson running for U.S. Senate - CBS News:

August 14, 2018 - "Former Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson began his campaign Tuesday to unseat New Mexico's junior Democratic senator, seeking political opportunity in the space between Democrats and voters loyal to President Donald Trump.

"Johnson, a former two-term governor of New Mexico, was added to the state's list of Senate candidates as final paperwork was being filed with election officials. His campaign manager said a formal announcement would come soon.

"Johnson remains popular in New Mexico.... [His] 2016 presidential bid as a Libertarian sputtered after a live-television gaff on foreign policy. Democrats saw the presidential run, with currents of social liberalism, as a bane to their party, even as Johnson criticized Trump for his treatment of women and border-wall proposal.

"Elected and re-elected governor of New Mexico as a Republican, Johnson stayed true to a small-government philosophy while vetoing more than 700 bills. His open advocacy for legalized marijuana broke mainstream 1990s political taboos and made him a national curiosity....

"Rod Adair, a Republican political strategist and former state senator, said Johnson's reputation for disciplined, business-savvy governance and as an independent thinker ... 'seems to be right in the wheelhouse of measurable disgust with both the left and the right. He may be the perfect third-party option right now.'

"Johnson, a 65-year-old fitness enthusiast who has summited Mount Everest and this summer completed a grueling 2,700 mile (4,350 kilometer) bicycle race along the Continental Divide, says Democrats and Republicans alike are guilty of deficit spending and military overreach that he says limits economic freedom.

"A campaign ad rolled out Monday by the Elect Liberty PAC touts Johnson's image as a self-made businessman who is disciplined and competitive....

"Registered Libertarians make up a tiny sliver of the New Mexico electorate — less than 1 percent of registered voters..... Democrats dominate voter registration rolls, but the state has swung back and forth between Republican and Democratic governors for decades."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-libertarian-candidate-gary-johnson-running-for-u-s-senate/
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