Gary Johnson

This article is about the 2012 and 2016 American presidential nominee and former governor of New Mexico. For other people with the same name, see Gary Johnson (disambiguation).

Gary Johnson
Johnson in 2016
29th Governor of New Mexico
In office
January 1, 1995 – January 1, 2003
LieutenantWalter Bradley
Preceded byBruce King
Succeeded byBill Richardson
Personal details
Born
Gary Earl Johnson

(1953-01-01) January 1, 1953 (age 71)
Minot, North Dakota, U.S.
Political partyLibertarian (2011–present)
Other political
affiliations		Republican (before 2011)
Spouse
Denise Simms
​
​
(m. 1977; div. 2005)​
Domestic partnerKate Prusack (engaged 2009)
Children2
EducationUniversity of New Mexico (BS)
Signature
This article is part of a series about
Gary Johnson
Governor of New Mexico
Presidential campaigns

Seal of the Governor of New Mexico

Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953)[1] is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 2011 and was the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections. He was also the Libertarian nominee in the 2018 U.S. Senate election in New Mexico.[2][3]

Johnson entered politics for the first time by running for governor of New Mexico in 1994 on a low-tax, anti-crime platform,[4] promising a "common-sense business approach". He defeated incumbent Democratic governor Bruce King, 50% to 40%. He cut the 10% annual growth in the budget, in part by using the gubernatorial veto 200 times during his first six months.[5] He was unable to convince the state senate to pass any of his motions. Johnson sought reelection in 1998, winning by 55% to 45%. In his second term, he concentrated on the issue of school voucher reforms as well as campaigning for cannabis decriminalization.[6] During his tenure as governor, Johnson adhered to an anti-tax policy, setting state and national records for the number of times he used his veto power:[5] more than the other 49 contemporary governors put together.[7][8] Term-limited, Johnson retired from front-line politics in 2003.

Johnson ran for president in 2012, initially as a Republican on a libertarian platform emphasizing the United States public debt and a balanced budget, protection of civil liberties, military non-interventionism, replacement of income tax with the FairTax, and opposition to the War on Drugs.[9] In December 2011, he withdrew his candidacy for the Republican nomination and ran for the Libertarian nomination instead,[10] winning the nomination in May 2012. Johnson received 1.3 million votes (1%), more than all other minor candidates combined.[11]

Johnson ran again for President in 2016,[12] once again winning the Libertarian nomination. He named former Republican governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld as his running mate.[13] Johnson received nearly 4.5 million votes (3.3% of the total vote), which is the most for a third-party presidential candidate since 1996 and the highest national vote share for a Libertarian candidate in history. After the 2016 presidential election, Johnson said he would not run for president again.[14] He ran for the U.S. Senate as a Libertarian in the 2018 New Mexico senate race against incumbent Democratic senator Martin Heinrich, coming in third with 15.4% of the statewide vote (107,201 votes).[15][16] Johnson has since maintained a low profile and has had little involvement in politics.[17]

  1. ^ "Gary Johnson | American business executive and politician". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  2. ^ Pratt, Timothy (May 5, 2012). "Libertarians nominate ex-Governor Gary Johnson for president". Reuters.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  3. ^ Lee, Morgan (August 14, 2018). "Johnson to make Libertarian bid for Senate seat". apnews.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  4. ^ "Gary Johnson on the Issues". The Santa Fe New Mexican. May 30, 1994. p. A4.
  5. ^ a b Eichstaedt, Peter (July 1, 1995). "No, no, two hundred times no". State Legislatures. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Heil, Nick (September 12, 2011). "Failure to Launch". Outside. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Davis, Teddy; Loffman, Matt (February 9, 2010). "2012 Republican Hopeful Gary Johnson Takes On His Party's 'Cardboard Cutouts'". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 12, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  8. ^ Stanage, Niall (May 5, 2010). "The most interesting Republican you've never heard of". Salon.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference marr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Stewart, Rebecca (December 28, 2011). "'Liberated' Gary Johnson seeks Libertarian nomination". CNN. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  11. ^ Tuccile, J.D. (November 7, 2012). "Gary Johnson Pulls One Million Votes, One Percent". Reason. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  12. ^ Collins, Eliza (January 6, 2016). "Libertarian Gary Johnson launches presidential bid". Politico. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  13. ^ "Gary Johnson Wins Libertarian Nomination for President". ABC. May 29, 2016. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  14. ^ Reed, Ollie Jr. (November 13, 2016). "Gary Johnson: 'I have no regrets'". Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  15. ^ Boyd, Dan (August 14, 2018). "Gary Johnson makes it official: He's running for U.S. Senate". Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  16. ^ "New Mexico Election Results". The New York Times. November 6, 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 13, 2018.[dead link‍]
  17. ^ "Former Gov. Gary Johnson, S.F. resident reflect on grueling 2022 Tour Divide". Yahoo News. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2023.