Politics

Gary Johnson discusses what ‘hypothetical’ third-party run would look like

Will Rahn Senior Editor
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Despite reports and speculation to the contrary, former New Mexico Republican Gov. Gary Johnson says he hasn’t made up his mind on whether to run for the Libertarian Party nomination for president.

He will, however, discuss what such a run would “hypothetically” look like.

“There wouldn’t be an altering to the message,” an upbeat sounding Johnson told The Daily Caller from Miami, where he is meeting with Libertarian Party officials. “The message I think has broad appeal. The notion of fiscal conservancy, balancing the federal budget, advocating for a fair tax — you know, I really think that does some [beneficial] economic things.”

“I’m an absolute supporter of the Second Amendment,” he continued. “I’m pro-gay marriage, I support a woman’s right to choose, I advocate for getting out of our foreign military involvements and I advocate for legalizing marijuana.”

“I just think that [message] resonates with a whole lot of Americans,” he said. “And maybe it resonates all across the political spectrum, but it’s one that’s really not being presented.”

A wildly successful two-term governor of a swing state, Johnson was prohibited from joining all but two of the GOP presidential debates because of his poor showing in the polls.

His supporters point out, however, that Johnson’s name was often excluded from polls, which kept him out of the debates and in turn hurt his standing in the few polls he was included in. The Republican National Committee refused to help him break this cycle and, perhaps sensing an opportunity, Libertarian Party members began to encourage him to jump ship.

Should he embark on a third-party run, Johnson hopes it will be with veteran strategist Roger Stone, who is currently assisting his campaign in a volunteer capacity.

“As Roger would say, his advice is worth all that we’re paying him,” Johnson joked. (RELATED: Full coverage of Gary Johnson)

Stone told TheDC last month that a run by Johnson on the Libertarian ticket would loom as a “dangerous possibility” for a Republican candidate like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

“The Libertarian Party, for example, is on the ballot in all 50 states, and should the Republicans nominate, say, Romney, then a candidate running on a tea party fiscal platform would … pose a great danger for the Republicans,” Stone said.

Johnson dismissed concerns that by running as a Libertarian he could take away enough votes from the Republican nominee to ensure the re-election of President Obama, saying that he would expect to peel off a fair amount of Democratic voters as well.

“I’m really speaking here with a broad brush,” he said. “But anti-war, supporting a woman’s right to choose, gay marriage — that’s taking away from the Democratic base. And then taking away on the Republican side, the notion of real fiscal conservancy and a balanced budget — I mean, who’s really going to go further to balance that budget?”

“Again, all of this is hypothetical,” he said. “I might be taking votes away from the fiscal Republicans, the fiscal conservancy side, but maybe they’re going to be offset by others that would historically go on the Democrat side.”

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