Former N.M. Gov. Gary Johnson will formally launch his presidential campaign next month in New Hampshire, Fox News and Politico are reporting.
Johnson, a libertarian-leaning Republican, plans to skip the step of creating an exploratory committee, Politico reported. Fox News reported that Johnson’s announcement will come sometime after April 15 – tax day.
The announcement isn’t a surprise. Talk of the tea party favorite running for president in 2012 really started ramping up in early 2009. And though he’s skipping the exploratory committee, Johnson formed a nonprofit – Our America Initiative – in 2009, and through that organization he’s been traveling around the nation to talk about issues and increase his profile.
Many consider Johnson’s bid for the presidency a long shot. However, pundits have also been frequently talking about how there isn’t yet a clear frontrunner in the GOP race for the right to take on President Barack Obama next year.
Johnson’s candidacy needs strong tea party support, so his chances may have taken a hit last week when U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said it’s likely that either he or his father, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, will run for president next year. Both are tea party favorites.
Full story: Johnson to launch presidential campaign in April – NMPolitics.net