Libertarian presidential hopeful former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is a few steps closer to having a competitive campaign.
Billionaire investor Chris Rufer, who owns tomato processing firm Morningstar, has pledged one million dollars to groups that support Johnson and his running mate former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld. Rufer has donated $1.18 million since the 2012 election, including $500,000 to Johnson’s 2012 presidential bid.
Rufer, who stated Wednesday “we need to make this happen,” further went on to explain with two major party candidates suffering from high unfavorable ratings, this might just be the shining moment for Libertarian Party.
Johnson told The Hill Tuesday he didn’t know about this donation, but stated, “I do know Chris, I am not aware of this donation, but he’s always been very generous.” Johnson, who raised a little over $2 million for his run in 2012, went on to say he was glad to have running mate Weld on his team, because he “is a far greater fundraiser than I am.”
Although it is estimated Democratic and Republican presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will spend upwards of $1 billion on the election, third-party supporters hope Rufer’s donation will help increase support for Johnson. The various groups who raised almost $10 million in support of Sen. [crscore]Rand Paul[/crscore]’s presidential bid earlier this cycle are also in play. This potential fundraising, along with the fact that the Johnson ticket is starting in the race with a 10 percent average — just 5 percent under the threshold to participate in general election presidential debates — could mean the most viable third-party run in recent history.
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