A post from Gary Johnson on his Tumblr page last week ended with a somewhat cryptic line that appeared to hint at his intention to run for President of the United States again.
Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via cc
Johnson wrote nearly 2,000 words about his history running for office, the state of the current political parties and what he believes the country might be “ready” for in a candidate. He closed his open letter with an ambiguous statement hinting at his intention to run.
“Maybe, just maybe, America is ready. And maybe that’s why I would want to run for President,” Johnson wrote.
Curious about what he wrote, New Mexico Political Report reached out to Johnson to ask if he was intending to announce that he will run.
Johnson told New Mexico Political Report he has not announced his intention to run for president, but that he hopes to be able to announce at some point.
“The only statement I have made and continue to make regarding running for president under the Libertarian ticket is that I hope to do that,” Johnson said. “It’s just something that I hope to do.”
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that many times candidates hold off on announcing their intention to run because of campaign finance laws. In 2012, Johnson held off announcing his run so he could continue as honorary chair of the OUR America Initiative.
Johnson would not specifically say whether he was concerned about campaign finance issues but reiterated that he has not announced his candidacy and that he is hopeful.
“I hope to be the Libertarian nominee,” Johnson said. “I hope to be able to announce.”
Still, Johnson acknowledged that he would still need the endorsement from the Libertarian Party and there’s no guarantees.
“It’s up for grabs,” Johnson said of the Libertarian nomination.
Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, ran unsuccessfully for president in 2012 with less than 1 percent of the total popular vote.
During his run, Johnson was shut out of a debate that included Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama. Johnson and his supporters argued that he was on enough ballots across the country to be allowed to participate.
Now Johnson and a number of other plaintiffs have filed suit against the Commission on Presidential Debates alleging the group excludes certain candidates in order to keep third parties out of elections.
Of the suit, Johnson said he doesn’t expect the case to be closed before the Libertarians hold their convention next May, when his party is expected to endorse a candidate.
