Gary Johnson Running for President in 2012: Who Is He?

Libertarian Gary Johnson to Run for President in 2012

Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, is running for President in 2012, and he (or his staff) announced it via Twitter (see below). Johnson was tipped as a potential 2012 candidate last year.

Who is Gary Johnson?

Videos

Governor Gary Johnson's Take on America part 1

see larger video

sourced by Jordan Yerman

• 

  Created by Jordan Yerman | add comment

• 

  Created by Jordan Yerman | add comment

• 

  Created by Jordan Yerman | add comment

Most Americans have likely never heard of Gary Johnson until now. Gary Johnson, who served as Governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, is a Republican whose politics leans towards libertarianism. Indeed, Johnson has been called "the next Ron Paul".

• In favor of decriminalizing marijuana
• Pro-choice
• In favor of gay unions (but stops short of advocating gay marriage)
  
• Against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Gary Johnson is also not a churchgoer, which makes him an outlier in mainstream Republican politics. What identifies him as a GOP member would be his commitment to cutting spending to Mediare and Social Security, but he is also in favor of cutitng defense spending. He led New Mexico to a $1 billion surplus during his two terms as Governor.

Far from being a challenge to Barack Obama, a candidate like Gary Johnson could be the Republicans' worst nightmare: too far from the right-leaning mainstream to actually win the nomination, but a loud enough voice to force other White House would-bes to address the issues he brings up.