Libertarian Gary Johnson officially announces 2016 president run
Former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson made an official announcement during his interview on the Fox Business Network, where he denied he would be siphoning votes only from the Republican candidate, saying, “When it comes to Libertarians, Libertarians draw as many votes from Democrats as they do Republicans and like I said, I do believe crony capitalism is alive and well” – officially entering the Presidential race.
Johnson announced his resignation as Director and CEO of Cannabis Sativa, Inc, a company whose goal is to “to brand and market the highest quality, legal cannabis products available today – and to innovate the industry-leading products of tomorrow” signaling the move was coming.
CPAC photo/Gage Skidmore
“I created quite a stir nationally by proposing, in 1999, that marijuana be legalized. I was the highest ranking official in the nation to do so, and at the time – as opposed to now, it was not a popular idea. Everyone recognized, beginning with me, that it would be political suicide. But I didn’t have any further political ambitions, and more importantly, it was the right thing to do…Enforcing and prosecuting laws against simple marijuana possession were clogging up our courts, overcrowding our jails, costing taxpayers millions of dollars and doing permanent harm to thousands of young lives. All that because we had criminalized a nonviolent behavior that an estimated 140 million Americans have engaged in at some point in their lives. It didn’t make sense, and I said so. It wasn’t about marijuana being good or bad for an individual. It was about a modern-day Prohibition that was not only not working, but doing far more harm than good, at tremendous human and financial cost.”
Johnson was the 2012 libertarian candidate, finishing third behind President Obama and Mitt Romney at 0.99% of the popular vote, while earning 4% in his home state of New Mexico. Many polls showed Johnson getting as much as 5% of the vote
He made the ballot in 48 states and Washington DC, being left off in Michigan (write-in status only) and Oklahoma completely.
Johnson had the strongest showing as a percentage of statewide presidential votes in Alaska, Maine, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming, the UPI analysis showed. He had the weakest showing in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee and Wisconsin.
