Realizing Republicans aren’t that into him, GOP presidential candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson divorced the party. Johnson, 58, will announce plans next week to run as a Libertarian, the Associated Press reports.
Former Republican candidate Gary Johnson
“He is representing a viewpoint and a viewpoint that needs to be heard and he’s going to do whatever it takes to get that done,” Johnson spokesman Joe Hunter said.
The former GOP candidate has not been shy with voicing his displeasure with the Republican Party for excluding him from much of the primary process. Having only been included in two GOP presidential debates, with Republicans refusing his appeals, he told the Miami Herald last week that “the Republican Party hung me out to dry.”
Unlike mainstream Republicans, the pro-choice Johnson supports marriage equality and legalizing marijuana.
Though Libertarian candidates, historically, have never made enough of a dent to spoil the chances of a major-party candidate, they tend to “disproportionately hurt Republicans,” says Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and Johnson’s role may very well have an effect on November’s presidential election.
Photo: RollingStone.com
