Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's 2012 presidential candidate, announced on Wednesday that he's throwing his hat into the 2016 ring. In an official announcement on Fox Business Channel, the former New Mexico governor cast himself as a fiscal conservative and a social liberal who is outraged at the size of government.
"My voice has not been heard, and speaking with a broad brush stroke, that is someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal," Johnson said, according to Politico. "At the end of the day, on my deathbed I know that I'm going to reflect on life and believe that I was the voice of reason in all this. Will that result in any better showing than last [election cycle]? Will that result in even being the nominee? Who is to say?"
Johnson, who had sought the Republican nomination before pursing a third-party bid in 2012, has painted himself as a true libertarian alternative to Rand Paul in an October blog post titled, "Why I would run for President."
"There were great hopes in some libertarian corners for Senator Rand Paul. I endorsed his father in 2008, and in fact, urged my Republican supporters in Iowa to support him in 2012. Unfortunately, Rand, in his quest to have one foot in the libertarian camp and the other in the establishment Republican museum, has emerged with a vague mix of positions that is clearly not compelling. There is a price to be paid for selling out - and he is paying it," Johnson wrote.
In addition to wanting to offer an alternative to Rand Paul, Johnson also said he wants to make things right from the last time he ran for president.
"I was really disappointed with the showing I made in 2012," Johnson told Reason magazine. "I don't view what happened in 2012 as a success, but others do."
Johnson signaled his 2016 bid to some when Reason magazine reported that he recently quit his job as CEO of Cannabis Sativa, a Nevada-based marijuana products and licensing company. Johnson must still gain the support of the Libertarian Party at their convention later this year, according to USA Today.
