Gary Johnson 2016 presidential campaign

The 2016 presidential campaign of Gary Johnson, the 29th Governor of New Mexico, was announced on January 6, 2016, for the nomination of the Libertarian Party (or LP) for President of the United States. He officially won the nomination on May 29, 2016, at the Libertarian National Convention in Orlando, Florida, receiving 56% of the vote on the second ballot. Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld was endorsed by Johnson for the Libertarian vice-presidential nomination, which he also received on May 29, 2016.

Gary Johnson 2016
Campaign2016 United States presidential election
CandidateGary Johnson
Former Governor of New Mexico (1995–2003)
William Weld
Former Governor of Massachusetts (1991–97)
AffiliationLibertarian Party
StatusAnnounced: January 6, 2016 (2016-01-06)
Nominated: May 29, 2016 (2016-05-29)
Lost election: November 8, 2016 (2016-11-08)
HeadquartersSalt Lake City, Utah
Key peopleWilliam Weld
(Running mate)
Ron Nielson (campaign manager)
Mike McCauley (treasurer)
ReceiptsUS$12,193,984 (12−31−16)[1]
SloganOur Best America Yet
Live Free
#TeamGov
Be Libertarian with me
You In?
Website
Official website

Johnson and Weld formed the first ticket of any party to feature two governors since the 1948 presidential election.[2] They received 3.3% of the vote, totaling nearly 4.5 million, dwarfing Johnson's 2012 popular vote total and marking the Libertarians' most successful presidential run to date and the most successful third-party candidacy since Ross Perot in 1996.

Background

Johnson ran as the Libertarian presidential nominee in the 2012 election. In that race, he finished with the third highest popular vote total, nearly 1.3 million votes, and garnered nearly 1% of the popular vote.[3] Johnson's vote total was the highest received by any LP candidate  for any office  in the party's history.[4][5] Shortly after the election, Johnson began to express interest in running for the Libertarian nomination again in the 2016 election.[6][7][8]

Campaign

Original logo
Gary Johnson speaking at the 2016 CPAC in Washington, D.C.

Johnson formally announced his candidacy for the 2016 Libertarian presidential nomination, in an interview with Neil Cavuto on the Fox Business Network program Coast to Coast, on January 6, 2016.[9][10] He subsequently began participating in a series of debates with the other candidates seeking the Libertarian nomination, held at state LP conventions around the country leading up the Libertarian National Convention over Memorial Day weekend in Orlando, Florida.[11][12][13][14] Johnson took a moderate position in a debate field of more hardline libertarian candidates, which led to an occasionally hostile reception from the audience when he spoke up in favor of certain government programs and regulations, including a moment that gained viral notoriety where he was booed for expressing support for testing and licensing drivers.[15][16]

On March 3, 2016, Johnson addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., touting himself as the third-party option for anti-Trump Republicans, and saying that the Libertarian Party would be the only third party able to place its nominee on the ballot in all 50 states in 2016 due to ballot access hurdles.[17][18]

Johnson's campaign attracted increased attention as a possible vehicle for the Stop Trump movement's votes in the general election, once Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee.[19][20][21] Johnson has branded Trump's political views as authoritarian.[22]

On March 15, 2016, Johnson won the North Carolina Libertarian primary with 42% of the vote, ahead of "No Preference" at 35%, with other candidates all polling below 6%.[23] On March 1, 2016, Johnson won the Libertarian Party of Minnesota caucus with 76% of the vote.[24]

On March 29, 2016, Johnson attended the first nationally televised pre-nomination convention Libertarian Party presidential debate, hosted by Fox Business Network, on John Stossel's show Stossel. The two-hour debate was divided into two one hour segments which were televised on April 1 and 8 at 9:00 Eastern Time. The debate featured Johnson, along with Austin Petersen and John McAfee.[25][26]

Following Ted Cruz's withdrawal from the Republican primary elections and Trump becoming the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, it was widely reported that online searches for "Gary Johnson" and "Libertarian Party" spiked sharply on Google.[27][28][29]

In early May, some commentators opined that Johnson was moderate enough to pull votes away from both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump who are very disliked and polarizing.[30] Johnson also began to get time on national television, being invited on ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Bloomberg, and many other networks.[31]

Nomination

On May 18, Johnson announced that he had chosen former Republican Massachusetts Governor William Weld to be his running mate.[32]

On the first ballot of the 2016 Libertarian National Convention on May 29, 2016, Johnson earned 49.5% of the vote. On the second ballot, he won the nomination with 55.8% of the vote.[33]

Post-nomination

William Weld and Gary Johnson at a rally in Reno, Nevada, August 2016

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and also a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, said he would consider supporting the Johnson–Weld ticket. Romney remarked that, "if Bill Weld were at the top of the ticket, it would be very easy" for him to do so.[34] On June 22, Johnson and Weld participated in a nationally televised Town Hall hosted by CNN.[35] On August 3, Johnson and Weld returned to CNN for a second nationally televised town hall. It was viewed by over 1.61 million people.[36]

Beginning on August 12, a pro-Johnson political action committee, America Deserves Better PAC, began running television ads in Maine.[37] On August 17, Johnson and Weld attended a Libertarian town hall hosted by Fusion.[38] In August, Johnson's poll numbers began to approach the 15% threshold necessary to make him the first third-party candidate in recent history to participate in the broadcast, fall Presidential debates.[39] Johnson also began doing major rallies. On August 5, about 500 people turned out to a rally in Reno, Nevada.[40] The following day he attended an event at the University of Utah.[41]

On August 17, Johnson and Weld attended a town hall, attended by about 600 people, at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center in Miami, Florida.[42][43] The following day, Johnson and Weld held a Las Vegas, Nevada, rally at The Foundry SLS Las Vegas.[44] The campaign held events in Burlington Vermont, Concord, New Hampshire, Lewiston, Maine, where pro-Johnson super-PAC ads were being aired, and Boston, Massachusetts, home of Bill Weld. The campaign also added a brunch with Johnson and Weld in Portland, Maine.[45] Over the weekend, hundreds of people attended each of the rallies.[46][47][48]

Gary Johnson and William Weld

In early September the Gary Johnson campaign began its first wave of paid TV ads. They were targeted at the Western states of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington and the northeast state of New Hampshire.[49] Purple PAC began airing pro-Johnson television ads in August.[50] In early September, Americans Deserve Better super-PAC announced that support for Johnson has nearly doubled in Maine's 2nd congressional district.[51]

In response to Johnson's growing poll numbers, the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic allies increased their criticism against Johnson in September 2016, warning that "a vote for a third party is a vote for Donald Trump" and deploying Senator Bernie Sanders (Clinton's former primary rival and now-supporter) to win over voters who might be considering voting for Johnson or for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.[52] Democrats circulated "embarrassing videos of Johnson" and directed more resources toward winning "young voters and left-leaning independents" – a key Johnson demographic.[52]

Comments on foreign policy

In September and October 2016, Johnson made a series of errors when facing questions about foreign policy.[53][54] On September 8, on MSNBC's Morning Joe, he was asked by panelist Mike Barnicle, "What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo?" (referring to the war-torn city of Aleppo in Syria). Johnson responded, "And what is Aleppo?"[55] When an "incredulous" Barnicle said "You're kidding... Aleppo is in Syria – it's the epicenter of the refugee crisis," Johnson responded by saying that "the only way that we deal with Syria is to join hands with Russia to diplomatically bring that at an end."[56] Johnson criticized U.S. support for the Free Syrian Army and Kurdish forces and stated that the "mess" in Syria was "the result of regime change that we end up supporting. And, inevitably, these regime changes have led to a less-safe world."[56] Johnson's "what is Aleppo?" question drew widespread attention, much of it negative.[55][57] Later that day, Johnson said that he had "blanked" and that he did "understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict – I talk about them every day,"[57] but that he immediately thought that Barnicle's reference to "Aleppo" was in relation to "an acronym, not the Syrian conflict."[57]

During a CNBC town hall television broadcast on September 28, Johnson was asked by moderator Chris Matthews, "Who's your favorite foreign leader?" Johnson at first stated "the former president of Mexico" but could not identify him by name. Johnson then stated: "I guess I'm having an Aleppo moment" and "I'm having a brain freeze."[58][59] Johnson's failure to identify a foreign leader that he admired attracted media attention  including a New York Times article with the headline, "Gary Johnson Can't Name a Single Foreign Leader."[59][60] Johnson later stood by his reluctance to "point out an elected leader, foreign leader that I admire," saying in a CNN interview, "I held a lot of people in this country on pedestals and then I get to meet them up front and personal and I find out that they're all about getting re-elected, that they're not about issues, a lot of empty suits that I held up on pedestals."[61]

In speaking about the Syrian Civil War in an interview with The New York Times in October 2016, Johnson drew a moral equivalence between the Assad regime's intentional killing of hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians with the accidental killing of civilians by U.S.-backed forces.[53] Johnson criticized Clinton, the former secretary of state, for what he characterized as her excessively interventionist leanings, and suggested that Clinton, as former secretary of state, was at least partially responsible for the crisis in Syria.[53] Johnson also lamented the fact that the public placed pressure on U.S. leaders to "get tough on this stuff, on these atrocities."[53]

In the same interview, when asked if he knew the name of North Korea's leader, Johnson responded "I do" but refused to name Kim Jong-un when pressed.[53] The "misstep" prompted media attention and was described as "embarrassing to the campaign."[62][63][64][65]

Libertarian primaries

The Libertarian Party conducted presidential primaries in only a few states. All delegates to the Libertarian National Convention were unpledged, meaning that they could vote for the candidate of their choice. In pre-nomination preference polls conducted by state Libertarian Parties, Johnson won first place in most states preceding the Libertarian National Convention at the end of May.[66]

Of the states which conducted a non-binding Libertarian presidential primary, Johnson won in North Carolina, Nebraska, and in the Minnesota caucuses. Due to early deadlines, he was not on the ballot in Missouri, where 'Uncommitted' received the most votes.[67][68][69][70]

General election

Johnson at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, October 1, 2016

In late September 2016, Johnson's support was placed at 8.6% by the RealClearPolitics average of presidential polls and at 7.9% by the FiveThirtyEight polls-only forecasting model.[71] Johnson's highest polling nationally to date has been 13 percent against Clinton and Trump.[72]

A Washington PostSurveyMonkey 50-state poll was conducted online between August 9 and September 1 found that Gary Johnson was polling at 10% or higher in 42 states, and at 15% or higher in 15 states (Johnson received 25% in his home state of New Mexico and 23% in Utah).[73]

A poll conducted in mid-August by the Pew Research Center found that Johnson was supported by about 10% of registered voters. Of Johnson supporters, more than 60% identified as independent and more than 70% were younger than fifty years old. Johnson's supporters were evenly divided between men and women.[74]

Presidential debates

A major goal of the Johnson campaign was to secure the necessary polling-support threshold of 15%, set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, to be invited to participate in the televised presidential debates alongside Clinton and Trump.[75][76][77]

In late 2015, Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, both represented by attorney Bruce Fein, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to compel their inclusion in the debates. The case was dismissed in August 2016, with Judge Rosemary Collyer finding that the plaintiffs had no viable legal claim.[76]

On August 5, the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune called on polling organizations to "acknowledge" Johnson, giving him an opportunity to garner the necessary level of support to participate in the presidential debates.[78] The Boston Herald followed on September 7.[79] Former Governors Mitt Romney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mitch Daniels, without endorsing Johnson, called for him to be in the debates,[80][81][82] as did commentator Joseph Steinberg.[83]

On September 16, the commission announced the official invitation of both Clinton and Trump to participate in the first debate to be held on September 26 at Hofstra University, but Johnson did not meet the established criteria, and would not be a participant in the debate.[84][85] It was also announced that Mike Pence and Tim Kaine would be participating in the only scheduled vice presidential debate, to take place at Longwood University on October 4, and Weld did not reach the cutoff.[84][85]

Social media campaign

Balanced Rebellion is a campaign advertisement and campaign project launched by AlternativePAC, the political action committee supporting Gary Johnson for President of the United States in the 2016 general election. The website enables voters who dislike both major party candidates, but have a slight preference for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, to pair their vote with a voter feeling a slight but opposite preference, so that both voters  matched by the website and known to one another only by first name  can vote for Johnson without feeling that they are helping throw the election to a major party candidate they oppose.[86][87][88][89][90]

According to journalist Brian Doherty, editor of Reason magazine, the project is intended to appeal to voters who, "while disliking both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, didn't want to feel that their third party vote helped make the one they hated more win."[90]

Video content

The five minute video ad, on the website of AlternativePAC and Facebook, features an Abraham Lincoln character called "Dead Abe Lincoln" who explains the concept of the website, comparing Trump to someone's drunk racist uncle and Clinton as a corrupt politician trying to "make millions on political favors." He likens the United States to Gotham City, in the Batman comics, comparing Clinton with the Mob and Trump with the Joker. Johnson is then likened to Batman.[91] Dead Abe Lincoln goes on to promote Johnson as a candidate, pointing out that he was popular as the Republican Governor of a Democratic state where he reduced taxes and that he wants to protect personal privacy.[91] Dead Abe Lincoln also makes the point that Abraham Lincoln was a third party candidate, a point that has been criticized on the grounds that the Republican party, while it was a new party, was not precisely analogous to a modern third party.[92] The video, promoted on Facebook by AlternativePAC at an initial cost of $330,000, soon went viral,[87] with 9 million views by August 9,[88] and 17.3 million views by September 7.[90] The Balanced Rebellion video in which "Dead Abe Lincoln" endorses Johnson, and offers a vote trading solution for disaffected never-Trump and never-Hillary voters, has been the most widely viewed viral video of any candidate in the 2016 campaign.[93] The video was produced by the Harmon Brothers, four brothers who work together as comedy producers.[88][89][91]

By the Johnson campaign

From January to June 2016, Johnson raised a total of $1.4 million, far surpassing Johnson's fundraising in his 2012 run.[94] (Johnson's 2012 presidential campaign remains about $1.9 million in debt.)[95]

After announcing him as his running mate, Johnson stated that much of the tasks of fundraising would be delegated to Gov. Weld (who has stronger fundraising experience than Johnson). May 18, Johnson told the Associated Press that his campaign had just $35,000 in the bank at the end of March, and that he hoped his newly announced running mate, Gov. Weld, would, "be a huge influence when it comes to fundraising."[96]

When asked by CNN's Victor Blackwell on June 11 if the campaign was on track to raise the 20 to 30 million dollars believed to be necessary for him to have a competitive presidential bid, Johnson said,

It is a process, so first you got to engage in dialogue and that dialogue is actually occurring. There has to be interest. That interest is there. Has that $20 to $30 million transpired? Meaning have checks been written? Not to this point, but it is a process. And it looks pretty bright."[97]

Talking with reporters at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, William Weld stated that he believed that some very large potential donors were waiting to see Johnson hit 15% in the polls before they donated to the campaign.[98]

In July the comedian Drew Carey hosted a Johnson fundraiser at his home, which 150 guests attended. Organizers of Carey's fundraiser expected to raise $100,000 in support of Johnson's campaign.[99]

On August 3, Johnson announced that his campaign had raised more than $1,000,000 from in a two-week period, with contributions coming from over 20,000 individual donors. He also announced the launch of the campaign's #15for15 fundraising initiative.[98]

Online fundraising

In the month of August the Johnson campaign managed to see its greatest online fundraising totals, receiving over 2 million dollars in online contributions.[100] During an online "money bomb" fundraising effort in the first two weeks of August, the campaign stated that over 90,000 people contributed, and that the average contribution was $32.[94] In August 2016, Johnson became the first third-party presidential candidate to raise $5 million in a single month since at least 1996.[101]

From January to late May 2016, the Johnson campaign had spent about $334,000; more than 70% of expenditures were paid to the Utah-based Liberty Consulting Service, the consulting firm of Ron Nielson, Johnson's campaign manager.[95] By August 2016, the Johnson campaign had spent about $15,000 on general-election television advertisements.[102] The Johnson campaign's expenditures in August 2016 totaled $3.7 million, bringing its cash-on-hand to about $2.5 million.[71] Some 49% of August expenditures ($1.8 million) were made to the Utah-based advertising agency Evan Twede, Inc.; $550,000 to Liberty Consulting, and slightly more than $250,000 for Facebook advertisements.[71]

The campaign utilized the crowdfunding website Fundly to raise tens of thousands of dollars in contributions.[103]

July 18, 2016, the campaign released an ad announcing a fundraising initiative dubbed the Johnson–Weld Money Comet. Donations for the initiative were submitted through a webpage that was created specifically for the initiative.[104][98] The initiative met its initial goal of $25,000 within a day. Afterwards, the goal increased to $100,000 which was achieved on July 20, 2016. Within a week of its launch, the initiative had already received more than $200,000 in donations (including a single-day high of $100,000 dollars).[98][105][106]

On July 18, 2016, Johnson announced another fundraising initiative, “Today, we are announcing a #15for15 money bomb campaign to get in the debates,"... "Our goal: raise $1.5 million on August 15th to get to 15% in the polls.”[98] The goal of the initiative was to have supporters pledge to donate to the campaign on August 15 in order to create a "money bomb", a single-day from which Johnson can announce a multi-million dollar fundraising haul. The initiative aimed to have 100,000 individuals pledge to donate $15 or more. On August 8 Johnson said that 40,000 supporters had already pledged to participate.[107] The initiative managed to surpass its goal and raised 1.7 million dollars on August 15. There were reports that Johnson was managing to raise more than $1,300 per minute, a rate not seen since Ron Paul's grassroots money bomb efforts.[100][108][109]

By Libertarian-aligned super PACs

Johnson received the support of two Libertarian-aligned super PACs, Purple PAC (founded by Ed Crane) and Americans Deserve Better (chiefly funded by Jeff Yass). As of August 2016, the super PACs combined spent about $100,000 on advertising in support of the Johnson/Weld campaign[110][111]

After Johnson's nomination, Matt Kibbe announced the formation of the "AlternativePAC" in support of Johnson's campaign. Kibbe previously headed "Concerned American Voters", a Super PAC that had supported Rand Paul’s presidential campaign.[112] Chris Rufer, founder of The Morning Star Company, donated $500,000 to Alternative PAC. Rufer gave the PAC donations of $50,000 on June 9 and $450,000 on June 30.[113][114] It had earlier been reported that Rufer had pledged to give at least 1 million dollars to outside groups supporting Johnson's campaign.[115] June 30 Kenneth Peterson, founder and CEO of the Columbia Ventures Corporation, gave $30,000 to the PAC.[113][114] Overall, in the 2016 election-cycle AlternativePAC received $1,386,540 in contributions and spent $1,310,578.[116]

Americans Deserve Better is a PAC created to support Johnson's campaign. Its web domain is Vote for the Adults. The Group was led by Geoff Neale, former National Chair of the Libertarian National Committee.[117] In the second week of August 2016 it began running television and radio ads supporting Johnson in Maine's 2nd congressional district with the intention of running them for two weeks before conducting polls to determine if the ads they ran proved to be effective. The group was reported to have reserved nearly $62,000 worth of TV time in the Bangor and Presque Isle markets (including ad-buys on WAGM and WVII totaling more than $20,000 as well as cable ads). The group has also said that it will run radio ads.[117][118]

Shortly after Johnson secured the party nomination, Cato Institute founder Ed Crane announced that he would be rebooting "Purple PAC", a super-PAC that had previously supported Rand Paul’s presidential campaign, to serve as a pro-Johnson organization. The "Purple PAC" previously had raised $3 million. Many of these funds still remained unspent, as Paul suspended his campaign early-on in the Republican primaries.[112] April 15, 2016, Purple PAC had reported having $363,252 on-hand.[119] After being rebooted to support Johnson, Purple PAC received 25 individual contributions of more than 200 dollars.[120]

June 12, 2016 The Boston Globe reported on Socially Liberal and Fiscally Conservative PAC, a newly founded SuperPAC that would both assist in the campaign's fundraising efforts and make ad-buys in the future. The PAC was founded by R.J. Lyman, an executive at ML Strategies (William Weld's former firm). Major advisors to the PAC include Trevor Potter and Matt Sanderson. Both Potter and Sanderson previously worked as counsels to John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, and worked with Stephen Colbert on his Colbert Super PAC in 2012. Sanderson also was involved in Romney-supporting PACs in 2012, and worked as a counsel to Rand Paul's presidential campaign earlier in the 2016 election-cycle.[121]

The "spoiler" controversy

Prior to the election

Johnson himself accepted being called a spoiler at one point at the election. He said: "I hope I'm a spoiler, because I believe you go from being irrelevant to being a spoiler to being a factor"[122] and "I'm really proud of the fact that I'm offering up that principled vote".[123] Some media outlets also compared Johnson's potential role in the 2016 election to Ralph Nader's in the 2000 election.[124][125][126][127]

Conservative magazine National Review stated that "if the presidential debates wind up convincing many voters that both Trump and Hillary are unacceptable, then Johnson's support could stabilize or even rise. If that happens, any increase in his support is likely to hurt Hillary more."[128]

The Washington Post editorial board wrote in an article named "Do Gary Johnson supporters really want to help Trump win?":

Did Mr. Johnson learn much from his two terms as governor of New Mexico, or from his previous national presidential campaign? Does he prepare for major interviews – let alone for being president? ... Do ideological libertarians really want this man to represent their movement? Does his loopy campaign bring credibility to their political philosophy? ... Does Mr. Johnson's running mate, former Massachusetts governor William Weld, who is much sharper, really want to help Donald Trump win – and be remembered as the Ralph Nader of 2016? Mr. Johnson takes more support from Hillary Clinton in three- and four-way polls than he does from Mr. Trump. He could swing Colorado or New Hampshire into the Trump column.[126]

When The Nation endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, the magazine's staff expressed while they respect the challenge third parties have raised to a frequently dysfunctional two-party system, 2016 was not an ordinary election as in an ordinary election strategic voting only requires swing-state voters to choose between "the lesser of two evils", so it was needed to reconsider the balance between expressing their own disgust and diminishing the size of Trump's repudiation. The magazine also expressed their disagreement with Johnson's "penchant for privatization and survival-of-the-fittest economics" as a viable way of government.[129]

Michael Tomasky for The Daily Beast weighted the contradictions of "the libertarian live-and-let-live credo" stating that it doesn't apply "just to young people who'd like to blow a doob in a public park", but also to polluting corporations, corporations and individuals who want to make unlimited dark money contributions to political campaigns, the forces pushing free trade, employers who don't want to be nickel-and-dimed over paying their workers a minimum wage, gun manufacturers, and the National Rifle Association. He also wrote:

The temptation among some folks is strong to swim against the tide and thumb one's nose at the establishment, and obviously I'll grant that no one is more establishment than Clinton. It's a vote that is chiefly against something  in this case, her pro-corporate sail-trimming and all the rest. But a protest vote is never solely a protest vote. You're also voting for something. And even if you rationalize that away by saying to yourself, "Ah, he's not gonna win, I'm just having my jollies," I'd urge you to bear in mind that jollies can have consequences, too.[130]

Also, comedian John Oliver in his show HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver deemed Johnson's campaign as a "prone to overly simple solutions that could have disastrous consequences", and concluded that "there is no perfect candidate in this race".[131]

Given the circumstances, the Clinton campaign and Democratic allies stated they were taking the threat from Johnson seriously, making direct appeals to young voters and punching down at the third-party candidates they view as potential spoilers.[52]

After the election

The 2016 election results made analysts focus on four states in which Trump's lead over Clinton was less than Johnson's total number of votes: Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan; for instance, analysts also expressed if about half of Johnson's supporters would have voted for Clinton over Trump, the electoral map would have been decidedly different.[132][133] There were close races in Michigan, where Trump won by fewer than 14,000 votes, Johnson got more than 172,000 votes;[134] and in Wisconsin, where Johnson won more than 105,000 votes, Trump won by less than 33,000 votes.[135]

Vanity Fair expressed in an article: "Millions of Americans, dissatisfied with both candidates and unwilling to choose between the lesser of two evils, registered their protest by voting for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein, helping hand a number of critical swing states, and the presidency, to Donald Trump."[136]

Moreover, feminist website Jezebel claimed that the tune of a historic 4 million votes for Johnson helped ensure a Donald Trump presidency, and pointed Johnson had so weak probabilities to win that his own running mate Bill Weld semi-openly supported Clinton, and that he had to know he was never going to be president.[137]

In Libertarian campaign's defense, Joe Hunter, communications director for the Johnson–Weld campaign, said "the attacks on Governor Johnson from the left were relentless as it became clear that many millennials and former [Bernie] Sanders voters were looking closely at our ticket" and "if those attacks weren't quite effective enough for the Clinton camp, it is certainly not our responsibility." As well, other Libertarian politicians claimed "they don't owe anybody any votes" and that Democrats spent way too little time in critical swing states.[138]

Results

Gary Johnson's county-by-county performance across the nation. Percentage shades are in increments of one.

Gary Johnson received 4,489,233 total votes and 3.3% of the national vote,[139] coming third in the nation and setting a record for the Libertarian Party's strongest historical result to date. In terms of the Libertarian Party's electoral history, he bested Ed Clark's previous record-setting 1.1% percent of the total vote in the 1980 presidential election,[140] as well as his own record-setting 1,275,923 votes in the 2012 presidential election.[141] His share of the national vote was also the highest for a third-party candidate since Ross Perot's 8.4% showing in the 1996 presidential election. The highest percentage of votes received by Johnson was in New Mexico (where he was governor from 1995 to 2003), where he received 9.3%.[142]

Johnson's supporters heavily skewed young, with 70% of them being under 50, and many of them Republican-leaning and holding a bachelor's degree or higher; however, he was deeply unpopular with very conservative voters.[143] 13% of Johnson's backers were black or Latino, compared with just 6% for Trump.[143]

Political positions

Endorsements

On August 6, U.S. Representative Scott Rigell, Republican of Virginia, announced his support for Johnson, marking the candidate's first endorsement by a member of Congress.[144]

On September 2, the Cornell University College Republicans announced their support, led by chairwoman Olivia Corn. This was unprecedented for a College Republicans organization to do, and received significant media attention.[145]

Johnson received the endorsement of the editorial boards of nine daily newspapers: the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit News, the New Hampshire Union Leader, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.[146][147] All five papers had traditionally endorsed Republican candidates, but endorsed Johnson over Trump, who received less newspaper endorsements.[146] Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, however, led in newspaper endorsements, surpassing the other candidates even among conservative-leaning papers.[146][148]

See also

References

  1. "Gary Johnson Candidate Summary 2016". Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  2. Lizza, Ryan (July 25, 2016). "The Libertarians' Secret Weapon". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  3. "Federal Elections 2012 Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). FEC.gov. July 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  4. Pfeiffer, Eric (November 7, 2012). "Gary Johnson runs most successful Libertarian campaign in party's history". Yahoo! News. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  5. Harrington, Gerry (November 8, 2012). "Libertarian Party buoyant; Greens hopeful". UPI.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  6. Quinn, Garret (November 6, 2012). "As Gary Johnson Hovers Below 1 Percent, Talk of 2016". Reason.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  7. Ershadi, Julie (April 30, 2013). "Gary Johnson: I'm More Conservative and More Liberal Than Both Parties". Roll Call. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  8. Kantrowitz, Alex (May 28, 2013). "Six Months Later: Gary Johnson In A Candid Conversation On Post Campaign Life". Forbes. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  9. Easley, Jonathan (January 6, 2016). "Libertarian Gary Johnson launches White House bid". The Hill. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  10. Schouten, Fredreka (January 6, 2016). "Gary Johnson announces presidential bid". USA Today. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  11. "Gary Johnson: Third party is going to be the Libertarian Party | On Air Videos | Fox Business". Video.foxbusiness.com. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  12. "Alabama and Mississippi LP host Presidential debate February 27 | Libertarian Party". Lp.org. February 27, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  13. "Libertarian Party of IL Presidential Debate at Springfield, Illinois". YouTube. April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  14. "5 Libertarians for president in North Carolina online debate :: WRAL.com". Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  15. "User Clip: Gary Johnson is booed for supporting drivers' licenses. | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org.
  16. "Highlights from the Libertarian Party Presidential Debate". ABC News.
  17. "Gary Johnson: Third party is going to be the Libertarian Party | On Air Videos". Fox Business. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  18. Benjy Sarlin, Anti-Trump forces have few options for third party alternative, MSNBC (March 4, 2016): "'I am the third party,' former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the party's 2012 nominee, told conservative gathering CPAC on Thursday. 'The Libertarian Party will be on the ballot in all 50 states.'"
  19. "The Third Party Dilemma". The New York Times. March 17, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  20. Burns, Alexander (March 2, 2016). "Anti-Trump Republicans Call for a Third-Party Option". The New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  21. Gillespie, Nick (January 6, 2016). "Exclusive: Gary Johnson Running For President, Call Trump's Plans "Just Whacked – Just Nuts!"". Reason. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  22. Alexander Burns; Maggie Haberban (August 23, 2016). "Gary Johnson, Libertarian Nominee, Denounces Donald Trump as Authoritarian". New York Times.
  23. "SenateNC HouseJudicialReferendaCross-County Local". Er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  24. "2016 LPMN Caucus Results of presidential preference poll | Libertarian Party of Minnesota". LPMN.org. March 1, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  25. "Inside the Beltway: Libertarian hopefuls spar over Nazi-themed wedding cake on Fox forum". Washington Times. March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  26. "FBN's John Stossel Hosts Libertarian Presidential Forum Featuring Johnson, McAfee & Petersen". Fox Business. March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  27. "Google Searches for "Libertarian Party" Surge After Ted Cruz Drops Out". Reason.com. May 4, 2016.
  28. "Google searches for Libertarian Party surge after Cruz drops out". KTRH.
  29. Benen, Steve (May 5, 2016). "Gary Johnson hopes to take advantage of a rare opportunity". MSNBC.
  30. Rogers, Ed (December 14, 2012). "Who is Gary Johnson?". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  31. Watkins, Eli. "Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson: What Donald Trump says is 'ridiculous'". CNN. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  32. Peoples, Steve (May 18, 2016). "Libertarian Gary Johnson secures running mate". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  33. Watkins, Eli (May 29, 2016). "Gary Johnson wins Libertarian presidential nomination at party convention". CNN. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  34. "Mitt Romney says Donald Trump will change America with 'trickle-down racism'". CNN.com. June 11, 2016.
  35. Moody, Chris. "Libertarian town hall: 5 takeaways". CNN. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  36. Concha, Joe (August 4, 2016). "Libertarian town hall boosts CNN in key ratings race". thehill.com. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  37. "Pro-Gary Johnson ads set to air". Politico.
  38. "Fusion to host town hall with Libertarian ticket". TheHill. August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  39. Cooper, Matthew (August 4, 2016). "Libertarian Gary Johnson Is Nearing a Prime-Time Slot". Newsweek.com. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  40. "The Libertarian Party ticket was finalized in Nevada". Reno Gazette-Journal. July 29, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  41. Jeff McAdam (August 7, 2016). "Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson holds rally at University of Utah". KSTU. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  42. "Presidential candidate Gary Johnson in Miami makes case for third party | Opinion". Sun Sentinel. July 19, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  43. "Libertarian Presidential Nominee Gary Johnson Appeals To Discouraged Voters In Miami". WLRN. August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  44. "Libertarian Gary Johnson makes third-party pitch in Las Vegas". Las Vegas Sun News. August 18, 2016.
  45. "Upcoming Events – Gary Johnson for President". Johnsonweld.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  46. "Libertarian Presidential Ticket Holds Burlington Rally". WAMC. August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  47. Dube, Stephanie (August 25, 2016). "Gary Johnson's Concord, NH Rally: Photos You Need to See | Heavy.com | Page 2". Heavy.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  48. By Jeremy C. Fox (August 27, 2016). "Libertarian candidates Johnson and Weld make their case in Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  49. "Gary Johnson's Campaign TV Ads Stress Experience, Honesty, and Keeping Government Out of Our Pocketbook and Our Bedroom". September 9, 2016.
  50. Weigel, David (August 25, 2016). "Super PAC goes on the air for Gary Johnson as he struggles for debate access". Washington Post. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  51. "Gary Johnson-Supporting SuperPAC Thinks Polls Show They Nearly Doubled Support for Johnson in a Maine District". September 7, 2016.
  52. Jonathan Easley; Ben Kamisar (September 28, 2016). "Democrats target Libertarian ticket". The Hill.
  53. Maggie Haberman & Alexander Burns, Gary Johnson Equates Syria Deaths Caused by Assad and West, New York Times (October 5, 2016).
  54. David Weigel, Gary Johnson gives a foreign policy speech and chides the media for giving him pop quizzes, Washington Post (October 7, 2016): " Johnson tried to put a string of foreign policy gaffes behind him on Friday ..."
  55. Wright, David (September 8, 2016). "What is Aleppo?". CNN. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  56. "Read the Interview Where Gary Johnson Asked What Aleppo Is". Time. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  57. Nelson, Louis (September 8, 2016). "Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson: 'What is Aleppo?'". Politico. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  58. Weigel, David. "Gary Johnson has 'Aleppo moment' when asked to name favorite foreign leader". Washington Post. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  59. Woolf, Nicky (September 29, 2016). "US presidential candidate Gary Johnson fails to name a foreign leader he admires". Guardian. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  60. Bromwich, Jonah Engel (September 28, 2016). "'I Guess I'm Having an Aleppo Moment': Gary Johnson Can't Name a Single Foreign Leader". The New York Times.
  61. "Gary Johnson stands by being skeptical of elected officials, foreign leaders". CNN. October 4, 2016.
  62. Sammy Nickalls, Gary Johnson Doesn't Know the Name of North Korea's Leader: Johnson had yet another "Aleppo" moment, Esquire (October 5, 2016).
  63. Cameron Joseph, Gary Johnson refuses to name North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un in foreign policy interview, New York Daily News (October 6, 2016).
  64. Carla Herreria, Gary Johnson Couldn't Name North Korea's Leader, Kim Jong-Un: Yet another embarrassing Aleppo moment for the Libertarian presidential nominee, Huffington Post (October 6, 2016).
  65. Daniel Strauss, Gary Johnson won't name leader of North Korea, Politico (October 5, 2016).
  66. "Andy Craig: Map of Libertarian Party Straw Poll Winners". Independent Political Report. May 2, 2016.
  67. "2016 LPMN Caucus Results of presidential preference poll | Libertarian Party of Minnesota". Lpmn.org. March 1, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  68. "State of Missouri – General Election – November 4, 2014 : Official Results". Er.ncsbe.gov. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  69. "03/15/2016 Unofficial Local Election Results – Statewide". Er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  70. "Nebraska Secretary of State – Election Night Results – May 10th, 2016". Electionresults.sos.ne.gov. May 10, 2016. Archived from the original on May 11, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  71. Jack Noland, With poll numbers stagnant, Stein and Johnson spend big in August, OpenSecrets (September 23, 2016).
  72. Agiesta, Jennifer (July 17, 2016). "Poll: Advantage Clinton as conventions begin". CNN. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  73. Gamio, Lazaro. "New poll shows how Trump-Clinton matchup is redrawing the electoral map". Washington Post. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  74. Giovanni Russonello, Libertarian Gary Johnson Polls at 10 Percent. Who Are His Supporters?, New York Times (September 4, 2016).
  75. Brian Stelter, Debates: What it will take for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein to make it in, CNN Money (August 15, 2016).
  76. David Weigel, Third-party candidates lose legal fight to get into presidential debates, Washington Post (August 5, 2016).
  77. Bill Scher, Did Gary Johnson Just Get Boxed Out of the Debates?, Politico Magazine (August 16, 2016).
  78. Editorial Board (August 5, 2016). "Editorial: Let Libertarian Gary Johnson debate Clinton and Trump". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  79. "Editorial: Let Gary Johnson debate". Boston Herald. September 6, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  80. "Mitch Daniels wants Libertarian Gary Johnson in presidential debates". Indystar.com. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  81. Weigel, David (January 1, 1970). "Mitt Romney wants Gary Johnson on debate stage, but isn't endorsing him". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  82. Schwarzenegger, Arnold. "Arnold Schwarzenegger on Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  83. Joseph Steinberg (September 15, 2016). "For America's Sake, Let Gary Johnson Debate". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  84. "CPD Invites Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump to Debate". Commission on Presidential Debates. September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  85. Gold, Hadas (September 16, 2016). "Johnson and Stein fail to make cut for first presidential debate". Politico. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  86. Doherty, Brian (October 14, 2016). "Gary Johnson SuperPAC Tries to Sell 'the Alternative That You Can be Proud to Vote For'". Reason. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  87. Hackman, Michelle (August 26, 2016). "Match Game: Website Promises Guilt-Free Voting for Gary Johnson". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  88. Stanley, T.L. (August 29, 2016). "Abe Lincoln Trashes Clinton and Trump in This Insane Ad for Libertarian Gary Johnson". AdWeek. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  89. Weigel, Dave (August 27, 2016). "Libertarians hope rallies and ads can nudge them into the presidential debates". Washington Post. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  90. Doherty, Brian (September 7, 2016). "Hit & Run Blog: Pro-Gary Johnson "Balanced Rebellion" Ad Viral Sensation of this Political Cycle". Reason. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  91. Doherty, Brian (August 26, 2016). "Dead Abe Lincoln Says: Vote Gary Johnson". Reason. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  92. Rouner, Jef (August 30, 2016). "Dear Libertarians: Stop Saying Abraham Lincoln Was a Third Party Candidate". Houston Press. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  93. T.L. Stanley. "Gary Johnson Had the Most Viral Ad of the 2016 Election. Was It All for Nothing?". Adweek. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  94. Byron Tau, Gary Johnson's Campaign Steps Up Its Fundraising, Wall Street Journal (August 16, 2016).
  95. Michael Beckelemail, Libertarian presidential hopeful's spending on consultants draws ire: Some Libertarian activists upset with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, Center for Public Integrity (May 26, 2016).
  96. Peoples, Steve (May 18, 2016). "Libertarian Gary Johnson secures running mate". bigstory.ap.org. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  97. Scott, Eugene (June 11, 2016). "Libertarian hopeful Johnson insists he can mount competitive campaign". www.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  98. Sherfinski, David (August 3, 2016). "Gary Johnson: We've raised more than $1 million in last two weeks". washingtontimes.com. The Washington Times. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  99. Mason, Melanie (July 24, 2016). "Libertarian Gary Johnson looks to boost credibility, with a little help from Drew Carey". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  100. "Gary Johnson surpasses $2.9 million in online donations for August". The Washington Times.
  101. Julia Boccagno, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson sets fundraising milestone among third-party candidates, CBS News (September 21, 2016).
  102. Murray, Mark (August 9, 2016). "Clinton Campaign Now Outspending Trump on Ads – $52 Million to 0". NBC News. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  103. "Gary Johnson Presidential Campaign". www.fundly.com. Fundly. Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  104. Goodman, Kaitlyn. "The Johnson–Weld Money Comet Is Crashing Into the Political System". www.iagreetosee.com. I Agree to See. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  105. "Johnson–Weld Money Comet". nationbuilder.com. Nationbuilder. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  106. Sherfinski, David (July 21, 2016). "Libertarians Hope to Woo Supporters from RNC". Washington Times. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  107. "Gary Johnson, Libertarian Nominee, Betting Big on August Events to Help Ticket". US News & World Report. August 10, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  108. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  109. "Libertarian Gary Johnson Bags Money Haul". US News & World Report. August 16, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  110. David Weigel, Super PAC goes on the air for Gary Johnson as he struggles for debate access, Washington Post (August 25, 2016).
  111. Michael Beckelemail, Super PACs boost Libertarian Gary Johnson's long-shot presidential bid: Americans Deserve Better, Purple PAC out with new ad campaigns, Center for Public Integrity (August 20, 2016).
  112. Wilson, J. (June 1, 2016). "Two Super PACS Have Formed To Start Supporting Gary Johnson". A Libertarian Future. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  113. "Contributors, 2016 cycle". www.opensecrets.org. Open Secrets. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  114. "Company Overview of Columbia Ventures Corporation". www.opensecrets.org. Open Secrets. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  115. "Businessman to bankroll Super PAC backing Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson". www.bizjournals.com. The Business Journals. June 1, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  116. "Report of Receipts and Disbursements For Other Than An Authorized Committee". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission. December 8, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  117. Brian Doherty (August 11, 2016). "CGary Johnson-Supporting PACs Ready TV Ads". www.opensecrets.org. Reason. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  118. "Maine to see early ads boosting Emily Cain, Gary Johnson". August 12, 2016.
  119. "Report of receipts and disbursements" (PDF). fec.gov. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  120. "Contributors, 2016 cycle". www.opensecrets.org. Open Secrets. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  121. "Another Johnson/Weld SuperPAC Announced, Run By Weld Associates and GOP Operatives". June 13, 2016.
  122. "Why Gary Johnson Matters". politico.com.
  123. "Gary Johnson in Cincy: Relishes role of spoiler in presidential race". daytondailynews.com.
  124. "Could Gary Johnson get hot and play the spoiler in the presidential election?". PBS NewsHour. September 6, 2016.
  125. "Libertarian Johnson Adds to Clinton's Challenges With Young Voters". Bloomberg.com. September 16, 2016 via www.bloomberg.com.
  126. Editorial Board (September 30, 2016). "Do Gary Johnson supporters really want to help Trump win?" via www.washingtonpost.com.
  127. "The Stakes of the Third-Party Candidates". newyorker.com. October 9, 2016.
  128. "Hillary's Hidden Burden – National Review". nationalreview.com. September 16, 2016.
  129. Nation, The (October 5, 2016). "Why Progressives Should Vote for Hillary Clinton" via www.thenation.com. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  130. Tomasky, Michael (September 29, 2016). "Why No One Should Vote for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein". The Daily Beast via www.thedailybeast.com.
  131. Rodriguez, Ashley (October 17, 2016). "John Oliver vets Jill Stein and Gary Johnson not as spoilers, but as "legitimate potential presidents"". qz.com.
  132. "Third-party voters played a key role in election results". msnbc.com.
  133. Watkins, Eli. "How Gary Johnson and Jill Stein helped elect Donald Trump". cnn.com.
  134. "2016 Michigan Official General Election Results – 11/08/2016". miboecfr.nictusa.com.
  135. "Election Results". wisconsinvote.org. Archived from the original on September 1, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  136. Nguyen, Tina (November 10, 2016). "Gary Johnson and Jill Stein Handed the Presidency to Donald Trump". vanityfair.com.
  137. Shechet, Ellie (November 9, 2016). "Fuck Gary Johnson". jezebel.com.
  138. Murphy, Patricia (November 11, 2016). "Libertarians to America: Don't Blame Us for Trump". The Daily Beast via www.thedailybeast.com.
  139. "2016 Presidential General Election Results". U.S. Election Atlas. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  140. "1980 Presidential General Election Results". U.S. Election Atlas. February 26, 2017.
  141. "2012 Presidential General Election Results". U.S. Election Atlas. February 26, 2017.
  142. 2016 Election Results: New Mexico, CNN.
  143. Russonello, Giovanni (September 4, 2016). "Libertarian Gary Johnson Polls at 10 Percent. Who Are His Supporters?". The New York Times.
  144. Alexander Burns (August 7, 2016). "Congressman Backs Libertarian Presidential Candidate in Campaign First". The New York Times.
  145. "Cornell Republicans Break Party Lines, Endorse Johnson for President". The Cornell Daily Sun. September 2, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  146. Callum Borchers, Gary Johnson acquired 9 daily newspaper endorsements. Donald Trump is stuck at zero, Washington Post (October 3, 2016).
  147. Allison Kite, Gary Johnson Keeps Picking Up Newspaper Endorsements, Wall Street Journal (October 30, 2016).
  148. Jim Rutenberg, The Editorialists Have Spoken; Will Voters Listen?, New York Times (October 5, 2016).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.