Johnson to launch W.H. bid in April
By: Kendra Marr
March 26, 2011 08:12 PM EDT
Gary Johnson will formally announce his candidacy for president in April while stumping in New Hampshire, an adviser told POLITICO.
The former New Mexico governor will skip the step of creating an exploratory committee stage, opting instead for an immediate start to his bid for the Republican nomination.
A libertarian-leaning Republican who supports gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana, Johnson occupies much of the same political space as Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who run in 2008 and is considering another bid. Starting a campaign in April could provide such backdrops as the April 15 tax day and the annual April 20 pushes for legalizing marijuana.
Johnson's new timeline was first reported by Fox News.
To date, he has mostly remained coy about his presidential aspirations. He's one of the few presidential hopefuls without a political action committee of any kind, raising money instead through his nonprofit group Our America Initiative. That organization can accept unlimited contributions, but cannot fund a presidential campaign.
Since launching Our America Initiative last year, Johnson has traveled the country — with a focus on the early voting states — speaking about the economy, civil liberties and cutting entitlement spending.
Though frequently compared to Paul, the libertarian movement's closest thing to a standard-bearer, Johnson has been distancing himself from the analogy. While they're both libertarians, Johnson said, his reputation as "Gov. No" is much different than Paul's moniker "Dr. No." He has emphasized his record as a governor who was prolific in using his veto pen.
"There was a big difference between Ron Paul and me when it came to the 'no,'" Johnson recently told POLITICO. "His 'no‚' was philosophical. It was reasoned. It was right. My 'no' actually put a stop to legislation. It cut spending. Mine carried further than just no. I had to follow through with the debate, discussion and dialogue on why my 'no' wouldn't result in people starving, schools being shut down and the delivery of services to the poor wasn't going to be curtailed."
dyn.politico.com |
