If you’re like the vast majority of America, neither one of the Presidential front-runners is really getting your motor running.
According to a recent poll, nearly 60% of Americans are dissatisfied with their current collection of candidates and 65% are looking for another option. The same survey seemed to demonstrate that a third party candidate could be competitive – and Libertarian party front-runner, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, wants to be that third party candidate.
Rumor has it that Johnson is set to pick a running mate, former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, and ready to be nominated (the Libertarian Party holds their convention next weekend in Orlando). There were even whispers that the Koch brothers intend to fund Johnson’s campaign (though the Kochs and Johnson dismiss the claims).
So who is Gary Johnson? Here are five things you might need to know.
1. He’s running as a Libertarian because the Republican Party didn’t want him. The Republican Party started out with 18 candidates but drew the line at letting Johnson – the 2012 Libertarian Party Presidential nominee (but former Republican) – debate on stage, because most news organizations weren’t including him in their polls. By last account, about 80% of people “had no opinion” of him, but that might be because they thought Gary Johnson was the name of the guy down the street who drinks in his driveway.
2. He’s for limited government – and he means it. Johnson considers himself fiscally conservative but socially liberal. He supports legalizing marijuana (it’s his cornerstone issue – he’s the CEO of pot company Cannabis Sativa, Inc.) and getting government out of the bedroom, and believes in lower taxes and curbing government spending. As governor of New Mexico, he vetoed 750 bills sent to him from the state legislature, mostly dealing with state spending, earning him the nickname “Governor Veto.” He says, if elected, he’d cut national spending by 25%.
3. He could probably kick your ass. Johnson is a hardcore athlete who’s competed in several Ironman races, biked across the Alps and has climbed six of the seven highest peaks in the world (he has yet to climb Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko). Johnson made it to the top of Mt. Everest on a broken leg, surviving frostbite and a near-deadly icefall collapse (as well as forgetting to turn on his oxygen tank). And he could best Vladimir Putin in any shirtless photo contest. You can find pictures of Johnson’s Everest summit on his Flickr account.
4. He bootstrapped his way to success. Johnson was raised in North Dakota and attended the University of New Mexico. After graduation, Johnson started a handyman company – just him – going door to door, offering to do small construction projects. Over time, he grew his business into a 1,000-person operation called “Big J.” He sold the company in 1999 for $10 million and has been working in public service ever since.
5. He might be able to pull it off – but it will be a long shot. When Johnson ran in 2012, he got around 1% of the vote – 1.3 million individual ballots – the most for a Libertarian Party candidate in history. This time around, though, he’s averaging in the double-digits in head-to-head match-ups against Trump and Clinton. He fares well among young voters and independents, and pulls about equally from both parties. And while he probably can’t credibly claim to have a shot at the White House, he’s got the rare opportunity to make waves: searches for “Gary Johnson” spiked after Donald Trump locked up the Republican nomination, favorability for the top candidates is at an all time low, and the Libertarian Party is on the ballot in 32 of fifty states, with more states likely to open their race before November.
Ed. note: The original version of this story listed the Libertarian Party as on the ballot in all fifty states. Although that is their eventual hope, the numbers have been changed to reflect the Party’s current status.