The 2012 presidential campaign of Gary Johnson, the 29th governor of New Mexico, was announced on April 21, 2011. He declared his candidacy for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. On December 28, 2011, Johnson withdrew his candidacy for the Republican nomination, and declared his candidacy for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. The 2012 Libertarian National Convention was held during the first weekend of May 2012. On May 5, 2012, after promoting his libertarian-oriented political positions to delegates, Johnson received the most votes at the convention and became the official 2012 Libertarian presidential nominee. On November 6, 2012, Johnson received just under 1% of the popular vote in the general election, amounting to more than 1.2 million votes, more than double what the Barr/Root ticket received in 2008. This was the most successful result for a third-party presidential candidacy since 2000, and the best in the Libertarian Party's history by vote number at the time. Johnson ran again in 2016 and received nearly four times his 2012 vote total.
Background
Johnson initially indicated interest in running for president in the 2012 election in 2009. In October of that year, he founded the Our America Initiative, a 501(c)(4) "nonprofit political advocacy committee that promotes common-sense business approaches to governing." The stated focus of the organization was to "...speak out on issues regarding topics such as government efficiency, lowering taxes, ending the war on drugs, protecting civil liberties, revitalizing the economy and promoting entrepreneurship and privatization." The move prompted speculation among media pundits and Johnson's supporters as to whether he was laying the groundwork for a 2012 presidential run.
In December 2009, Johnson hired strategist Ron Nielson of NSON Opinion Strategy to organize the committee. Nielson has worked with Johnson since 1993 when he ran his successful gubernatorial campaign.
Throughout 2010, Johnson repeatedly deflected questions regarding his potential presidential candidacy by explaining that his 501(c)(4) status forbade him from expressing a desire to run for federal office.
In February 2011, Johnson was a featured speaker at both the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and the Republican Liberty Caucus. Johnson tied with New Jersey governor Chris Christie for third in the CPAC Straw Poll, trailing only Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. In that poll, he placed ahead of such notables as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, Indiana governor Mitch Daniels and former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. David Weigel of Slate called Johnson the second-biggest winner of the conference, writing that his "third-place showing in the straw poll gave Johnson his first real media hook ... He met tons of reporters, commanded a small scrum after the vote, and is a slightly lighter shade of dark horse now."
Campaign developments
Announcement
On April 21, 2011 Johnson officially announced via Twitter that he was running for president. He followed this announcement with a speech at the New Hampshire State House in Concord, New Hampshire.
Johnson focused the majority of his Republican campaign activities on the New Hampshire primary.
Campaign staff
Johnson chose Ron Nielson of NSON Opinion Strategy, the director of both of his two New Mexico gubernatorial campaigns, as his presidential campaign manager and senior advisor. His campaign was run from Salt Lake City, Utah, where Nielson's offices are located. Johnson's economics advisor was Harvard economics professor Jeffrey Miron.
Republican debates
Johnson participated in the first of the Republican presidential debates, hosted by Fox News in South Carolina on May 5, 2011, appearing on stage with Herman Cain, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum. Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann both declined to debate.