Gary Johnson

Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party.

Johnson was born on January 1, 1953, in Minot, North Dakota, the son of Lorraine B. (née Bostow), who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Earl W. Johnson, a public school teacher and World War II Army veteran who participated in the Invasion of Normandy and fought at the Battle of Bastogne, earning three Purple Hearts during his service in the 101st Airborne Division.

In 1971, Johnson graduated from Sandia High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he was on the school track team.

He attended the University of New Mexico from 1971 to 1975 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science.

While at UNM, he joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

It was there that he met his future wife, Denise "Dee" Simms.

While in college, Johnson earned money as a door-to-door handyman.

His success in that industry encouraged him to start his own business, Big J Enterprises, in 1976.

When he started the business, which focused on mechanical contracting, Johnson was its only employee.

His firm's major break came when he received a large contract from Intel's expansion in Rio Rancho, which increased Big J's revenue to $38 million.

To cope with the growth of the company, Johnson enrolled in a time management course at night school, which he credits with making him heavily goal driven.

He eventually grew Big J into a multimillion-dollar corporation with over 1,000 employees.

Johnson entered politics for the first time by running for governor of New Mexico in 1994 on a low-tax, anti-crime platform, promising a "common-sense business approach".

He defeated incumbent Democratic governor Bruce King, 50% to 40%.

He cut the 10% annual growth in the budget, in part by using the gubernatorial veto 200 times during his first six months.

He was unable to convince the state senate to pass any of his motions.

Johnson entered politics in 1994 with the intention of running for governor and was advised by "Republican Elders" to run for the State Legislature instead.

Despite their advice, Johnson spent $500,000 of his own money and entered the race with the intent of bringing a "common sense business approach" to the office.

Johnson's campaign slogan was "People before Politics".

His platform emphasized tax cuts, job creation, state government spending growth restraint, and law and order.

He won the Republican nomination, defeating state legislator Richard P. Cheney by 34% to 33%, with John Dendahl and former governor David F. Cargo in third and fourth.

Johnson subsequently won a plurality in the three-way general election, defeating the incumbent Governor Bruce King (a relatively conservative Democrat) and the former Lieutenant Governor Roberto Mondragón (who ran as a Green) with just under 50% of the vote.

Johnson was elected in a nationally Republican year, although party registration in the state of New Mexico at the time was 2-to-1 Democratic.

As governor, Johnson followed a strict small-government approach.

Johnson received nearly 4.5 million votes (3.3% of the total vote), which is the most for a third-party presidential candidate since 1996 and the highest national vote share for a Libertarian candidate in history.

Johnson sought reelection in 1998, winning by 55% to 45%.

In his second term, he concentrated on the issue of school voucher reforms as well as campaigning for cannabis decriminalization.

During his tenure as governor, Johnson adhered to an anti-tax policy, setting state and national records for the number of times he used his veto power: more than the other 49 contemporary governors put together.

By the time he sold the company in 1999, it was one of New Mexico's leading construction companies.

Term-limited, Johnson retired from front-line politics in 2003.

He has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 2011 and was the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections.

In December 2011, he withdrew his candidacy for the Republican nomination and stood for the Libertarian nomination instead, winning the nomination in May 2012.

Johnson received 1.3 million votes (1%), more than all other minor candidates combined.

Johnson ran for president in 2012, initially as a Republican on a libertarian platform emphasizing the United States public debt and a balanced budget, protection of civil liberties, military non-interventionism, replacement of income tax with the FairTax, and opposition to the War on Drugs.

Johnson ran again for President in 2016, once again winning the Libertarian nomination.

He named former Republican governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld as his running mate.

After the 2016 presidential election, Johnson said he would not run for president again.

He was also the Libertarian nominee in the 2018 U.S. Senate election in New Mexico.

He ran for the U.S. Senate as a Libertarian in the 2018 New Mexico senate race against incumbent Democratic senator Martin Heinrich, coming in third with 15.4% of the statewide vote (107,201 votes).

Johnson has since maintained a low profile and has had little involvement in politics.