Hoping to emerge as a viable contender against the two major parties’ nominees in the general election, Johnson says he aims to tap into voters’ broad reluctance to fall in line behind Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
But Johnson needed to fend off challengers from more extreme wings of his party, originally falling five votes short of winning the 463 delegates needed for the nomination on the first ballot at the party’s national convention. Delegates voted a second time, giving Johnson the majority he needed (55.8 percent).
Johnson defeated five hopefuls to secure his place on top of the Libertarian ticket, which will likely be the only third party on the ballot in all 50 states.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, hand-chosen by Johnson to bring media attention and fundraising dollars to the campaign, narrowly clinched the Libertarian nomination for vice president.
By just a four-vote margin, this means both slots on the Libertarian ticket will be filled by formerly GOP two-term governors, an important step to becoming viable third party contenders, according to Johnson.
“If it is Bill Weld, there’s a real possibility that we can achieve major party status in this country,” Johnson told delegates, pleading with them before votes were cast.
[Keep reading. . .]
There is much about the Libertarians that I like, particularly their defense of civil liberties (the trampling of which I consider to be a huge and growing issue), and their insistence on limited government.
I know quite a few pro-life Christian libertarians, some of which are fixtures on this blog. What do you do with the freedom to have abortions part of the libertarian program?
Some libertarian candidates, such as Ron and Rand Paul, have been pro-life. But Johnson and Weld are not.
I would love to vote Libertarian in this election, but the life issues are blocking that.
I would genuinely like to hear from pro-life Libertarians. Can you make a case for my casting a vote your way, despite the abortion issue?
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