Gary Johnson Hopes To Run In 2016 And Promises Not To Pander To Iowans

Gary Johnson Hopes To Run In 2016 And Promises Not To Pander To Iowans

WASHINGTON -- Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson said he is likely to run for president again in 2016 and will be blunt as hell when he does it.

"I hope to," Johnson told The Huffington Post when asked whether he'd make another go of it.

The two-term governor, who ran first as a Republican and then as a libertarian in the 2012 cycle, gained early attention then for his support of marijuana legalization even as he tried to steer the conversation to his fiscally conservative credentials. That issue faded, however, as the campaign progressed, and Johnson ended up spending a good chunk of time complaining that debate organizers were excluding him from their forums.

With an estimated 15 or so Republicans likely to run for 2016, the stage will be packed once more. To get around that, he would run as a libertarian from the beginning of the campaign, said his spokesman, Joe Hunter. And he would be unfiltered when talking to voters, in a Bulworth type of "say whatever is on my mind" way.

Johnson previewed that strategy with The Huffington Post.

"If I do [run], there will be no delusions this time around," he said. "The notion that somebody needs to be out there telling the truth -- believe me the truth is always subject to tweaking -- I think its kind of fun to be the one person out there that's actually telling it like it is.

"Use immigration as an example," he went on. "I can't tell you how sorta, kinda, frustrating it is to listen to Iowans talk about immigration and tell me what a scourge illegal immigration is and immigration in general. What do they know about it? I'm the border state. I'm New Mexico. Give me a break. Let me tell you about it. How about that?"

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