Former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson threw his name in the 2016 presidential race as a Libertarian candidate over Memorial Day weekend. Johnson ran in the 2012 presidential race as a Republican candidate before he switched to the Libertarian party. Online sources reference his religious designation as a "non-practicing Lutheran."
In the 2012 election, Johnson received 1 percent of the popular vote, and became the first Libertarian presidential candidate to receive more than 1 million votes.
Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld also was chosen at the Libertarian National Convention on Sunday as the 2016 vice presidential nominee. "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.
The Wall Street Journal called the Johnson-Weld combination the most experienced ticket in the party's four-decade history.
Johnson defeated five hopefuls pursuing the top ticket spot of the Libertarians, which will likely be the only third party on the ballot in all 50 states.
Johnson told ABC News he aims to tap into voters' broad reluctance to fall in line behind Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
One recent Fox News poll shows Johnson at 10 percent in a race against Trump and Clinton, although a general belief is that polling tends to overstate the support of third-party candidates.
However, polls referenced by the Blue Nation Review indicate a surprisingly large number of Republicans plan to vote during the 2016 election for Libertarian candidate Johnson. Four times as many Republicans as Democrats intend to vote for a third-party candidate, wrote Blue Nation Review: "Many of these Republicans have one candidate in mind: Gary Johnson - the Libertarian candidate, who has been pushing hard for Republican votes."
"I think Donald Trump wholly alienates more than half of Republicans," Johnson told MSNBC. "If nothing comes of this election with regard to the Libertarian Party, then nothing is going to ever come of it, I don't think."
"With regard to Trump, he's saying some things that I just think are ridiculous and would disqualify any other candidate," Johnson told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day."
According to the most recent Monmouth Poll, which heavily explored Johnson's third-party candidacy, Johnson was winning 13 percent of Republicans compared to only 4 percent of Democrats.
Johnson was born in Minot, N.D., and grew up in Albuquerque, N.M. He is said to have "lived according to those Christian [Lutheran] principles throughout his life."
