Libertarian Party Candidate Gary Johnson Chooses Former Mass. Gov. Bill Weld as His VP

NBC ^ | May 18 2016 | Leigh Ann Caldwell

[MarvinStinson]

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson has agreed to join forces with former Massachusetts Governor William Weld for the Libertarian Party's nomination. Weld will run for the party's vice presidential slot, possibly bolstering the third party's appeal to general election voters.

Weld was a popular governor in the 1990s with crossover appeal and could boost the legitimacy of a third-party option for voters disgruntled by presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

"It brings an enormous amount of credibility to what it is I'm doing," Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, said in a statement. "I'm unbelievably flattered by this and humbled."

The official announcement is expected Thursday morning.

Johnson was the party's nominee in 2012 and won 1.2 million votes, more than any previous Libertarian presidential candidate. Four years later he could be an even greater contender as some Republicans, including party leaders like Mitt Romney, have voiced their desire for an alternative presidential candidate to Trump. Weld could help him do that.

Weld, a fiscal conservative and social liberal, won two terms as a Republican in the heavily Democratic state of Massachusetts, including with 71 percent of the vote in his re-election. His political preferences have spanned the political spectrum. He endorsed fellow Massachusetts politician Romney in the last presidential election but supported Barack Obama in 2008.

[Enchante]

Weld was over-the-hill way back when he was MA governor..... now he must be almost a corpse.

[trebb]

Who and who?

That's what 99.93% of the People will say when they see those names. They are probably funded to run a local county campaign to top it off.

[fwdude]

Gary who?

[doug from upland]