The Libertarian Party Sunday nominated former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson as its presidential candidate on a second ballot after Johnson barely failed to secure the needed majority on the first.
Johnson, who was five votes short of the nomination the first time, reportedly gained 60 votes on the second ballot to secure the nomination. Now he is hoping to sell his preferred running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, to a convention that is skeptical of the former Republican’s Libertarian bona fides.
Johnson got just one percent of the vote as the nominee during 2012, but party backers are hoping that with the high negative ratings attached to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Johnson in 2016 can do much better.
