Before this year, Johnson had mostly been famous for vetoing hundreds of bills as governor of New Mexico, smoking weed at a regular clip while running the state, and advocating for the reduction of pretty much every government agency. In a normal election year, Johnson would be lucky to get 5 percent of the vote as the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate.
But this is no normal election cycle, and after the Republican Party steered itself into the iceberg that is Donald Trump, Johnson — who is socially liberal but economically conservative — has become a viable alternative to #NeverTrump voters. Disaffected Republicans who were down with George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney but can't stomach pulling the lever for the Donald have been giving Johnson a serious look.
Johnson, like the Green Party's Jill Stein, will likely receive far more votes than usual in November, leading the New Yorker last month to say he would "make the most unpredictable election in modern times even weirder."
Johnson is battling hard to reach 15 percent in the nation's major polls. If he hits the benchmark, he'll be invited to a televised TV debate. In 2012, he received 0.99 percent of the popular vote, besting Stein.
At 7 p.m. tomorrow, Johnson, along with his running mate, former Massachusetts governor and current Ed Begley Jr. lookalike Bill Weld, will hold a town-hall discussion at Florida International University's Wertheim Performing Arts Center. It will be Johnson's first visit to Miami this election cycle.2016 could be the year when the two party hold on American elections falls apart -- and it's about time. You In? https://t.co/w06Da0WKD1
— Gov. Gary Johnson (@GovGaryJohnson) August 14, 2016
He will also host a private reception for donors who've given more than $1,000.
Johnson says he believes the Environmental Protection Agency is "good government" but otherwise believes in paring back the actions of most government agencies. He favors replacing all income taxes with a single FairTax and has advocated for a 43 percent cut in military spending, among other platform proposals.
Socially, he not only believes the government should allow same-sex couples to marry, but also he doesn't think the U.S. should recognize the concept of marriage at all.
Fox News has described Johnson as a "sleeper candidate," and a recent poll in Investor's Business Daily shows that Johnson is the most popular candidate among young voters, besting both Trump and Hillary Clinton.
While 30 percent of young voters say they like Clinton, 35 percent apparently say they're Johnson fans. In Florida, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released Friday put him at 9 percent.
Unlike Clinton's visit last week, Johnson's motorcade doesn't look like it will disrupt traffic.
