He is a supporter of legalized cannabis and frowns upon the complicated and out-of-touch workings of the United States government -- already, Gary Johnson mirrors the views of many students and millennials.
Looking at his past, Johnson's need for adventure and stimulation really shines through. Before he announced his running for the 2016 presidential campaign under the Libertarian Party, he was the president and CEO of Cannabis Sativa, Inc., a company based out of Nevada that sells primarily medical cannabis products. In 1976, he started his own mechanical contracting business as the only employee, then expanded it to a multimillion-dollar corporation with over 1,000 workers.
Gary Johnson is equally as impressive with his physical fitness as he is with business, if not even more so. As an accomplished triathlete, he has participated in many triathlons. He competed numerous times in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Probably most well known of his athletic feats was summiting Mount Everest...on a broken leg. He has also climbed the remaining six of the Seven Summits.
Don't think he is some entrepreneurial and athletic hotshot with no political experience. From 1995 to 2003, Johnson served as the 29th governor of New Mexico. 2012 was the first year he ran for president with his running mate, Judge Jim Gray, where they received almost 1 percent of the popular vote. Since his run in 2012, he had been working on Our America Initiative, a Super PAC that focused on issues of liberty and expanding the number of candidates allowed in the presidential debates. Johnson's running mate for this year, William Weld, was the 68th governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997.
Robert Clarke, 21, who attends Delaware County Community College, likes that Governor Johnson advocates for the removal of federal student loans, believing that this will do wonders to drive down the skyrocketing student loan debt. He has had great success introducing people to Johnson, and when petitioning for ballot access in Pennsylvania, found that most everyone is happy at the notion of a third option.
The National Youth Director of Students for Gary, Jason Weinman, says that Gary Johnson and William Weld are polling higher among voters under 35 in some states. According to him, this is the largest student campaign any Libertarian has ever run. Indeed, not only is Johnson being included in a variety of polls, he is consistently polling 10 percent or more of the vote.
#BernieOrBust illustrates and picks at a problem that youth voters are frustrated with -- most politicians do not seem to care for the actual issues that they are interested in. Many people who were Bernie Sanders supporters feel that Hillary Clinton is out of touch with millennials, and is merely another prominent and unyielding figure within the establishment. Even a lot of those who plan to vote for Clinton are only doing so to ensure that Donald Trump does not get elected. While the U.S. needs major voting reform, allowing for third-party candidates to speak out against the status quo is the first step for making necessary change. Clarke sums up the irritation of many millennials regarding the current two-party system, and why we must hear Gary Johnson out:
"From both old-party candidates we keep hearing calls for more restrictions, more laws, more knee-jerk reactions to the same old problems that oftentimes don't have any basis in fact. But you won't hear talks about bringing a host of jobs to the U.S. via eliminating the IRS and personal/corporate income tax. You won't hear them bringing up that we're ripping the Middle East apart with ill advised, non-congressional wars. You won't hear them discuss anything but the same tired old shticks of their campaigns. Johnson brings these other aspects to the table."
Contact JasonWeinman@JohnsonWeld.com if you want to become involved with student campaigning. Students for Gary is currently looking for members, chapter leaders, and state directors.
