Gary Johnson

Former N.M. Gov. Gary Johnson will formally launch his presidential campaign next month in New Hampshire, Fox News and Politico are reporting.

Johnson, a libertarian-leaning Republican, plans to skip the step of creating an exploratory committee, Politico reported. Fox News reported that Johnson’s announcement will come sometime after April 15 – tax day.

The announcement isn’t a surprise. Talk of the tea party favorite running for president in 2012 really started ramping up in early 2009. And though he’s skipping the exploratory committee, Johnson formed a nonprofit – Our America Initiative – in 2009, and through that organization he’s been traveling around the nation to talk about issues and increase his profile.

As Fox News reported, “Johnson has traveled to more than 30 states and spoken to 500 groups in the last 15 months, and plans to visit Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, and South Carolina in coming weeks, all states crucial to anyone eyeing a White House run.”

A wide-open race

Many consider Johnson’s bid for the presidency a long shot. However, pundits have also been frequently talking about how there isn’t yet a clear frontrunner in the GOP race for the right to take on President Barack Obama next year.

Johnson’s candidacy needs strong tea party support, so his chances may have taken a hit last week when U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said it’s likely that either he or his father, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, will run for president next year. Both are tea party favorites.

Johnson will be the second New Mexico governor to run for president in as many election cycles, but Bill Richardson was a sitting governor when he ran, and at the time he enjoyed a huge amount of popularity in his home state.

That’s also different for Johnson. A recent poll had Johnson tied for fourth out of five potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates among New Mexico Republicans. Still, it’s worth noting that only a few percentage points separated the potential candidates.

That’s a sign that the race is wide open.

The difference between ‘Gov. No’ and ‘Dr. No’

Johnson, who served as governor from 1995 to 2003, was best known for vetoing hundreds of bills. He told NMPolitics.net in late 2009 that he would have reduced government further if faced with today’s budget crunch.

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“If I had been a benevolent dictator, instead of governor, I would have cut back government even further, and no one would have noticed the loss in goods or services,” he said. “With that said, I would argue that you haven’t noticed an increase in government goods and services with spending increases.”

Here’s more on Johnson and the dynamics his candidacy creates, from Politico:

“…Johnson occupies much of the same political space as Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who ran in 2008 and is considering another bid. Starting a campaign in April could provide such backdrops as the April 15 Tax Day and the annual April 20 push for legalizing marijuana.”

How will he separate himself from Ron Paul? Politico has some analysis of that as well:

“Though frequently compared with Paul, the libertarian movement’s closest thing to a standard-bearer, Johnson has been distancing himself from the comparison. While they’re both libertarians, Johnson said, his reputation as ‘Gov. No’ is different from Paul’s moniker ‘Dr. No.’ He has emphasized his record as a governor who was prolific in using his veto pen.

“‘There was a big difference between Ron Paul and me when it came to the ‘no,’’ Johnson recently told Politico. ‘His ‘no’ was philosophical. It was reasoned. It was right. My ‘no’ actually put a stop to legislation. It cut spending. Mine carried further than just ‘no.’ I had to follow through with the debate, discussion and dialogue on why my ‘no’ wouldn’t result in people starving, schools being shut down and the delivery of services to the poor wasn’t going to be curtailed.’”

‘We are on the verge of an imminent financial collapse’

As Fox News pointed out, the nation’s spending is Johnson’s primary focus:

“When asked in a wide ranging interview with Fox News what he thinks is the most important issue facing America today, the answer is immediate, ‘I think it’s the fact that we’re bankrupt, that we’re borrowing 43 cents out of every dollar that we’re spending.’

“‘When asked what other issues he thinks are most important, the answer is pretty much the same. ‘I am in the camp that believes that we are on the verge of an imminent financial collapse. The only thing that government could do and should do in my opinion would be to balance the budget. That would really send an unbelievable message that we as Americans understand that you can’t continue to spend more money than what you take in.’”

Update, 12:10 p.m.

Johnson recently talked with Veritas New Mexico about federal issues and answered the question about whether he was close to announcing a presidential bid. Read the full post here, or watch the video:

This article has been updated to remove a quote from Politico that incorrectly stated that Johnson supports gay marriage. Johnson supports civil unions but not gay marriage.