Gary Johnson Wants Barry Goldwater, Jr. As His VP
April 30, 2012
If all goes according to plan for former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson at this week’s Libertarian Party convention in Las Vegas, he will win his party’s nomination for president on the first ballot and his running mate will be former congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr.
“The process all along has been to find somebody that can articulate libertarian ideals and beliefs and I’ve thought all along that he would be a really solid pick,” said Johnson, during a phone interview with Reason late Sunday night.
Johnson said the fact that Goldwater comes “from a great heritage of libertarian-conservatism” and has prior experience in high political office makes him a valuable addition to the campaign.
“He’s been through the fire, has a considerable amount of political experience, and he will be one heartbeat from the presidency and I think he would be very capable of that,” he said.
Goldwater, who is still a registered Republican, is a former Representative from California’s 20th congressional district. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate in 1982, losing in the primary to general election victor Pete Wilson. But perhaps most prominently, he is the son of the late Barry Goldwater, Sr., a five-term Senator, conservative icon, and the Republican Party’s nominee for President in the 1964 election. Though the elder Goldwater lost the general election against Lyndon Johnson in one of the most decisive landslides in American history, his effort is widely considered to have been a catalyst for the modern conservative and libertarian movements.
The Johnson/Goldwater ticket started to come together back in early March, when Fox News anchor John Stossel had both of the candidates on his news show to discuss various political issues. [1] When fellow guest David Boaz suggested the possibility of the two sharing a presidential ticket, the audience responded very positively, cheering.
“It was the first time I ever considered it and shortly thereafter his campaign approached me about the possibility of it,” said Goldwater.
This was not the first time in recent years that Goldwater has dabbled in libertarian politics. During the 2008 primary season, he endorsed and actively campaigned for libertarian-leaning Texas Congressman Ron Paul, contributing to his relative success in early primary states such as New Hampshire. These activities have made Goldwater very popular among Ron Paul’s dedicated group of supporters.
Eventually everything fell into place on April 23 when the Johnson campaign formally asked Goldwater if he would be their running mate. Goldwater accepted.
“I only agreed to run if the campaign would be centered on principle. Our country is a mess right now, and only a return to true conservative principles will be able to save us. I think that running on that alone will get the public to notice us,” Goldwater stated. “In the words of my father, we will offer a choice, not an echo.”
Goldwater said the Johnson campaign considered him, along with three other possible candidates, for Vice President. At this time there do not appear to be any additional candidates currently seeking the Libertarian nomination for vice president. This could change at the convention as the Libertarians have a history of picking vice presidents from presidential candidates that lose in the early rounds of voting. This happened as recently as 2008 when Wayne Allyn Root wound up as the vice presidential candidate after losing his bid for the presidential nomination on the fifth ballot. Root ran as Bob Barr’s running mate after being elected in the second round of voting.