» Breaking: Gary Johnson To Run for President

Gary Johnson prepares for announcement in New Hampshire Thursday morning. Photo by Michael Coleman / Journal Washington Bureau

CONCORD, N.H. — Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson — a fiscal conservative who supports marijuana legalization and immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan — this morning announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for president of the United States.

Standing on the granite steps of the New Hampshire state capitol, Johnson said America is on the verge of a financial meltdown and his brand of conservative cost-cutting can help protect the nation’s future.

“This is the first time I get to say this, but I am running for president,” Johnson said to cheers from about two dozen supporters who gathered on a blustery morning outside the capitol. “This is a cost-benefit analysis – what are we spending our money on and what are we getting for it? I’m outraged by the fact that this country is bankrupt.”

A self-made millionaire and former Ironman triathlete who served as New Mexico’s governor from 1995-2003, Johnson is widely viewed as a long-shot candidate in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. He acknowledged that reality today.

“I have to do — and want to do — really well in New Hampshire, where you can go from obscurity to prominence overnight with a good showing,” Johnson said. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I won’t be outworked when it comes to being in New Hampshire and talking to people.”

New Hampshire’s 2012 Republican primary date has not yet been determined, but it is historically the nation’s first primary election and serves as a major proving ground for presidential candidates.

Johnson said if elected he would look to reduce spending in four areas that consume the largest part of the federal budget: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the defense department. He also questioned America’s involvement in the Libyan conflict and said he favors smaller government because of the “unintended consequences” of government intervention in almost all areas of life.

Longtime New Hampshire political observers said the state’s famously open-minded and politically astute voters will give Johnson a chance.

“There are a lot of libertarian voters in New Hampshire … and he appeals to them,” said Jack Kimball, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. “So, I’d say there is an appeal, but I don’t know how broad it is. It really comes down to exposure and timing in New Hampshire. You’ve really got to do retail politics a lot to get the kind of recognition you need to win. We’ll see how it shakes out.”

Johnson’s entrance into the presidential race marks the second consecutive presidential cycle that a New Mexico governor has sought his party’s nomination for the highest office in the land. Former Gov. Bill Richardson sought the Democratic nomination in 2008 while he was still in the governor’s office. Richardson ran a respectable campaign in New Hampshire and stayed in the race for months but bowed out one day after he was trounced by candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the state’s primary.

Patrick Griffin, a former adviser to the New Hampshire campaigns of Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, said Johnson may have a hard time getting noticed among the growing pack of Republican presidential contenders. But he pointed out that those candidates will all be fighting for the conservative base while the more socially liberal Johnson can focus on independents, a key voting bloc in the state.

“New Hampshire is a very independent place — the largest number of people voting in the presidential primary will be independents,” Griffin said. “And they are more critical than anytime before.”

Campaign fund-raising is a major factor in any presidential candidate’s success. That is especially true for those without significant name recognition, he said.

“What it’s going to come down to is the ability to put together an organization and get out there and be perceived as a serious candidate,” Griffin said. “But first people are going to have to know who the governor is. That will come from retail politicking and perhaps raising enough money to get on the (television and radio) and make some noise.”

It remains to be seen how the Tea Party, a relatively new and powerful force in Republican politics, will view Johnson’s campaign. The former governor has said he welcomes their support and identifies with many of their views, but it’s not yet clear if the affection is mutual. Tea Partiers both jeered and cheered Johnson’s pro-drug legalization rhetoric at a rally in Washington last year.

Johnson has long said that the War on Drugs is a “miserable failure” that costs America billions in interdiction and incarceration – money that could be put to better use elsewhere.

Jerry DeLemus, chairman of the Granite State Patriots Liberty Political Action Committee, an umbrella group for New Hampshire Tea Party supporters, said he heard Johnson speak in New Hampshire a few months ago and was impressed to learn he vetoed hundreds of spending bills as governor. But he said Johnson lost him when he began to speak of his support for drug legalization.

“That’s not a priority for me and I don’t think it’s a priority for America,” DeLemus said. “But there are some Libertarians in the Tea Party and for some of them that may resonate.”

DeLemus also said Johnson could find himself at odds with Tea Partiers because of his relatively liberal stance on immigration. Johnson opposes building a wall along the Mexican border and supports increasing work permits for illegal immigrants already living in America. But again, DeLemus said Tea Party supporters in New Hampshire are willing to give all candidates a fair hearing.

“I’ll listen to what Gary has to say,” DeLemus said. “We’ll listen to all of them.”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican who is expected to announce his own presidential bid next month, said at an event in Manchester Thursday that Johnson is a “new player” on the national scene and that will make it harder for him to make a name for himself. But he also said Johnson’s unorthodox views will help separate him from the Republican pack.

“He’s got a long time from now until next year to get known but it’s ultimately pretty important because people aren’t going to vote for someone they don’t know for the presidency,” Gingrich said. “My impression is that he’ll have a unique enough platform that he’ll have his own niche.”

Butch Maki, a Santa Fe lobbyist and part-time New Hampshire resident who served as a senior adviser to Richardson’s presidential campaign Hampshire, said “Johnson is doing it right by starting early.”

He said Richardson got into the presidential race after many of the other campaigns had snapped up the best talent.

“We had some young, smart kids but the experienced campaign hands had already been hired,” Maki said.

7:40am: Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has announced he is running for president, KOAT-TV is reporting. The Journal’s Michael Coleman is sending photos and reports from the scene.

USA Today is reporting that Johnson, a Republican who was governor from 1995 to 2003, made his announcement in on the steps of the State House in Concord, N.H. On Twitter a short while ago, his staff tweeted for him:

First time to say it. “I am running for president.”

6 a.m.: Johnson is expected to announce his intentions to run for president in New Hampshire this morning.

Johnson, who served two terms as governor from 1995 through 2002, has spent the last year touring hot presidential primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire — ostensibly as part of his national issue advocacy group, the Our America Initiative.

Political observers have guessed Johnson’s group, as well as numerous appearances at rallies and on television shows like Comedy Central’s the Colbert Report, is meant as a lead up to a presidential candidacy announcement.

In a news release, a Johnson spokeswoman said his 7 a.m. announcement (9 a.m. New Hampshire time) would concern the 2012 race.

Two-term New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson makes his announcement in New Hampshire on Thursday morning. (Michael Coleman / Journal)

Johnson ran as a Republican in New Mexico, but has libertarian views. For example, he is a fierce fiscal conservative, but has made the most news advocating for the legalization of marijuana.

Check back later for an updated version after the event.