Jim Gray: Libertarian Ticket Eyes 2016 for Possible Re-Run

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson has made no secret about his willingness to at least consider another Presidential bid in 2016, but according to OC Weekly, his current running mate is on board as well.

A second Johnson/Gray campaign in 4 years, with significantly more time for fundraising and organization building, would also take place without the shadow of Ron Paul looming overhead.

Read more from OC Weekly:

Gray, Johnson’s vice presidential running mate, told a crowd this month at Tulane University that the two men have already decided a second run–next time with plenty of planning–is critical to break the stranglehold the two major political parties exercise over failed foreign and domestic policies.

Calling President Barack Obama and Democrats “financially irresponsible” and Mitt Romney and Republicans “socially intolerant,” Gray predicted voters will warm to Libertarian ideas as a route to escape present day “bipolar politics.”

After being locked out of the four presidential and vice presidential debates, Johnson–a former popular Republican governor of New Mexico and outspoken advocate of reducing the size and power of the federal government–won six percent of the vote in a recent national poll.

Gray is urging California residents not to waste their votes on Romney because Obama will undoubtedly win the state and its 55-member electoral college delegation. Instead, he is arguing that voters can buy real future change by supporting his party’s ticket, which might qualify for 2016 federal matching funds (and thus easier state by state ballot access) if Johnson nabs at least five percent of the nationwide vote next month.