Johnson asserts that he could win the race if he could raise $50 million. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Gary Johnson aims for prez debates

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party nominee, said Thursday the key to winning his longshot bid for president is getting into the presidential debates this fall.

In a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO, the former two-term GOP governor said meeting the 15 percent national polling threshold set by the Commission on Presidential Debates is essential to his campaign since the debates are the only way to effectively get his message out.


“Anything can happen [in the debates]. That could be crash and burn. [Or] it could bring attention to what it is I am saying, my resume,” he said. “I think a lot more people in this country describe themselves as libertarian as opposed to voting libertarian. I think my voice is representative of the fastest growing segment of American politics today, which is libertarian.”

Johnson, who initially pursued the GOP 2012 presidential nomination, has staked out a position for himself as a fiscally conservative, anti-war candidate with a socially liberal bent: He supports abortion rights, backs gay marriage, and is a staunch proponent of legalizing marijuana.

“The majority of Americans are fiscally responsible, socially accepting. I’m in that category. That said, I’m different than the other two in several categories,” he said. “I’m the only candidate that doesn’t want to bomb Iran. I’m the only candidate that wants to get out of Afghanistan tomorrow, bring the troops home. I’m the only candidate that’s talking about marriage equality from the standpoint of it being a constitutionally guaranteed right. Let’s end the drugs wars. Let’s repeal the Patriot Act. I would have never signed Defense Authorization Act. Let’s balance the federal budget tomorrow. Let’s abolish the IRS. Let’s eliminate the income tax, corporate tax, and replace it with one federal consumption tax. These are big differences with the other two.”

Johnson asserted that he could win the race if he could raise $50 million – a fraction of what President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have raised already. If his campaign had the resources to do a large-scale buy for his campaign advertisements, like the spot called “ Be Libertarian with Me,” his popularity would spike, he insisted.

“If we ran these advertisements nationwide…I think you could see a really heightened interest in me and what it is I’m saying,” Johnson said. “If we were to run that nationally, I want to go out on a limb here and say we’d be at 20 percent overnight.”

Johnson said he expected his message would have the most appeal in the Mountain West, as well as Alaska, pointing to the libertarian-leaning nature of those states. So far, the polling bears that out. Recent Public Policy Polling surveys had Johnson polling at 9 percent in Arizona and 7 percent in Colorado. And the former governor rakes in 13 percent in his home state of New Mexico, according to a July 18 PPP poll, though that number is down from 23 percent in December.

In the interview, Johnson laid out a platform that had much in common with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the former Libertarian nominee for president who also sought the GOP nomination this year – and Johnson hopes to win over many of his backers.

“I’m really counting on Ron Paul voter support,” he said, noting that he didn’t expect Paul to run for president in 2012. “I expect that a Ron Paul voter won’t vote for Mitt Romney.”

While he found Romney “personable” when he met the former Massachusetts governor, Johnson said it’s not clear what Romney believes in.

“I only have one issue with Mitt Romney, and that is, I have no idea where he stands on any issues,” he said.

New Mexico’s current governor, Republican Susana Martinez, is sometimes mentioned as a possible running-mate for Romney. Johnson suggested that if Romney picked Martinez, who was elected in 2010 and is the country’s first female Hispanic governor, the choice would be seen as pandering.

“It would be Palin-esque almost, to go with Susana Martinez,” said Johnson, who added that he disagrees with Martinez on a number of issues, including drug policy and how to handle border security.

Johnson saved his harshest words for the tea party when explaining why that movement was not a home for libertarianism.

“It was co-opted from the original premises — of a balanced budget, lower taxes — to a social agenda that most people can take or leave,” he said.