The following is a transcript of Gary Johnson’s meeting with the Los Angeles Times editorial board.

Nicholas Goldberg (editor of the editorial pages): So let me kick it off with a question that you’ve gotten 10,000 times before and I’m sure you have a well-prepared answer to it. Your campaign seems to be hovering in the 12% range. The goal is to get that to 15%, which would get you into the debates. You got a million votes in 2012 when you ran, out of more than 100 million votes. We’re here to try to decide who to endorse in this race. Your candidacy sounds like a long, long, long shot, a protest vote. Why would we want to urge people to vote for you?