Aug. 21 — To the Editor:

There does not often come the opportunity to reshape a political landscape forever. With understandable disillusionment, the American people by a majority (over 50 percent of new voter registrations are registering independent) are looking for another option. Not just any option, a sane option with real experience that can lead under the partisanship of the Democratic and Republican parties that we’ve been stuck with for 160 years.

We have that real third option. Governor Gary Johnson is the highly successful former two-term governor of New Mexico. His running mate, Bill Weld, is the similarly successful two-term governor of Massachusetts. Both were Republicans that were re-elected by wide margins in states that were heavily Democratic. This means they learned how to work as unifiers.

Governors Johnson and Weld are known for being fiscally responsible, and socially tolerant, like most Americans - especially the vast swath of Americans who consider themselves independent or normally don’t vote. Remember - Trump and Clinton were chosen by a mere 9 percent of voters. Where is the representation for the rest of us?

That said, those who did participate in the primaries have real concerns. Supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders are right: crony capitalism is alive and well in the United States. Governor Johnson made a name for himself in New Mexico as “Governor Veto,” as he refused to sign bills that gave unfair advantage to one corporation or group of businesses over another or those that made it hard for small businesses and entrepreneurs to get started. Moreover, he has been a supporter (before most others in politics) of civil liberties like LGBT rights and scaling back the drug war that unfairly targets minorities and erodes communities. Governor Weld was one of the first to come out in support of LGBT rights and was blocked for an ambassador position because of it.

Donald Trump supporters, on the other hand, have arisen from rightly feeling marginalized by the very Government that is supposed to represent them. Our wars in the Middle East have made more terrorism, not less, and the overzealous drug war and “war on poverty” has eroded our civil liberties and made it harder for poor people to get ahead, making immigrants an easy scapegoat. Gary Johnson seeks to protect our country without wasting American blood and money on endless nation building that has destabilized the Middle East and made us less safe. He has a responsible plan to handle immigration: make it easy for earnest immigrants looking for work to get a work visa, so that our border control has the resources to focus on actual bad guys.

And that doesn’t even speak of Johnson’s personal accomplishments. He formed the largest construction company in New Mexico before becoming governor - starting by himself doing odd jobs. He has climbed the highest peak on all seven continents, including Everest. He has competed in multiple Iron Man competitions and has biked over 480 miles in a single event. He does this, he says, by “just putting one foot in front of other” and not lying down in the face of adversity.

I was going to start this letter to the editor negatively, talking about everything wrong with both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. It is true that they are the two most disliked candidates that maybe we have ever seen - but Gary Johnson himself does not like to throw stones and stands on his record. He deserves to be heard, and if he reaches 15 percent in the polls (he is already in the double digits in most polls, and as much as 16 percent in some swing states like Utah) you will see him on the debate stage with Clinton and Trump, as a real third choice that can win in November. To get there he needs our support. Even if you don’t agree with Johnson and Weld on everything, Americans deserve to have a third voice on that stage.

You will likely hear the usual curmudgeons discourage us from voting for a third party because “Clinton or Trump might win” or because of one edge-case reason or another. But I invite you to Google Gary Johnson and find out for yourselves. As he says himself, “Vote for me this ONE election, and if, after four years, we decide we don’t like peace, prosperity, and freedom, we can always vote tyranny back into office.” We have this moment to shake up the two-party monopoly and make history.

Governor Johnson will hold a rally on the New Hampshire Statehouse steps in Concord this Thursday, Aug. 25, at 5:30 p.m. He is also travelling in Maine, making several stops, and will have a rally in Lewiston at the Gendron Franco Heritage Center on Friday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m.

(And for the record, I’m just a concerned voter, and I am not affiliated with the campaign in any way.)

Jason Walls

Portsmouth